N.C. schools report improved AYP results

Raleigh, N.C. — The preliminary results are in, and several North Carolina school districts reported more schools making Adequate Yearly Progress this year compared with last year.

Some of the gains are due to the fact that, for the first time, re-tests were allowed to be included in the final percentages.

The results will be not be made official until the State Board of Education approves them on Aug. 6.

In the Wake County Public School System, 98 of 156 schools made AYP, compared with 37 of 152 schools last year.

The number of Durham Public Schools making AYP jumped from seven to 22.

Fifteen of 17 schools in the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools district made AYP this year, which is an improvement over last year when 10 schools met AYP. As a district, the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools met 16 of 18, or 88.9 percent, of the performance standards.

Cumberland County Schools "showed a dramatic increase" in the percentage of schools making AYP, according to school officials. Sixty-two out of 86 schools, or 72.1 percent, made AYP.

In Johnston County, 34 out of 40 schools, or 85 percent, made AYP.

Wayne County Public Schools met 98.2 percent of its total target-goals, a nearly 10 percent increase from the year before. In total, WCPS had 28 of 32 schools make AYP.

Halifax County Schools made "significant improvements" with six of the county’s 14 schools meeting AYP, according to Superintendent Geraldine Middleton.

More school districts are expected to release their results later today.

To make AYP, a school must meet 100 percent of its No Child Left Behind target goals. NCLB divides students into 10 subgroups:

School as a whole (all students)
White
Black
Hispanic
Native American
Asian
Multiracial
Economically disadvantaged students (students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch)
Limited English proficient students
Students with disabilities

Each subgroup must have at least 40 students. To make AYP, each subgroup in the tested grades must meet proficiency targets in reading/language arts and math. School attendance and graduation rates are also factored into AYP. The number of target-goals at an individual school is determined by the number of subgroups at that school.

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Zat - The superintendents of the many of the counties were the ones pushing for the allowance of the retest scores. Although it varies from year to year on how many students do pass the retest, the superintendents still felt that the retest needed to be counted. Last year several of the supers - my super included - sat down and met with the board and presented their reasoning for doing so.

The result was a compromise. The retest would count toward the performance score that schools get (percentage passing each year) but it would not count in the growth composite(percentage of students that grew from one grade level to the next)which is what is used to give the teachers the ABC Bonus money in the past.

But who knows why they actually changed their minds... could have been some hidden agenda on their part... :)

teach4ever67
July 21, 2009 7:47 p.m.

Zat - I agree with whomever stated that comparing this year's scores with last year's is apples to oranges for a couple of reasons. We have two variables added to the equation this year. The first is the fact that we are only one year out from when we renormed the scores and raised the percentage needed to be a Level 3. The other of course is the retest being added to the mix. As I have stated before, we didn't see a huge difference in our scores changing. It really depended upon how close the kids had been to passing the first time around.

Ironically, inside the system we see the flunctuations each year. There is no science to the testing and scoring, and personally I wish the system would quit putting so much weight on these tests. Let teachers get back to just teaching what the kids need to know... that is how we came through school and most of us turned out pretty intelligent and successful.

The releasign of the test scores just allow for too much of the blame game..

teach4ever67
July 21, 2009 7:39 p.m.

I thought to add a final point about the State’s timing in regard to changing how scores are reported. Many schools, after failing up to six successive years to meet AYP, are on the verge of NCLB’s restructuring. Rather than investigate NC’s circumvention of federal guidelines by generating artificial gains, some local news agencies prefer to create the illusion that progress is being made and that there is no reason to question the veracity of the positive change. The only thing more reprehensible than the State’s subterfuge is the press’ deliberate indifference.

Zat
July 21, 2009 7:28 p.m.

the only way our education system will EVER improve..is when we make parents ACCOUNTABLE For the kids they send to school. When we " OUR GOVERMENT" STOPS PAying kids to have kids.. __we;re paying -stupids to have MORE stupids???- for the teachers to teach. .. and allow PRAYER Back in school. WE NEED ALL WE can get .. because it is soooo close to the end of the world... it scares me..!! But I am HEAVEN BOUND!!

gratefultoGOD
July 21, 2009 7:19 p.m.

Clickclackity,

The kids do take practice EOGs. They take them all throughout the year.

kmb0694
July 21, 2009 6:11 p.m.