20 Panhandle schools meet AYP for five straight years

August 16, 2010|By MATTHEW UMSTEAD

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MARTINSBURG, W.Va. -- Twenty Eastern Panhandle schools have met minimum Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) standards for five consecutive years, according to assessment numbers released Monday by the West Virginia Department of Education.

Eight schools have met AYP in Berkeley County for the last five years, including Hedgesville High School, Inwood Primary School and six elementary schools.

In Jefferson County, Shepherdstown Middle School and six elementary schools have met the minimum standards for the last five years.

Both of Morgan County's public high schools -- Berkeley Springs and Paw Paw --have met AYP standards for the last five years, as well as three of the county's elementary schools.

Jefferson County's Washington High School, which opened in 2008, has met minimum AYP standards both years it has been open.

AYP is based on the percentage of students who score at or above the proficiency level.

Two schools in Berkeley County -- Orchard View Intermediate and Martinsburg High schools -- made AYP for the first time, while two others -- Berkeley Heights and Winchester Avenue elementary schools -- failed to meet proficiency standards for the first time in five years.

Given the results, Berkeley County Schools Superintendent Manny P. Arvon II said there was "room for some celebration," but "we always know we can do better."

"We're at the face of the mountain and we are going to climb ... to the top," Arvon said.

Eighteen schools -- 10 in Berkeley County, six in Jefferson County and two in Morgan County -- did not meet minimum AYP standards.

While most elementary schools met AYP, only one middle school in the Eastern Panhandle -- Shepherdstown -- made AYP this year.

The scores of special-education students have held back middle schools from meeting AYP, said Berkeley County Deputy Superintendent Frank Aliveto, who is in charge of curriculum and instruction.

"But an in-depth look at (all of the) test scores, they show a lot of improvement, I mean a lot of improvement," said Aliveto, who downplayed the significance of AYP.

While Hedgesville Middle School had some of the highest scores in the state, Aliveto said it failed to meet AYP because of special education.

Faced with new, more difficult tests and heightened scoring standards, Aliveto said fewer students scored at the "mastery" level on the West Virginia Educational Standards Test 2 (WESTEST2), but the school district overall saw improved scores in every "cell," or subgroup, in the data.

The state Department of Education announced Monday that 81 percent of the state's schools met federal requirements for progress in 2010, up from 78 percent in 2009. The numbers are based on tests of third- through 11th-grade students.

The following schools in the Eastern Panhandle have met minimum Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) standards for five consecutive years, according to assessment numbers released Monday by the West Virginia Department of Education:

Berkeley County

Bunker Hill Elementary School
Burke Street Elementary School
Hedgesville High School
Inwood Primary School
Opequon Elementary School
Rosemont Elementary School
Tuscarora Elementary School
Valley View Elementary School

Jefferson County
Blue Ridge Elementary School
Ranson Elementary School
Shepherdstown Elementary School
Shepherdstown Middle School
Shipley Elementary School
T.A. Lowery Elementary School
Wright Denny Intermediate School

Morgan County
Berkeley Springs High School
Greenwood Elementary School
Paw Paw Elementary School
Paw Paw High School
Pleasant View Elementary School

NOTE: Jefferson County's Washington High School, which opened in 2008, has met minimum AYP standards both years it has been open.

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