PROVIDENCE – While more K-12 public schools across Rhode Island achieved 5-star status in 2023, the school accountability and improvement results released by the R.I. Department of Education released back on Jan. 5 still show roughly a 50-50 spit on schools that are performing at a high level and schools that are not.
Additionally, the star ratings for most schools within the Providence Public School District remained unchanged from year to year, with one notable school seeing a significant drop.
The department for the second year in a row released its star rating system, which outlines each of the state’s municipal and charter schools’ performance in compliance with the Every Student Succeeds Act. The ratings – which range from 1-star [lowest performing] to 5-star [highest performing] – are based on achievement in math, science and English language arts, English language proficiency, graduation rates and success in limiting absenteeism and/or suspensions of students from school.
“RIDE is committed to an accountability system that emphasizes improvement and equity to improve student outcomes,” R.I. Education Commissioner Angelica Infante-Green said in a statement. “This critical information will help school leaders plan strategically to improve academic achievement statewide. By investing in the diverse needs of our student bodies, we not only honor the principles of inclusivity, but also strengthen the fabric of our education system.”
RIDE officials did not immediately respond Monday to a request for comment from Providence Business News on the data release, including the info on the Providence-based schools that remain under state control.
According to the latest data noting 310 total schools, 147 of them, or 47.4%, are rated as three stars or higher. That’s a small decrease
from a year ago when 158 such schools across the state were three stars or higher. Also, there were 97 total schools across Rhode Island rated as three stars in 2023, compared with 116 schools last year.
As a result, there were more schools in 2023 with 2-star ratings or worse – 145 – than the 132 schools with such ratings in 2022, according to RIDE’s data.
In the PPSD, only 11 of the city’s 39 public schools showed any rating change in 2023 compared with 2022. Plus, only five schools - Alfred Lima Sr. Elementary School, Nathanael Greene Middle School, Harry Kizirian Elementary School, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School and E-Cubed Academy – were the only city schools to see its star ratings improve [all by one star] from a year ago.
The most notable rating decrease among the city’s schools was Classical High School, which garnered a 2-star rating in 2023. The high school located on Westminster Street was the city’s lone 4-star rated school last year and had 5-star ratings in 2018 and 2019. The data states that Classical’s rating dropped because of a low score on English language proficiency, which the school received a 1 out of a possible 4 points.
Also, there were 28 PPSD schools that had a 40% student absentee rate or higher in 2023, which is six fewer from last year. Still, about 1 in 3 city schools had absentee rates of 50% or higher and none of Providence’s schools were among the 60 schools across the state with absentee rates of 15% or less, per RIDE’s latest data.
The full data for all the state’s schools
can be seen here.
James Bessette is the PBN special projects editor, and also covers the nonprofit and education sectors. You may reach him at Bessette@PBN.com. You may also follow him on Twitter at @James_Bessette.
