LCHS earned a school letter grade of C from the WV Department of Education last month.

This is the first year for the state-wide score card, with all results being based on 2015-16.

Principal Derek Lambert and other departments are working together to bring this grade up to a B with a new reward system.

According to Lambert, LCHS was on the upper end of a C, being just 40 points away from a B.

Teachers said there were many areas in which schools were assessed including summative exam scores, attendance, AP/dual credit classes, passing rates, drop-out rate, college readiness and faculty evaluations.

One of the strengths for LCHS were college readiness.

LCHS’s weaknesses according to the report card were the amount of tardies and each student’s summative exam scores .

The results were released November 16^th through the state department’s website.  LCHS faculty and staff were informed in an after school staff meeting.

The administrators are working on a new reward system, called the HAT program, which stands for homework, attendance and tardies.

Lambert said he hopes that having the HAT Program and other incentives in place will encourage better student performance on the standardized test.  He said he also hopes it will help with overall performance and attendance.

Principal Lambert describes this as an individual classroom competition. Classes from each grade level with the most 100s will be rewarded by their teacher every nine weeks. The teacher will choose their reward, such as bonus points, extra credit, etc.

The HAT program is in its inception phase, and Lambert said he hopes to have the program up and running during the first part of the second semester.

Faculty members had mixed feelings about the score card and the letter grade LCHS received.

Many teachers were quick to explain how they are trying to improve test scores.

“I am trying to provide more technology resources, like using the Khan Academy,” Mrs. Joanna Barnette, history teacher said. The veteran teacher said they are writing tremendous amounts in an effort to help improve the test scores. “I’ve been teaching like I have been teaching for the past ten years.” She said she “expect[s her] students to have high standards”.

“I am really focusing on the Smarter Balance scores. I am doing a lot of integrated writing assignments and a lot of integrated math if it applies,” Ms. Samantha Rogers, science teacher, said as well.

Ms. Michele Allen, English teacher, added “We as a department have been examining our approaches to, particularly testing, preparation for testing.  That gets carried over to the classroom, especially my classroom.”

Special education teacher Mrs. Jill Balser believes the student motivation contributes to their testing scores immensely.

“I make sure my students feel appreciated and wanted when they come into school. So hopefully they will be a little more encouraged to come to school,” Balser said. She is also working on each of her student’s skills, like in reading.

“Since I am a special ed teacher, the biggest concern I have for my students is if they don’t read on grade level, it makes taking the Smarter Balance test very difficult,” Balser said.

Michelle Allen, English Teacher thinks that listening and reflecting is a big part of testing, and that is why she makes her students listen to radio interviews and tests them on their comprehension. Students are required to listen and take notes and assimilate the information on the summative exam.

Rogers said in her freshman and sophomore classes she writes a lot with her students.  She also focuses on math in her classes. She said there is a lot of math and physics and a fair amount of biology, but when it comes to earth science there is not a lot in her classes.

Most agreed that if test scores improve, the school-wide score card grade will also improve.

However, many believe students did not give their best effort which is reflected in the below average scores.

Some teachers added that they believe most students at LCHS aren’t caring like they should.

Barnette said many students did not take the test seriously.

She also  believes some of the problems with teaching students is that they have changed over the past ten years. She noted that she has done research about standardized testing and said that all students learn differently and assessing students based on one, standardized test does not always reflect what students have learned.