BY MAGGIE MCGONAGLE (’15)

The high school has won the Soar award for the fourth year in a row. 

The honor was awarded by Battelle for Kids. Battelle’s main focus is to watch the correlation of results from students over time. Not only does it focus on scores, but also the collaboration between student and teacher.

The company has created end of course exams or EOC’s over the last decade. They focus on growth data rather than achievement data. Achievement data is based on a minimum expectation. The drawback about this is that everyone must hit the same success level no matter what their skills are. Because of this the company now focuses on growth data which looks at a years’ worth of growth on an individual basis.

“The way that the students and teachers work together to succeed is very impressive,” Principal Matt Durst said. “We exceeded by a lot.”

Not only should credit be given to the teachers for attaining this award, but students, too.

“The students must take what the teacher is saying and apply themselves,” Durst said.

Battelle uses a color scale to show progress. Yellow means ok and green means good. Students are tested by indicators (subjects) including Chemistry, Algebra 2, English, etc. No classes that have used EOC’s at Granville high school have been below expected.

“Granville has always done well, but this is just an honor,” Durst said.