Cache Schools see improvement in state tests

(This is part of an ongoing series by The Constitution in looking at the state of Oklahoma education.)

CACHE — Cache schools, with the release of report cards from the Oklahoma Department of Education, have seen improvements from the 2022/2023 to the 2023/2024 school years, according to the superintendent.

“Our main focus is providing educational opportunities to our students,” said superintendent Chad Hance.

Cache Elementary school was ranked overall with a C both years, but academic achievement scores, which show what percentage of students are scoring proficient or above on standardized tests, saw improvement of nearly 12 percent.

Academic growth, which shows if students scored better than in previous years, fell. Despite this metric falling, Cache Elementary also saw improvement in the percentage of students with good attendance and English Language Proficiency (ELP) scores.

Cache Middle School was ranked overall with a B both years, and most measures of success stayed relatively the same, with academic achievement and growth rates staying the same for both years. The percentage of students in good attendance grew by one percentage point as well as ELP scores gaining one percentage point.

Cache High School was the only school to have downward trends, with academic achievement and graduation rates (for 4 years) falling one and two percent respectively. Absenteeism did improve by roughly half a percentage point.

Overall, Cache School District saw academic achievement rates grow by three percent, academic growth rates fall by three percent, ELP progress remained steady at 34 percent, and absenteeism dropped by two percent.

The most impressive metric was assessment performance — which saw a 12 percent increase over the year, with 47 percent of Cache students scoring proficient or higher on their statewide assessments.

Full school report cards can be found here: https://oklaschools.com/district/16I001/.

According to research conducted by Oklahoma Education Impact Initiative, which surveyed representative populations of parents, teachers, and administrators around the state, the biggest focus of schools should be to promote work habits and discipline.

“Of course, our main focus is going to be academic success for our students,” said Hance.

“Our main focus needs to be on providing, you know, a multitude of opportunities for our kids to reach success. We also need to focus on developing character and preparing kids for the workforce where they can be productive citizens” Hance said in response to the results of OKEII’s research findings, which can be read here https://www.okeii.org/research.

Hance said the main focus of the school is providing educational opportunities and programs. He detailed that there are many AP programs and partnerships with Cameron University to allow students to begin pursuing higher education or training before even leaving high school.

Another issue, according to OKEII’s research, is finding high-quality educators. According to Hance, who had nothing but praise for his team of teachers and other educators, pay is likely the best way that Oklahoma schools can continue to attract and retain teachers.

“We need to be more competitive in our region and attract more people,” he said.

“Respect for the profession is getting lower,” he added. “Since COVID, we have noticed a change in everybody. So if we were to provide a reasonable, livable wage for teachers … if they feel like their work is respected, I think those are the two key components for teachers right now.”

Around 85 percent of teachers in Cache Schools were traditionally certified as of the 2022 to 2023 school year. No data has yet been reported for the percentage of traditionally certified teachers for the 2023 to 2024 school year.

According to Hance, many teachers with emergency certificates also end up leaving the profession within two to three years.

Cache schools are working to attract and keep high quality teachers through different programs, including a paid retirement program, as well as partnering with a day care center for reduced rates for teachers who may have children outside of school age, Hance said.

Attendance has also been marked as an issue according to OKEII research, which Cache is making an effort to combat.

“It’s a battle. We don’t have control over kids attending, and we’ve seen, throughout the state, after COVID, we went to virtual learning, kids were used to doing the work at home, staying at home, and so we’ve seen a decrease in attendance. We do our best to communicate with parents and let them know attendance is vital and key for student success,” he said.

Overall though, Hance believes that the school is “very blessed. We have strong community support and I think we have great teachers. They go above and beyond.”