GREEN RIVER — Sweetwater County School District No. 2 says state-level data discrepancies artificially lowered Green River High School’s performance rating from Meeting Expectations last year to Partially Meeting Expectations for 2025-26. 

According to a statement from Superintendent Dr. Scott Cooper, the district is working with the Wyoming Department of Education to audit and correct the records. 

Cooper said GRHS’s initial rating from the state was Partially Meeting Expectations. He said the rating was driven primarily by growth metrics and post-secondary readiness indicators. Cooper said the district’s administration reviewed the raw data and found discrepancies in a couple of key areas that they believe dropped the school just below the Meeting Expectations threshold.

“That being said, being anywhere near that boundary line signals that we have important work to do, and we are meeting that challenge head-on,” Cooper said. 

Cooper said to meet and elevate academic achievement across GRHS, several steps have been taken this year. GRHS has hired new administrative leadership and added one dedicated Instructional Facilitator position at GRHS and two at Lincoln Middle School.  A new work-based-learning instructor position was also created at GRHS. 

“Math growth across several grade bands remains a primary focus district-wide,” Cooper said. “We are providing targeted professional development, strengthening our Professional Learning Communities (PLCs), and protecting instructional time so our master teachers can deliver uninterrupted, high-quality instruction.”

The district is also in talks with the University of Wyoming to deliver specialized math professional learning this winter, Cooper said.

Cooper said the results of the WY-TOPP test arrived late because the state switched assessment vendors. Receiving spring data in the first quarter of the new school year limits its use for real-time instructional changes, he said.

“It is essentially looking in the rearview mirror at last year’s snapshot,” Cooper said. “However, these metrics still offer valuable insights into our ongoing successes and areas where we are focusing our resources.”

Elsewhere in the district, Washington Elementary School and Expedition Academy High School earned the state’s highest rating of Exceeding Expectations. Monroe, Truman and Harrison elementary schools and LMS earned Meeting Expectations. 

Cooper said that the district’s rural schools continue to perform exceptionally well, but due to the small size of the schools, state reporting privacy standards prevent public data releases. He said rural educators and students still deserve tremendous credit for their hard work. 

“Overall, I am deeply proud of our students, teachers, support staff, administrators, and Board of Trustees,” Cooper said. “SWCSD # 2 remains fully committed to fostering safe, rigorous, and supportive learning environments where every student in Green River can thrive.”