Manassas Public Schools Improve In VA Assessment, None Earn Highest Rating

MANASSAS, VA — Manassas City Public Schools improved in Virginia’s latest school performance results, with six schools increasing their overall performance scores from the previous year, the division announced.

The ratings are part of Virginia’s School Performance and Support Framework, which measures academic achievement, growth and other indicators while also incorporating federal accountability requirements.

The SPSF assesses schools on students' mastery of skills, year-to-year growth, readiness for advancement, and, if applicable, graduation, and assigns point values for performance. The state's system gives a distinguished rating to schools that score 90 points or above. Schools meeting expectations earn 80 to 89 points and the threshold for Approaching Expectations starts at 65 points

The district assessed nine of its 10 public schools. The district deemed the Virginia Virtual Academy at Manassas too small to evaluate.

The full results are available here.

No Manassas public school earned the state’s Distinguished rating, meaning it exceeds expectations. Three schools were given the Meets Expectations rating. Another school earned a points score that would have earned it a Meets Expectations rating, and another was half a point short.

Schools can earn ratings lower than their actual points scores if an individual group of students in the school, like students from low-income backgrounds or students with disabilities, is struggling.

Baldwin Intermediate and Grace Metz Middle School were both rated Needs Intensive Support, though their scores would have placed them in the Approaching Expectations category.

Baldwin Elementary and Haydon Elementary moved into the Meets Expectations category, while Weems Elementary posted the division’s highest overall score. Metz Middle School improved its score by nearly five points.

Four schools, Osbourn High School, Metz Middle School, Mayfield Intermediate School, and Baldwin Intermediate School, were affected by federal Targeted Support and Improvement designations, which indicate that one or more student groups need additional academic support.

Jennie Dean Elementary exited its previous Targeted Support designation.

School officials are expected to present more information about the results to the Manassas City School Board on Oct. 13.