Adequate Yearly Progress

WASHINGTON COUNTY - The state Department of Education plans to change the way it reports results for adequate yearly progress after Washington County Public Schools officials disputed how one category appeared to affect the overall results for high schools. To meet the adequate yearly progress benchmark, schools must achieve established objectives that put them on track to meet 100 percent proficiency standards in reading and math by 2014. Those standards were established under federal No Child Left Behind legislation.

julieg@herald-mail.com WASHINGTON COUNTY - Similar to Eastern Elementary School's teacher restructuring more than a year ago, teachers at Bester Elementary School and math and English teachers at South Hagerstown High School will need to reapply to work at those schools in an effort to improve students' academic performances, Washington County Public Schools officials said Thursday. The changes, which school system administrators are calling "School Improvement Initiatives," would take effect for the next school year, according to a Washington County Public Schools news release.

pepperb@herald-mail.com At the Washington County Board of Education meeting Tuesday night, Schools Superintendent Elizabeth Morgan gave a "State of the Schools" address, during which she and school officials highlighted the school system's recent achievements and goals to be met under its Master Plan. Morgan said Washington County Public Schools is ranked first in Maryland for middle school attendance, is ranked third in the state for attendance for elementary schools and has achieved the lowest dropout rate, at 2.19 percent, in the system's recorded history.

scottb@herald-mail.com Although Washington County Public Schools showed improvement on the Maryland School Assessment, so did all of the other 23 school systems in the state, according to results published on the Internet. As a result, the Washington County school system's ranking dropped in some categories, Robert Brown, coordinator of testing and accountability for the school system, said Monday. The percentage of Washington County students who met levels considered proficient or advanced as opposed to those classified as basic increased in each category in the 2003-04 school year compared to the 2002-03 school year.

WASHINGTON COUNTY scottb@herald-mail.com Washington County Public Schools students performed better on the Maryland School Assessment during the just-completed school year than in the previous school year in every tested grade level, according to results released Tuesday. "Needless to say, I'm very pleased with the scores," Washington County Board of Education President Edward Forrest said. "The scores are but one kind of indicator that our kids are learning at higher and higher levels," Schools Superintendent Elizabeth Morgan said.

WAYNESBORO, Pa. - Pennsylvania's annual report card for public schools released Thursday shows Chambersburg Area School District climbing out of a troublesome status, while the Waynesboro Area School District was one of six districts placed in "warning status" by the state Department of Education. Waynesboro's failure to meet adequate yearly progress standards, a component of the federal No Child Left Behind Act, primarily comes from what the state sees as a 10 percent drop in the graduation rate, Superintendent Barry Dallara said.

Waynesboro Area School District students are performing well on statewide standardized tests in math and reading, principals told the school board Tuesday. Elementary school principals talked to the school board about student achievement Tuesday. Last month, Waynesboro Area Senior High School Principal Christopher Dennis offered a similar report.    Pennsylvania schools are asked to make “adequate yearly progress,” a classification aligned with the federal No Child Left Behind initiative.

WAYNESBORO, Pa. -- All Franklin County school districts met 2008-09's Adequate Yearly Progress, a measurement in Pennsylvania that reflects standardized test scores, graduation rates and attendance. The Pennsylvania Department of Education released Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) information to the public and media on Thursday. District officials received advance information this summer. The Chambersburg Area, Fannett-Metal, Greencastle-Antrim, Tuscarora and Waynesboro Area school districts all met AYP on a district level.

McCONNELLSBURG, Pa. -- Two Fulton County school districts made such strong improvements on their standardized test scores that they received recognition from Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell in August. Southern Fulton and Central Fulton school districts sent students and staff members to the state capitol, where they stood behind Rendell and comedian/actor Bill Cosby during a press conference. Southern Fulton ranked third and Central Fulton ranked 15th for the progress they made between 2002 and 2009.

WASHINGTON COUNTY -- Twenty-six of Washington County's 32 public elementary and middle schools met proficiency standards this year, the school system said Tuesday, when 2010 Maryland School Assessment results were released. Three elementary schools -- Bester, Williamsport and Winter Street -- and three middle schools -- Northern, Springfield and Western Heights -- did not meet proficiency standards, the school system said in a press release. Last year, every public elementary and middle school in the school system met minimum proficiency levels, known as Adequate Yearly Progress, or AYP. Adequate Yearly Progress is based on the percentage of students who score at or above the proficiency level on Maryland School Assessment tests.