Barrington schools have another reason to celebrate this holiday season.

Late last week, the Rhode Island Department of Education released a report that gave all six Barrington Public Schools the highest possible ranking: five stars.

The school accountability report included information such as graduation rates, standardized test results and the per pupil expenditure for the district. The Rhode Island Department of Education selected only 14 schools statewide to earn the five-star ranking.

“Barrington Public Schools would not be able to reach a high level of excellence without the hard work of our educators, staff and students supported by the community of Barrington,” wrote Barrington Superintendent of Schools Michael Messore, in a press release. “We should be proud of how the BPS community works together to educate and support our students.”

Barrington High School was the only high school in Rhode Island to earn a five-star ranking, and Barrington Middle School was one of only two middle schools statewide to achieve the distinction. 

According to the state, the star-rating system summarizes overall school performance. Schools must perform well across all measures to earn a high star rating.

The measures are broken down into three categories: college and career readiness, student success, and academic performance.

Within academic performance are four sub-groups: achievement (illustrates how students perform on standardized tests); growth (recognizes student progress in math and English language arts); English language proficiency (prioritizes support for English learners); and science (expands performance measures to include science).

The student success is determined through student absenteeism, teacher absenteeism, suspension rates, and the number of students who exceed expectations on standardized testing. 

The college and career readiness is viewed within three areas: graduation rates, graduate proficiency (measures of how well graduates performed on standardized tests), and post secondary success (prioritizes college credits and industry-recognized credentials from career education programs).

The school accountability report is required under federal law.