Victoria High falls short of state test score averages, junior high fares better

By TONY GUERRERO
Hays Post

Students at Victoria High School scored below state averages on state assessment tests for 2022 and 2023, whereas the eighth-grade students fared somewhat better.

The State Department of Education issued a report card for the 2022 and 2023 school years, showcasing the academic performance of students both at Victoria Junior-Senior High and across the state.

The report card shows test scores for math, English language arts and science. The Kansas assessment results are reported across four levels.

Level one stipulates that a student possesses limited ability to understand and utilize the skills necessary for success after graduation. Level two represents a basic understanding, level three signifies an effective understanding, and level four indicates an excellent comprehension of the subject, according to the Kansas State Department of Education.

In the 2022-2023 school year for math, 52.63 percent of students between ninth and 12th grade fall under having limited ability to understand. According to the test scores, 36.84 percent of students have a basic understanding, and 10.52 percent show an effective ability to understand.

Fewer students statewide fell in the lower two levels on their math tests.

The state-wide performance for math in the same grade levels consists of 45.61 percent of students showing limited ability, 33.33 percent having a basic understanding and 13.71 percent having an excellent understanding.

High school Performance Level Report for math from USD 432 and state level.

Less than 10 students at Victoria High School demonstrate an excellent understanding of math, whereas 7.33 percent of high school students across Kansas fall into that category for math excellence.

Students at the high school show better performance in English than they do in math for 2022-2023.

47.36 percent of students show limited ability to understand English, 36.84 percent have a basic understanding and 15.78 percent of students possess an effective ability to understand, according to the report. Less than 10 students proved to have an excellent understanding in the school year.

High school Performance Level Report of English from USD 432 and state level.

More Victoria high school students also fall in the lowest performing level on English test scores compared to the state numbers.

State performance of high school students for English in the school year includes 35.77 percent of students showing a limited ability to understand, 37.46 percent having a basic ability, 21.67 percent possessing an effective understanding and 5.07 percent being excellent in the subject.

Science has the most students with limited skills at Victoria Junior High.

In the 2022-2023 school year, 76.47 percent of students have a limited understanding of science based on test scores. 17.64 percent of students have a basic understanding and 5.88 percent have an excellent understanding. Less than 10 students at the high school have an effective ability to understand science.

To protect student privacy, when a subgroup has fewer than 10 students the data is not displayed.

High school Performance Level Report of science from USD 432 and state level for 2022 and 2023.

Victoria High was separated by 30 percentage points compared to the state numbers when looking at students falling in the lowest tier for science in 2023.

For 2023, 43.54 percent of high school students in the state had a limited ability to understand science, 27.54 percent had a basic understanding, 17.86 percent had an effective understanding and 11.03 percent showed excellence in understanding, according to the state report card.

Reports on the eighth-grade level at Victoria Junior High were better in some subjects, according to the state report card.

In the 2022-2023 school year, 23.07 percent of eighth-grade students at Victoria Junior High showed limited ability to understand science. 46.15 percent had a basic understanding, 23.07 percent showed an effective ability to understand and 7.69 percent were excellent in the subject.

Eighth-grade Performance Level Report of science from USD 432 and state level.

48.72 percent of all eighth graders in Kansas showed a limited ability to understand science, 28.57 percent had a basic understanding, 15.3 percent proved to be effective at understanding and 7.4 percent had an excellent understanding in the school year.

For eighth-grade students at Victoria Junior High, less than 10 students showed an excellent understanding of English in the same school year.

Some students may be excluded from the reporting because of small class size because of state efforts to protect student privacy.

15.38 percent of eighth-grade students at the high school had a limited understanding of English while 61.53 percent had a basic understanding and 23.07 percent had an effective understanding of the subject.

Eighth-grade Performance Level Report of  English from USD 432 and state level. — Eighth-grade Performance Level Report of English from USD 432 and state level.

Eighth-grade students in the state of Kansas consisted of 2.85 percent of students having an excellent ability to understand English. 17.93 percent had an effective ability to understand, 42.27 percent had a basic understanding and 36.93 percent were limited in understanding.

In Victoria, less than 10 students showed an excellent understanding of math at the high school in 2022-2023.

46.15 percent of students had a limited ability to grasp the subject, 7.69 percent had a basic understanding and 46.15 percent showed an effective understanding of math.

Eighth-grade Performance Level Report of math from USD 432 and state level for 2022 and 2023.

Across the state in the same school year, 47.74 percent of eighth-grade students had a limited understanding of math, 29.43 percent had a basic understanding, 17.85 percent were effective at the subject and 4.96 percent were excellent

The latest report of postsecondary success for Victoria Junior High is from 2021. The success rate is 59.1 percent, the effective rate is 56.5 percent and the graduation rate is at 95.7 percent.

The graduation rate average across five years is 95 percent, the average success rate is 61 percent and the effectiveness average is 58 percent between 2017 and 2021.

Four-year adjusted cohort Postsecondary Progress for USD 432

The Kansas Department of Education considers post-secondary success based on a student meeting one of four criteria within two years of high school graduation. A student must achieve one of these four outcomes:

• Earned an approved certification during high school
• Attained a postsecondary certificate
• Obtained a postsecondary degree
• Enrolled in postsecondary education in both the first and second years after high school graduation

A closer look at the graduation rate will show a slight decrease from 2021 to 2022 at the high school but still above the graduation average for Kansas.

At the state level, the four-year graduation rate in 2021 was 89.3 percent and 89.8 percent in 2022.

The last years Kansas administered state-level history, government and social studies assessments were in 2017 to 2018.

For the start of the 2022-2023 school year, a new history, government, and social studies classroom-based assessment was mandatory for students in at least grades four and seven. However, the results from this assessment were not included in the report card.

All of the current members of the Victoria USD 432 Board of Education were contacted for comment about the state report card. Some did not respond. The rest referred the Hays Post back to the superintendent for comment.

The Hays Post contacted Victoria Superintendent Kimberly Woolf. She declined to comment for this story.

The Hays Post sent questionnaires to all the candidates who are running for seats on the Victoria USD 432 school board.

Candidates were asked what they think the school district should do to improve student test scores and academic performance.

"I don’t advocate for making testing easier, but instead for making teaching more effective. Effective teachers make the students better, and better students do better things," candidate Jake Hunter said.

Candidate Haley Gagnon said, "The board should take heed of the teachers's suggestions and concerns when it comes to these issues because they are the ones with the education and experience to lead our students to academic success."

Candidate Tammy Lee Schumacher said, "A major requirement is hiring more paras per capita of students in our school system, especially to support those children that have special scholastic needs."

Not all candidates returned responses to the Hays Post questionnaire. Links to responses for those who did are below.

Other candidates who will appear on the ballot include Brenton Hoffman, Douglas Kuh and Morgan Pfeifer.

Election Day is Tuesday. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

To find your polling location, click here.