This morning, the Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) released the statewide 2017 PARCC results in both English Language Arts (ELA) and Math. Two Rivers was again named one of the highest performing school networks in DC!
Two Rivers students scored among the highest in the city in both ELA and Math in 2016-17. Our students significantly outperformed the DCPS average, the charter average, and the state average.
Two Rivers students in grades 3-8 outperformed the statewide average by 10 percentage points in ELA and 11 percentage points in Math.
Two Rivers eighth graders shine on high school Algebra exam
Last year, an accelerated group of Two Rivers eighth graders embarked on a rigorous course of Algebra study, culminating in an exam that is typically taken by high school students. An amazing 94% of those students passed the exam. In contrast, 29% of 8th grade students passed this exam across the district.
Our Algebra results were also strong for historically underserved groups of students. We are particularly proud that:
- 90% of the 8th graders in the Algebra program who are African-American earned a proficient score on the high school Algebra PARCC.
- 75% of the 8th graders in the Algebra program who qualify as economically disadvantaged earned a proficient score on the high school Algebra PARCC.
Consistent enrollment at Two Rivers leads to gap-closing results
Two Rivers’ mission calls for us to “nurture a diverse group of students,” including students from communities that have historically been underserved by American schools and society. We are encouraged by students’ growth on the PARCC exam when they remain continuously enrolled at Two Rivers over multiple years.
- African-American cohort growth – Our results demonstrate that the effect of a Two Rivers education accelerates when students stay enrolled at Two Rivers over time. Over the three years between 2014 and 2017, the reading proficiency of students who are African-American and consistently enrolled at Two Rivers increased by 11 percentage points.
- Economically disadvantaged cohort growth – Our program makes a difference for all students. Over the three years between 2014 and 2017, the reading proficiency of students who are economically disadvantaged and consistently enrolled at Two Rivers increased by 7 percentage points.
Two Rivers is one of D.C.’s preeminent networks for students with special needs
Two Rivers utilizes an inclusive model to serve all students, including students with disabilities. Our commitment to inclusion is at the heart of our mission; our core value of “learn better together” reminds us that the best learning happens in diverse communities of varying abilities and perspectives.
- Performance of students with disabilities – In 2016-17, Two Rivers’ proficiency rate for students with disabilities doubled that of the city, with 15% of our students proficient in reading and 13% proficient in math, compared to 6% and 7% proficiency rates across D.C.
- Commitment to serving students with disabilities – In the 2016-17 academic year, 16% of Two Rivers’ students received special education services, compared to 13% across D.C.
Although we are proud of our students’ results on PARCC, we know that we have work to do to ensure that all of our students are truly college and career ready. We also know that the skills measured by PARCC are necessary but insufficient to prepare our students to be lifelong learners; equally important are critical thinking, collaboration, communication, and character. We believe that our hands-on, interdisciplinary, project-based learning model will nurture all of these skills in our students, ensuring that they have rich and varied options for their futures.
For more information about PARCC and the 2017 statewide PARCC scores, please visit osse.dc.gov/parcc. OSSE will release individual student results, and they will be mailed home in September. If you have general questions or want more information about the assessments, please contact Maggie Bello, Chief Academic Officer, at mbello@tworiverspcs.org.