Scorecard shows what's needed to grow culture of education

Kathy Jennings | Thursday, May 22, 2014

The goal is for the greater Kalamazoo area to be a community where there is a culture of education.

A scorecard recently released by the Learning Network of Greater Kalamazoo shows what has been accomplished and what needs to be done to foster the kind of community that promotes educational success from cradle-to-career.

The scorecard, which can be found here, makes milestones in education easy for parents, educators, evaluators, and others to identify and understand.

The scorecard took six months to develop and it uses a number of graphics to present educational stages, the importance of that stage, and data on where the community is in reaching its goals.

For example: In the kindergarten through third grade educational stage the scorecard says students who perform at or above grade level by third grade are more likely to do so throughout school than students who don't. The goal is for every Kalamazoo County third grader to perform at or above grade level in reading and math. The scorecard shows that third grade reading proficiency went from 66 percent to 65 percent from 2011 to 2012 and rose to 69 percent in 2013. Math proficiency was at 37 percent in 2011 and 2012 and rose to 41 percent in 2013.

"The scorecard provides an at-a-glance snapshot of how we’re doing collectively, as a community, in creating a culture of education," says Amy Slancik, community investment officer for The Learning Network at the Kalamazoo Community Foundation. "Meeting the needs of all Kalamazoo County learners – from infants to older adults – is the cornerstone of a vibrant and prosperous community."

Data for the scorecard is compiled by staff from the W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research, which leads The Learning Network’s Data Team.

"The scorecard provides a rallying point for our collective community to work toward," says Bridget Timmeney, special projects coordinator for The Institute and a member of The Learning Network Data Team.

Using the scorecard, the work that needs to be done to achieve a specific outcome also can be identified and acted upon to bring about positive changes.

As another example, one goal of The Learning Network is to increase the rate of countywide students who pursue a college degree or training certificate. A specific objective was then set to support this goal: by 2017, achieve a rate of 82 percent of high school graduates who pursue a college degree or training certificate. To accomplish that goal, academic, financial and social barriers are identified so they can be removed or lessened, making students more likely to attend and complete college.

"The work of the College and Career Action Network of The Learning Network helps students overcome these obstacles," says Timmeney.

Each milestone shown on the scorecard has a group working in the community to support learners in reaching that goal.

The Learning Network of Greater Kalamazoo is funded by the Kalamazoo Community Foundation and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. Its mission is to create and sustain a culture of learning at home, in school, at work and throughout the community, with a vision to ensure that all children in Kalamazoo County will be ready for school, ready for post-secondary education, ready for a career and ready for the world.

Source: Tom Vance, Kalamazoo Community Foundation