The preliminary results for Adequate Yearly Program are out and area schools once again faired well.
Millennium Charter Academy met all nine of its target goals to meet AYP once again. The school has met AYP every year since its inception.
“It’s exciting that we have been able to do that. We’re proud of that and we’re glad for that,” said Headmaster Kirby McCrary. “I also would like to think that people know that’s just one measure of a school’s success. They also need to look at the academic mission, the attention to character, the quality of the teachers, the leadership and the expectations. (AYP) is only a small piece of what makes a good school.”
As a district, Mount Airy City Schools made AYP by meeting 42 of 42 target goals. In looking at the individual schools, two of the tested schools met AYP while one did not.
B.H. Tharrington Primary School students are not included in the AYP measure meaning the school receives the same status as J.J. Jones Intermediate School. Jones Intermediate did not make AYP this year, meeting 20 of 21 target goals. According to Superintendent Dr. Darrin Hartness, the one target goal the school did not meet pertains to students with disabilities in math.
Mount Airy High School did meet AYP, meeting nine of nine target goals, as did Mount Airy Middle School, which met 25 of 25 target goals. Of the 55 target goals for schools, the system met 54, meaning it was 98.2 percent proficient.
“AYP is an all-or-nothing model. Every goal has to be met for schools to make AYP. It is my hope that when federal guidelines are revised, there will be a focus on academic growth rather than on an all-or-nothing approach,” said Hartness. “I’m very proud of the performance of our students and the dedication of our teachers. While our students were extremely successful according to these federal measures, we strive to be even better in 2010-11.”
Surry County Schools met 270 of 275 target goals. Fourteen of the 17 county schools met AYP for the 2009-10 school year including Cedar Ridge Elementary, Central Middle, Copeland Elementary, Dobson Elementary, Flat Rock Elementary, Franklin Elementary, Gentry Middle, Meadowview Middle, Mountain Park Elementary, Pilot Mountain Middle, Shoals Elementary, Surry Early College High School of Design, Westfield Elementary and White Plains Elementary schools.
East Surry High School met 12 of 13 target goals. North Surry High School met 11 of 13 target goals, and Surry Central High School met 15 of 17 target goals.
“Students, parents and educators have worked hard to meet the challenge of the federal No Child Left Behind legislation, and we are very proud of the success of each of our schools,” said Superintendent Dr. Ashley Hinson. “We will continue to focus on the needs of each child as we strive to achieve future standards and prepare students for success in the 21st Century.”
One school in the Elkin City School System met AYP this year. Elkin Elementary School met 19 of 19 target goals. Elkin High School met nine of 11 target goals meaning it did not make AYP. Elkin Middle School met 12 of 13 goals and did not make AYP.
AYP is the federal measure of progress that is the central component to the No Child Left Behind education legislation signed into law in January 2002. The legislation requires that all students in grades three through eight and grade 10 be tested in reading and mathematics each year.
Each year, the N.C. Department of Public Instruction sets goals for each individual school which indicate the percentage of students performing at grade level or better as measured by the End of Grade tests. In order for a school to make AYP, every goal has to be met. If only one goal is not met, the school does not make AYP. AYP also uses the attendance rate for students in grades three through eight and the graduation rate for students in grades nine through 12 as academic indicators for success.
Not only is AYP a goal for each school overall, but also for each subgroup of students in the schools. Subgroups could include Asian/Pacific Islander, Black, Hispanic, Native American, Multiracial, White, Limited English Proficient, students with disabilities and economically disadvantaged students. In order for a school to have a target goal around one of these subgroups, there have to be at least 40 students in that subgroup in the school. If a school has four subgroups of students numbering at least 40 students each, each of those four groups must meet its AYP goal in order for the school to be successful under this federal law.
By 2013-14, No Child Left Behind requires that North Carolina’s goal is for 100 percent of all students to be proficient on state reading and mathematics assessments. For the 2009-10 school year, the state’s goals for students in grades three through eight were for 43.2 percent to be proficient in reading and 77.2 percent to be proficient in math. For 10th graders, the goals were for 38.5 percent to be proficient in reading and 68.4 percent in mathematics.
Title I schools in the state face additional hardships if they do not meet AYP. Title I schools, which exist in every school district in the state, are those which receive federal funds designed to serve students who are economically disadvantaged. If a Title I school does not meet AYP for two or more consecutive years in the same subject area, it faces sanctions under federal law including providing a school choice for parents, supplemental educational services and school reorganization. No schools in Surry County will see any federal sanctions under this category.
AYP is one component of the ABCs of Public Education, the primary school improvement program for North Carolina. The full report, which will include the official results for AYP, will be presented to the state board of education and released to the public on Aug. 5.
The Mount Airy News
Contact Morgan Wall at mwall@mtairynews.com or 719-1929.
