By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post
Victoria USD 432 earned two Kansans Can gold awards from the state for graduation and for its students' postsecondary success.
The district also earned a copper award for students being prepared for postsecondary success, which is based on state assessment scores, and a Commissioner's Award.
The district's graduation rate in 2019 was 95. 5 percent. In 2018, it was 100 percent. The state average in both those years was 87.5 percent.
Victoria's five-year success rate for postsecondary success was 70 percent. The state considers a high school graduate successful if they have earned an industry recognized certificate in high school, earned a postsecondary certificate or degree or have been enrolled in postsecondary education in both their first and second years after high school graduation.
The state also calculates how successful a district's students should be after graduation based on mitigating factors such as poverty, chronic absenteeism and student mobility. Victoria's predicted success rate for high school graduates was 63.2 percent to 66.7 percent, which it surpassed.
Preparation for postsecondary success looks at how many students score above grade level on state assessment test.
In math, 32.23 percent of Victoria students performed above grade level. That was about equal to the state average for 2019, which was 32.64 percent. In 2018, 39.45 percent of Victoria students scored in the top two tiers in math on state assessments.
Victoria also saw a drop in the number of top performers in English. In 2018, 41.77 percent of students scored above grade level, but 31.78 percent scored in the top two tiers in 2019. This was below the state average of 36.58 percent.
In science, 46.02 percent of Victoria students scored in the top two tiers in state assessments. This was slightly above the 2018 scores and significantly above the state average of 35.56 percent.
Victoria Superintendent Kent Michel said he was pleased with the state accreditation report. He said he prefers the new accreditation system, which provides the community with a broader view of student success.
"We had a good KESA visit too when we had our onsite visit," he said, "and this will just help with that as far as showing what we are doing positively in our district. It is not just one test we are looking at like in the past."
To see the Victoria school district's full state report, click here.