Out of the 558 districts and charter schools in the state that took the Missouri Assessment Program (MAP) tests last year, Green Forest R-II scored second overall in math, seventh in science, and 51st in ELA (english), according to data tabulated by Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE).
Green Forest R-II superintendent Conrad Prugh attributes the academic achievement of the students to the hard work of teachers.
“We are extremely proud of our students and teachers and the hard work they put in every day to be successful,” he said. “Now more than ever, public schools and public education is somewhat under attack at a national level.”
Prugh said he thinks it's important that people see some of the positive stories of our local schools.
“They have a system and curriculum in place that does a good job tracking data to the standards,” he said.
Only fifth and eighth graders test in science whereas third through eighth grade take both math and English tests.
The school saw 72.7% of students score proficient or advanced on the math MAP tests last year; the only district higher was at 73.7% and is a district that tested only 19 students, according to Prugh.
Green Forest had 57.6% of students score proficient or advanced on english and language arts portion and 68.5% on science (these are district totals and include all students).
According to data from the DESE website, 96.3% of Green Forest’s seventh graders (now eighth graders) scored proficient or advanced, meaning that they achieved the highest proficient and advanced rate in the entire state on the seventh-grade math MAP test.
“Our teachers work hard and our students work hard to get everything done that the teachers ask of them,” he said. “Our board is very supportive—everyone works together to make this happen,” said Prugh.
“I just want to share to show that there are people working hard to provide the best education possible,” said Prugh. “That needs to be shared.”
The comprehensive data is available to the public via the department’s website at dese.mo.gov.
