Reading Scores keep SOARING at Crook County Christian School!

With public schools continuing to struggle, and Oregon producing some of the lowest scores in the nation, Crook County Christian School stands out as a bright spot with student reading scores continuing to soar! After a fresh round of benchmarking, we’re pleased to report that CCCS students are scoring above the 71st percentile in the nation in reading scores and that number continues to climb!

Revolutionizing the Education Landscape in Prineville & Crook County

Just 2.5 years into replanting Crook County Christian School, we’ve become so much more than just an alternative to public education. We’re seeing tremendous results in our students’ reading scores relative to their peers, and the gains keep coming! While Oregon’s public schools continue to lose ground in ELA (English Language Arts) proficiency, we’re consistently seeing students make significant gains in their scores. According to principal Aaron Mapes:

Most students transferring into us from other schools (public, private, homeschooling) are testing significantly behind in their core ELA & Math skills and scores. It is common during entrance testing to see new students 1-2 years behind grade level. That has been a challenge for us to take on as a small school, but we’re seeing tremendous success as we focus on fundamentals and helping students become confident readers. It’s not uncommon in our testing this year to see kids making massive jumps of 1-3 grade levels in reading.

-Aaron Mapes, Principal CCCS

In our most recent benchmark testing, we’ve seen the following positive trends in student reading scores and outcomes;

1. All of our current kindergarten students are meeting reading expectations and are on track to meet educational goals.
2. While we’ve just started assessing 1st grade students, every student tested so far has been at or above grade level. Several of these students are testing as high as 3rd-4th grade reading equivalency.
3. 81% of 2nd – 4th grade students are on pace to meet state standards and majority are testing above grade level in reading.
4. Average increase of 2.25 GLE (Grade Level Equivalency) across 5th grade students.

Countering the Narrative and Trends Locally & Nationally

With the latest round of severely declining and alarming test scores in public schools, it has been popular for states and activists to continue to blame COVID for low student outcomes. While the pandemic had a tremendous impact in disrupting learning and development for students nationwide, Crook County Christian School is showing we can’t continue to blame the pandemic for poor student outcomes and performance four years removed. Many systemic issues have been dragging down public school scores for decades. COVID no longer serves as the primary factor, so much as it was a catalyst, to amplify those issues and factors.

Getting the Attention of Parents in Other Communities

With our continued success, and the ability to produce these results at a savings of 30-60% over other private schools in Central Oregon, we have new enrollments this year from Redmond and surrounding communities that are seeing the results. This is a huge reversal from primarily watching students leave Crook County to attend private schools in Redmond or Bend, and we’re thrilled to see that change as it speaks volumes for the quality of education now available for our community. We expect this trend to continue as parents realize they don’t have to pay $8,000 – $10,000+ per year to get an excellent private education.

Our Commitment to the Families of Crook County

When we replanted Crook County Christian School, we consulted with our founders and made a key decision and commitment to return to the original founding vision and mission. Not only have we accomplished that, but we have our sights set on nothing less than becoming the best Christian school in our region. This passion drives every decision, program and policy we make. We’ve returned to a spirit of excellence, we’re continuing to raise the bar, and we’re committed to nothing less than the best possible spiritual and academic education for the families of Crook County. Though we’ve seen tremendous results so far, we’re not satisfied with current successes. As our community continues to grow, we want all new and existing families to have access to nothing less than the best for their kids.

Creating a Brighter Future for Students in Crook County & Beyond

In spite of national trends, the future for students of Crook County Christian School continues to look brighter and brighter with each passing year! We’re already making a tremendous and measurable impact, and it’s exciting to think we’re just getting started! With each new year, we’re building on these foundations to bring something revolutionary to Crook County that continues to give families options they’ve never had access to before. We want to see our community thrive, and we’re committed to scaling the excellence of what we’re doing so as many families as possible can have access to the incredible things God is accomplishing here!

Interested in Learning More About How Your Student(s) Could Thrive at CCCS?

We would love to setup a personalized tour to show you our amazing campus, answer any questions you may have, and discuss how your students might be able to benefit and thrive here at Crook County Christian School. We look forward to speaking with you!

p: 541-241-855
e: jodi@crookcountychristian.com
w: www.crookcountychristian.com/tour