Facing tougher requirements, the number of Georgia public schools placed on a Needs Improvement list set under the No Child Left Behind Act rose by 24 percent in 2011.
Sixty-three percent of Georgia school districts achieved student performance goals, down from 71 percent the previous year.
The list of schools designated as Needs Improvement -- campuses that have failed to meet the federal Adequate Yearly Progress goals for two consecutive years -- must offer free tutoring to students and offer the option of transfer to higher-performing schools. This year, the list grew by 74 schools, to a total of 379.
State officials attributed the setbacks to increasing pass rates and a new math test.
In metro Atlanta, DeKalb County Schools, with nearly 30, had the highest number of schools on the list released by the state Thursday. Results for Atlanta Public Schools, however, will not be released for several weeks, state officials said, as the state examines the district’s scores over the years in the wake of the cheating scandal.
Trent Arnold, DeKalb's executive director of assessment and accountability, said while the number of high schools on the Needs Improvement list grew, the number that didn't make AYP remained static. But he said lower-level schools in the district "struggled" and fell short of goals. Arnold attributes the growing failure to increasingly tough standards that, in two years, will label a school as a failure if any student doesn't meet the goals.
“It’s going to get more and more difficult,” Arnold said. “Please don’t take that as an excuse. The basic concept is no child should be left behind, and no one can argue with that.”
But he said excelling on the tests is a challenge for a student who is still learning English or is facing trouble at home. “We have students who are struggling with where they are going to get their next meal," Arnold said. "They may not be worried about getting every question on the test right.”
Georgia School Superintendent John Barge said the declines statewide are no surprise because the number of students having to pass state exams rose, making it more difficult for some schools to meet standards even though they have seen improvement. The No Child Left Behind Act requires that 100 percent of schools in each state meet AYP by 2013-2014. Several education leaders say that goal is unrealistic and are pushing to change it.
“The closer you get to 2014, the rate of increase that schools have to improve by is significant,” Barge said. “We expected a leveling off.’’
Thirty-one Georgia school districts saw 100 percent of their students meet progress goals -- one more than last year.
To determine whether a school makes AYP, the state uses a combination of standardized test scores, graduation rates, attendance figures and other factors. In addition to schoolwide performance, the scores of select subgroups, including minorities, low-income children, students with disabilities and those still learning English, also are weighed. An entire school can fail if just one group falls short.
The percentage of elementary schools achieving AYP dropped from 84.5 percent in 2010 to about 76 percent in 2011. In middle schools, the percentage of campuses achieving their goals fell from 67 percent to 56.4 percent. High schools dropped from 33.2 to nearly 30 percent.
Only about 67 percent of schools met requirements in reading, English and math -- down 8 percent from 2010.
Twenty-five schools that were on the Needs Improvement list in 2010 made progress goals in 2011. Sixteen improving schools fell off the list, including Clayton County's Pointe South Middle School.
Berkmar Middle in Gwinnett County also made AYP in 2011 after failing to meet goals in 2010. Principal Kenney Wells said the school focused on student needs and provided struggling kids with tutoring. “We monitored them," he said, "and were assured that they were making progress."
About 17.5 percent of all campuses were classified as Needs Improvement, compared with 15.4 percent last year.
The number of schools making AYP could change in September as summer school graduations and test scores are calculated toward district marks, Barge said.
“Over 50 percent of the students who participated in the state’s remedial program for math passed the retest of the Georgia High School Graduation test," he said. "The numbers will only go up for systems.”
Some schools only missed making AYP in one category. Three schools failed to make it because of their test participation rate. Sixty-five failed because of their graduation rate, more than twice as many as in 2010.
The 2011 average high school graduation rate was 79.5 percent, compared with 79.9 percent in 2010. The state's graduation rate will likely decline when the state recalculates it later using a method more widely accepted nationally. The new method will track the rate of ninth-graders who graduate in four years.
While AYP status is important to meeting federal mandates, Barge said it only offers a snapshot of a school's effectiveness. The state is submitting a new proposal to the U.S. Department of Education that would allow Georgia to implement a new student progress accountability system. If approved, the College and Career Ready Performance Index would replace the AYP report and consider several other indicators to determine whether a school is meeting the needs of its students
“It is so important that we look at multiple indicators,” Barge said. “There is some good work being done.”
Staff writer Ty Tagami contributed to this article.
About the Author
