The Guthrie Center School Improvement Advisory Committee recently reviewed the credentialing results of 7th through 11th graders in the district for the 2012-13 school year.

Guthrie Center schools denote a ‘fully credentialed’ student as one who meets the criteria for proficiency in specific subject areas.  The subject areas reviewed were reading, math, language arts and science.

For grades 7-11 collectively, 76% of students were fully credentialed in reading, 73% in math, 73% in language arts and 77% in science.

The schools also look at a student’s employability credentials. Employability takes into account a student’s attendance, tardiness, ability to work with peers and work completion.  51% of students grades 7 through 11 were deemed fully credentialed.

Superintendent Steve Smith says the reason the employability credentials were lower was due to student absences.  He says students are allowed 10 days of absences all year, and if a student goes over that mark, they will not be termed fully credentialed.

Smith says looking at employability credentials is important for students as they prepare for successful futures beyond high school.