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The Cullman County School system took home an overall grade of “B” on the Alabama Department of Education’s annual report card, exceeding the “C” grade that schools systems statewide averaged.

Cullman City Schools was given an “A” overall grade.

Released Thursday, the report card reflects how school systems compare against baseline criteria established by the now-discontinued ACT Aspire exam, a Common Core standards assessment which the state department of education has deemed ineffective for the purpose of comprehensively rating student performance.

The county schools’ report card also reflects a range of additional factors, including academic achievement, academic growth, chronic absenteeism, graduation rates, and college and career readiness.

Despite the school system’s overall good rating, Superintendent Shane Barnette stressed that he and other school officials take a circumspect and even distant view of the report card’s true significance as an accurate yardstick to measure local schools’ strengths and weaknesses.

“We have many exciting things happening in our schools daily that are not measured in this report card,” he said, naming a long list of achievements — designated schools of excellence, athletic and academic championships, multiple blue ribbon schools, a U.S. News and World Report top-rated school, and more — that aren’t reflected in the current report.

“I take it personally, because these scores are a reflection of our leadership,” Barnette said. “But the letter grade is a snapshot of the school; a conversation starter for communities. It’s not about pointing fingers. It’s a catalyst for discussion and improvement.”

The criteria used for the just-released report card won’t be used for future iterations — a transition that school officials are viewing with cautious optimism.

Barnette noted that much of the data collected for the current report card is erroneous or incomplete, even leaving out entire schools — such as Good Hope Primary — because their student populations did not fit the assessment’s predetermined parameters. “Good Hope Primary is an excellent school, and I am confident that including it would have raised our overall score,” Barnette said.

In other cases, such as Fairview High School’s “D” grade, a single parameter such as student absenteeism did disproportionate damage to a school’s overall score. “Take one look at Fairview High School and we all know — Fairview is not a ‘D’ school,” said Barnette.

“We have many exciting things happening in Cullman County that are not measured on this report card,” Barnette said. “Almost daily, we have students, teachers and schools earning awards or recognitions for their accomplishments. We have a really good school system, and it is getting better every day.

“We have faculty and staff who have stood in the gap for children from Pre-K through the 12th grade to give them a fighting chance,” he added. “This may include providing food, clothes, money, school supplies, a warm home, and, many times, a shoulder to cry on — and those things do not show up on a report card.”

Following is a listing of individual Cullman County school letter grades from the 2018 Alabama State Report Card:

A — No county school received an A.

B — Cold Springs Elementary, Parkside Elementary, Welti Elementary, Fairview Elementary, West Point Elementary, Holly Pond Middle, Good Hope Middle, Vinemont Middle

C — Cold Springs High School, Harmony School, West Point Intermediate, West Point Middle, West Point High School, Holly Pond Elementary, Holly Pond High School, Good Hope Elementary, Good Hope High School, Vinemont High School

D — Fairview High School

F — No county school received an F.

Note: Grades for Hanceville schools were not immediately available at the time of this posting. We will update this list to reflect Hanceville schools’ grades once we’ve confirmed them from the Cullman County Board of Education.

Following is a listing of individual Cullman City school letter grades from the 2018 Alabama State Report Card:

A — Cullman Middle School, East Elementary School and West Elementary School

B — Cullman High School

Note: A grade for Cullman City Primary School was not immediately available through the ALSDE at the time of this posting.

 

Following is a listing of individual Cullman County school letter grades from the 2018 Alabama State Report Card:

A — No county school received an A.

B — Cold Springs Elementary, Parkside Elementary, Welti Elementary, Fairview Elementary, West Point Elementary, Holly Pond Middle, Good Hope Middle, Vinemont Middle

C — Cold Springs High School, Harmony School, West Point Intermediate, West Point Middle, West Point High School, Holly Pond Elementary, Holly Pond High School, Good Hope Elementary, Good Hope High School, Vinemont High School

D — Fairview High School

F — No county school received an F.

Note: Grades for Hanceville schools were not immediately available at the time of this posting. We will update this list to reflect Hanceville schools’ grades once we’ve confirmed them from the Cullman County Board of Education.