As evidenced by the Mississippi Report Card, Lincoln CountySchool District residents are getting a good return on theirinvestment in the schools, said Superintendent Perry Miller.

“We certainly are pleased with it, but there’s always room forimprovement,” Miller said in discussing results in the report card,which was for the 1998-99 school year.

For the year, the district received an accreditation level ofthree, meaning successful, on a five-point scale. Level fivesignifies excellence and level four advanced while a district isconsidered warned at level two and on probation with level one.

Miller pointed out the district’s performance index, whichgauges how a district achieves variables within an accreditationlevel, was 3.8. That was up from a 3.6 for the 1997-98 school year,he said.

Miller attributed the results to hard-working teachers andeffective administration.

In subject area and other testing, such as the FunctionalLiteracy Exam (FLE) and the ACT, the district’s average of its fourschools was within striking distance of the state average.

Of seven test areas, the district was above the state average infour and below the average in three. It topped the state average inthe areas of FLE reading and math, algebra and biology, while itwas below the average in the categories of FLE writing, U.S.History and ACT results.

The report card also grades districts in a number of otherareas, such as finances, course offerings, attendance andgraduation rates.

A shining star on the county district’s card was its attendanceas a percentage of enrollment and graduation rate, where both werein the top 25 among the state’s 152 school districts. Thedistrict’s 89.18 percent graduation rate was ninth while its 97.67attendance percentage was 24th.

“We encourage our students to be in school on a regular basis,and they respond,” Miller said.

In Carnegie Unit offerings, courses that count towardgraduation, the county district was just outside the top 33percent. The district had 85 units to offer, which was above thestate average of 80.06 and placed it 57th.

“We’re continually looking to find new courses that we canoffer,” Miller said about efforts to increase offerings.

The school district achieved the results despite being in thelower half of the state in terms of per pupil expenditures andvalues of property per student.

With $4,943 in expenditures per pupil, the district was belowthe state average of $5,120 and ranked 93rd.

In property value comparisons, the district, at $16,631, waswell below the state average of $27,521 and placed 126th. On arelated note, the district ranked 30th with a operational propertytax levy of 47.67 mills, which was above the state average of41.19.

Miller said officials strive to make sure money is spent wiselyand he believes good results are seen in the report card.

“I think for what we ask Lincoln Countians to contribute to ourschools, we give them their money’s worth,” Miller said.

One area of concern, though, was in the student to teacher ratioresults. The district, with a 16.5 ratio, was above the stateaverage of 15.72 and ranked 120th in the state.

“We like to have smaller classes, and we’re striving to do that,but our resources are limited,” Miller said.

Current report card results are scheduled to remain in placeuntil a new testing model is implemented.

Miller and Assistant Superintendent Leanne Wing said the newtesting model will better gauge educational growth of students fromone grade to the next.

“We anticipate all our students will do well,” Miller said.

Also, the new model will be more oriented toward individualstudents and teaching results, as opposed to a district-wideaverage approach used now. Miller said that means each school willstand on its own merits under the new testing.

Wing said the new tests will be geared more toward statecurriculum, instead of a nationalized norm of what students areexpected to know. She believes the new tests will give betterindications of classroom accomplishments.

“It’s growth on what is actually being taught,” Wing said.

Miller and Wing said officials will do everything possible toprepare students for the tests. However, Wing said the bestpreparation is what children learn on a day-to-day basis in theclassroom.

“Good instruction will prepare students for the tests,” Wingsaid.