By Fox23.com News Staff
OKLAHOMA CITY — The Oklahoma State Department of Education (OSDE) announced 121 Oklahoma schools were able to exit their designation status as schools in need of Support and Improvement.
The criteria designating a school as needing Support and Improvement are outlined in Oklahoma’s Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA).
Under ESSA, schools are able to exit their designation in three various ways:
1. School sites are automatically designated as needing support and improvement if they’re performing in the lowest 5% of Oklahoma schools. If the school improves their student performance to the point it no longer qualifies in the lowest 5% of Oklahoma schools, the school will then exit its designation status.
2. A site can be designated as needing support and improvement because its graduation rates are below 67%. If graduation rates rise to or above 67%, the school can exit its designation status.
3. A site can be designated because of a lack of improvement in a chronically low-performing student group. If that low performing student group begins performing above similar groups in Oklahoma’s bottom 5% of schools, that school can then exit its designation status.
In Cohort 2, 121 schools have met the exit criteria based on data from the 2025 Report Card.
In addition, 20 sites with F grades have voluntarily began working with School Support and have raised their grades above an F.
OSDE explained, “The OSDE Office of School Support has been partnering with sites by developing positive on-site relationships that foster problem-solving, leadership development, data inquiry and implementation of the Oklahoma Standards. Sites have been participating in Networked Improvement Communities that have allowed them to collaborate with peers from across the state sharing best practice and providing the opportunity to solve problems of practice.”
All schools that have just exited their designation status must create a sustainability plan outlining how they plan to continue improving and will continue to be able to receive OSDE support when requested.
