A new report from the Wyoming Department of Education on school performance ratings shows over half of state schools meeting or exceeding expectations.

State Superintendent Jillian Balow says the report is the best ever for the state as far as the number of schools meeting the standards, adding the "improvements are something to be very proud of."

She says 21 more state schools out of a total of 334 schools in the report met or exceeded the guidelines in the new report compared to last year.

Under the state's Accountability In Education Act, schools serving grades 3-8 are rated on achievement, growth and equity indicators. For high schools such factors as graduation rates, ninth grade credits earned and eligibility for the Hathaway Scholarship program are included in the evaluation.

Wyoming's 21 alternative high schools are not included in the report, and an accountability model for those schools will be launched next school year.

School performance ratings are available here.

Adequate Yearly Progress, which was used to judge school performance under the federal No Child Left Behind [NCLB] Act, does not exist under the Every Student Succeeds Act [ESSA] which replaced it.

State officials say once Wyoming has made the transition to ESSA the state will use it's state accountability model to measure school performance for both the state and federal governments.

More From Laramie Live