County School System as a Whole Meets Adequate Yearly Progress Benchmarks

The Adequate Yearly Progress Report has been released by the state Department of Education and the Barrow County School System as a whole met all academic benchmarks.

The state requires that 75.7 percent of students meet or exceed standards in Math on the administered annually and that 80 percent of students meet or exceed standards in reading/English language arts.

In Barrow, 85.8 percent of students met or exceeded standards in mathematics and 92.7 percent met or exceeded standards in reading/English language arts.

The state also requires that 76 percent of students meet or exceed standards on the Georgia High School Graduation Test in mathematics and that 90.8 percent of students meet or exceed standards in English/language arts.

In Barrow, students exceeded the goal for mathematics and met the goal for the English language arts.

Elementary schools

The report indicated that seven of the eight elementary schools met AYP based on the academic performance, attendance and the percentage of students that participated in standardized testing. did not meet AYP standards — only 70.5 percent, or 39.5 out of 56 students, of students within the disabilities subgroup met or exceeded standards in reading/English language arts while the benchmark is 80 percent.

Middle schools

did not meet AYP — only 63.1 percent, or 77 out of 122 students, within the black subgroup met or exceeded standards on the Math CRCT, while the benchmark is 75.7 percent.

did not meet AYP — 55.3 percent, or 52 out of 94 students, of students within the disabilities subgroup met or exceeded standards on the Math CRCT. The benchmark is 75.7 percent.

High schools

did not meet the established academic benchmarks in two specific areas — only 64 percent, or 32 out of 40 students, in the black subgroup met or exceeded standards in mathematics, while the benchmark is 76 percent. Additionally, 79.5 percent or 35 out of 44 students within the Hispanic subgroup met or exceeded standards in English/language arts. The benchmark is 90.8 percent.

“At WBHS, we work tirelessly to prepare our students for success beyond the walls of our school,” principal Al Darby said in a news release. “It is our goal for every student who enters our academic institution to meet all requirements for graduation. Our AYP results show improvement this year, and we will continue to work toward further improvement and ultimately success for all of our students.”

The state also sets goals for high schools related to graduation rates, which are calculated using data from the previous four years. This year, the state graduation rate goal is 85 percent and both and Winder-Barrow graduation rates for 2011 fall below the goal with 75.4 percent.

According to Barrow County Schools, the graduation rates for both schools will most likely increase once the summer graduates are added in the early fall.

Winder-Barrow and Apalachee high schools are now identified as needs improvement schools — Apalachee because the school did not meet the graduation rate for two consecutive years and Winder-Barrow because the school did not meet all academic objectives and the graduation rate for two consecutive years.

According to Barrow County Schools, both schools are in the process of revising their school improvement plans that will focus on the academic achievement of all students.

In compliance with the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, all students enrolled at Apalachee High School and Winder-Barrow High School will have the opportunity to enroll in a school that is not designated as needs improvement. This transfer option is known as “public school choice.” In Barrow County, the only public high school available for public school choice is the College and Career Preparatory Academy. Parents who wish to apply for a transfer to the CCPA for school year 2011-12 must do so no later than noon Aug. 4.

According to Barrow County Schools, the individual schools that did not meet AYP will likely see gains in this area once the CRCT retest scores are calculated and the new AYP results are released in the fall.

“I encourage everyone to consider that AYP is just one factor in determining a school’s effectiveness,” Superintendent Wanda Creel said in a news release. “It is a fallacy that Needs Improvement schools are ‘failing.’ They are not. They are simply schools that have been identified as needing to improve in one or more very specific areas.”

Creel encouraged parents and community members to explore the AYP results of Barrow County as well as other districts at www.gadoe.org.

“Without question, there is always need for further improvement and it continues to become increasingly difficult to meet AYP as the benchmarks increase,” Creel said in the release. “We accept the challenge and will move forward and take the next steps to reduce the gaps identified in these results.”