Quick Poll

If a Tornado Warning was issued for Coweta, have you developed a storm plan and 'safe place' in your house in case it strikes?

Blogs

Angela McRae

Tea with friends

Deberah Williams

Everyday Finesse

Lorrie Lynch

Who's News

Published Friday, July 25, 2008 in Education

Georgia falls behind on No Child measurements

BY DORIE TURNER

ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER

ATLANTA (AP) -- The number of Georgia public schools meeting federal No Child Left Behind requirements plummeted this year after thousands of students failed state math tests.

Data released by the Georgia Department of Education on Friday show just 69 percent of schools made "adequate yearly progress," compared to about 82 percent last year. It's the lowest AYP rate for Georgia in four years.

State schools Superintendent Kathy Cox said she expected the results because of the state's tougher math curriculum, more rigorous tests and heightened requirements for high school students.

"We had for many years just a curriculum that was not adequately preparing kids. We were not exposing our kids the level that would have our kids be successful not only on our state test, but also on national assessments," Cox said Friday morning. "This is the reality. It just shows me there is more work to be done."

AYP is measured based on math and reading test scores, attendance, graduation rates among other factors. The No Child Left Behind law was adopted in 2002 and aims for all U.S. students to perform math and reading on grade level by 2014.

Schools that miss AYP two years in a row are put on the "needs improvement" list. Those schools must offer extra tutoring for struggling students and give parents the option to send their children to another, higher-performing school.

Schools on the list for several years in a row face more severe sanctions, like having to replace teachers and enter into a contract with the state on improving performance. The state has 2,152 public schools.

The number on the "needs improvement" list increased by 17 to 340, even though 37 schools were removed after making AYP two years in a row. Another 69 schools on the list made AYP for the first time, which means they will be off it if they hit benchmarks again.

"It's obviously disappointing," said Leslie Cushman, president of the Georgia PTA. "The parents, teachers and schools systems are going to have to get tougher and address the issue for a resolution that's going to benefit the children."

Despite nearly 50,000 eighth-graders, or 40 percent, failing the math Criterion-Referenced Competency Tests this year, the rate of middle schools making AYP didn't change at 65 percent. But the percentage of elementary schools passing muster fell from 95 percent to 76 percent, mostly because of math test scores.

The high school performance slipped from 56 percent to 48 percent. Under federal requirements, a larger number of high school students must meet standards this year for a school to make AYP.

There is a bright spot in the state's data - the high school graduation rate rose from 72 to 74 percent. That's up from the 65 percent of high school students who received diplomas in 2004.

The state attributes much of that increase to graduation coaches placed in middle and high schools over the last two years to help struggling students.

---

On the Net:

Georgia Department of Education: doe.k12.ga.us/

© 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Comment On This Story

Times-Herald.com does not necessarily agree with the comments posted below. Responsibility of comments rests solely with the writer. Comments posted in ALL CAPS will be deleted.

Submission of a comment does not guarantee publication. Comments will be posted by a moderator after being scanned for abusive language, relevance, etc. See our Comments FAQ for more details.