AQuESTT Classification Released for Tekamah-Herman School

 By Brandon Lavaley, T-H Superintendent

On December 4^th, the Nebraska Department of Education released their AQuESTT classifications for each public school and district in the state. While some of you may have heard or read about the classification, the looming question remains, what is AQuESTT?

Accountability for a Quality Education System, Today and Tomorrow (AQuESTT) is the most recent installment of an accountability system for public schools in Nebraska. Previously, each school was ranked based on its respective NeSA (state assessment) scores and graduation rates. This didn’t give much information to districts or patrons because it only referred to a snapshot picture on a single day for assessment scores and graduation rate for one class. AQuESTT is intended to be a multi-faceted tool that represents a school/district in a broader scope, then assigning them a classification score (1-4) rather than ranking from 1 through somewhere in the 200s. In the assignment of classification, a score of 1 indicates a need for improvement, 2 is a rating of good, 3 is a great classification, and 4 is excellent.

AQuESTT has six pillars that are represented within the overall classification. Those pillars are: 1) positive partnerships, relationships, student success, 2) transitions, 3) educational opportunities and access, 4) college and career ready, 5) assessment, and 6) educator effectiveness. The information gathered is through NeSA assessments, school characteristics, and administrator surveys.

While as a school district, we held a public celebration for our achievements and improvements on the NeSA from last spring, we are equally excited about our classification as a school district. The Tekamah-Herman Schools was assigned a classification of 3 (great) when considering all tenets of the AQuESTT system. In addition to receiving a great classification as a district, the high school was assigned a rating of 4 (excellent), of which we are extremely proud.

The AQuESTT system does not replace the continuous improvement cycle that we have used in the past. The data gleaned from AQuESTT is intended to support that process and help districts focus on areas of need, which we will continue to do. The explanation of AQuESTT is brief and probably confusing, as it takes time to become familiar with the system. More information is available online at aquest.com. Thank you for your continued support of the students and staff at Tekamah-Herman Schools.

Brandon Lavaley, Tekamah-Herman Superintendent