Escambia County High School
1215 South Presley Street
Atmore, AL 36502
Phone: 251-368-9181
Fax: 251-368-0674
J. Dennis Fuqua
Principal
Upon review of the 2013-14 Continuous Improvement Plan and all data pertaining to the past school year, the
Escambia County High School ACIP Team and faculty came to the following conclusions:
ACT (Goal 1, Objectives 1-4, inclusive)
Objective 1, Math
Based on ACT scores for the 2014 administration (for all 11th grade students), improvement is needed in Math
instruction.
Overall, the 110 students assessed had an average score of 15.2 (14th percentile), compared to the 2013
administration (of 53 students who planned to go to college) which had an average score of 16.5. Average subset
scores as follows: 6.15 (Elementary Algebra), 7.18 (Algebra/Geometry), and 7.2 (Geometry/Trigonometry). These
scores also fall into the lower percentile ranks, and only 3 students (2%) made benchmark according to ACT
standards.
PLAN scores for the class of 2016 have an average score of 13.8 in Math, which is only slightly higher than the
average score for the class of 2015 (on the same assessment) a year ago (13.5). If all things remain equal, then we
should see only slightly higher scores in Math if modifications are not made.
Current strategies and activities in the Math objective were not determined to be ineffective-the determination
among the leadership team was that they were not necessarily followed diligently. The team decided revision or
clarification on the current strategies and activities would be sufficient. Additional strategies may be
recommended.
Objective 2, English
Based on ACT scores for the 2014 administration (for all 11th grade students), improvement is needed in English
Language Arts instruction.
Overall, the 110 students assessed had an average score of 13.5 (15th percentile) on the English portion (compared
to the 2013 administration (of 53 students who planned to go to college) which had an average score of 16.5) and
an average score of 12.9 (11th percentile) for the English/Writing composite. Average subset scores were as
follows: 12.9 in usage/mechanics and 7.8 in rhetorical skills. 21% of students met Benchmark in the English
portion according to ACT standards.
PLAN scores for the class of 2016 have an average score of 13.6 in English, which is slightly lower than the average
score for the class of 2015 (on the same assessment) a year ago (13.9). If all things remain equal, then we should
see lower scores in English if modifications are not made.
Escambia County High School
1215 South Presley Street
Atmore, AL 36502
Phone: 251-368-9181
Fax: 251-368-0674
J. Dennis Fuqua
Principal
Current strategies and activities in the English objective were not determined to be ineffective-the determination
among the leadership team was that they were not necessarily followed diligently. The team decided revision or
clarification on the current strategies and activities would be sufficient. Additional strategies may be
recommended.
Objective 3, Science
Based on ACT scores for the 2014 administration (for all 11th grade students), improvement is needed in Science
instruction.
Overall, the 110 students assessed had an average score of 15.9 on the Science portion of the test, compared to
the 2013 administration (of 53 students who planned to go to college) which had an average score of 17.0. While
this portion of the assessment showed as strength (this was the highest average score reported), it is still low when
considering state and national averages (scoring only in the 20th percentile). Only 6% of students tested met
Benchmark according to ACT standards.
PLAN scores for the class of 2016 have an average score of 15.6 in Science, which is the same as the average score
for the class of 2015 (on the same assessment) a year ago (15.6). If all things remain equal, then we should see no
growth in scores in Science if modifications are not made.
Current strategies and activities in the Science objective were not determined to be ineffective-the determination
among the leadership team was that they were not necessarily followed diligently. The team decided revision or
clarification on the current strategies and activities would be sufficient. Additional strategies may be
recommended.
Objective 4, Reading
Based on ACT scores for the 2014 administration (for all 11th grade students), improvement is needed in Reading
instruction.
Overall, the 110 students assessed had an average score of 15.3 (20th percentile) on the Reading portion of the
test, compared to the 2013 administration (of 53 students who planned to go to college) which had an average
score of 17.2. Average subset scores are as follows: 8.4 in social studies/science and 6.7 in art/literature. Only
4.5% of students tested met Benchmark according to ACT standards.
PLAN scores for the class of 2016 have an average score of 14.1 in Reading, which is basically the same as the
average score for the class of 2015 (on the same assessment) a year ago (14.0). If all things remain equal, then we
should see no growth in scores in Reading if modifications are not made.
Escambia County High School
1215 South Presley Street
Atmore, AL 36502
Phone: 251-368-9181
Fax: 251-368-0674
J. Dennis Fuqua
Principal
Current strategies and activities in the Reading objective were not determined to be ineffective-the determination
among the leadership team was that they were not necessarily followed diligently. The team decided revision or
clarification on the current strategies and activities would be sufficient. Additional strategies may be
recommended.
Quality Core/End of Course Assessments (Goal 1, Objectives 5 & 6, inclusive)
English 10
Based on Quality Core Overview reports for English 10, there was a decline in overall scores between the 2013 and
2014 administrations. Scores for the 2014 assessment are as follows: 13 points out of 24 (54%) for Critical Reading
(15/21 (71%) in 2013), 4 out of 7 (57%) for Mechanics of Writing (8/11 (73%) in 2013), 2 out of 5 (40%) for Modes
of Writing (2/4 (50%) in 2013), and 20 out of 34 (59%) in Reading Comprehension (25/34 (74%) in 2013).
The raw scores do show promise for improvement, however, based on correlating PLAN scores. Of the 113
students tested in English 10, 81% of students (91) received a raw score of 142 or higher, putting them in
benchmark (composite score of 15 in English) range on the PLAN assessment (composite of 10-19 in English) Of
these, 28% (32) scored a 153 or above, which translates to a PLAN composite range of 15-20 in English. The
average score of 149 (for all students tested) translates to a PLAN composite range of 16-19 in English.
Algebra I
Overview reports for Algebra I do not show a drastic decrease or increase in overall scores. Scores remained
approximately the same comparing the 2013 and 2014 administrations: 7 points out of 24 (29%) in exploring
expressions, equations and functions in the 1st degree (6/24 (25%) in 2013), 3 out of 14 (21%) in exploring other
nonlinear equations and functions (4/15 (27%) in 2013), 4 out of 13 (31%) in exploring quadratic equations and
functions (3 out of 11 (27%) in 2013), and 8 out of 19 (42%) in number sense, operations and graph skills (6/20
(30%) in 2013).
Raw scores show a need for improvement in all areas, as (of 100 students tested), the average score was a 142
(which translates to a PLAN range below benchmark). The score range for Algebra I on this assessment was 135151. Only 9 students (9%) scored within PLAN benchmark range of 147-149 (a PLAN range of 16-19, benchmark for
Algebra I is a 19). Only 1 student scored above 150 (scored a 151), with a PLAN range of 16-20. With only 10% of
students scoring in benchmark range, much work is needed to improve instruction in Algebra.
Current strategies and activities in the Quality Core English 10 and Algebra I objectives were not determined to be
ineffective-the determination among the leadership team was that they were not necessarily followed diligently.
The team decided revision or clarification on the current strategies and activities would be sufficient. Additional
strategies may be recommended.
Escambia County High School
1215 South Presley Street
Atmore, AL 36502
Phone: 251-368-9181
Fax: 251-368-0674
J. Dennis Fuqua
Principal
Improvement of Graduation Rate (Goal 2)
The goal of improving the graduation rate surrounded the betterment of school culture and climate. Areas of
focus were discipline and classroom management, communication with parents, teacher mentoring, transition
services, and student interventions (online courses, tutoring, truancy diversion, and summer school). All strategies
and activities were implemented without any hindrances and were determined to be successful.
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Parents have reported (based on surveys) their appreciation for the increased communication, and steps
are being taken to further that initiative with additional resources.
The “Back to School Bash” and the 8th grade tour were both successful with substantial participation.
Teacher surveys show the following for Obj1, Strat1, Activities 1-3 (School Discipline)
 43% of teachers agreed, 38% strongly agreed that the Administration was consistent in
discipline.
 52% of teachers strongly agreed that administration was supportive of teachers in
discipline.
 24% of teachers report using discipline logs, and 38% report submitting them with
referrals to administration when applicable.
School Cast notifications, Truancy diversion and summer school have all been utilized successfully for the
2013-14 school year, and these activities will remain in use and unchanged.
Mentoring: participation was low this year, with fewer new teachers on staff. Those who were involved
report it as 44% ‘very successful’ and 33% ‘successful’.
Intervention and tutoring were offered to students, but was not taken advantage of at the rate that was
needed. Intervention courses will be re-vamped for the 2014-15 school year to gear toward ACT
remediation. Math tutoring will continue to be offered, and extra effort will be made to advertise and
encourage student attendance.
Sarah Watkins
Assistant Principal
swatkins@escambiak12.net
251-368-9181 x2108