Maybe I’m Confused.
Annual Yearly Progress results are out for 2011-2012. You can see my story on Stafford County’s results here which explains that Annual Yearly Progress, or AYP, is the standards schools need to meet in order to be certified under No Child Left Behind.
In a recent press release regarding the Annual Yearly Progress made by Prince William County Schools, Superintendent Dr. Steven Walts said:
“In the important area of assessments, we are pleased that our efforts with students are showing results. While making AYP, as currently defined by the NCLB legislation, has become extremely difficult due to the benchmarks being moved up over time, we continue to embrace our mission of providing a world-class education to all of our students.”
Maybe I’m confused.
First, because shouldn’t benchmarks be moved up over time? The AYP requires that 86 percent of students pass the Virginia Standard of Learning reading test. Don’t we want our children to continue to improve? I don’t think that twelve percent of students being able to fail a state standard reading test is acceptable.
But, maybe I’m confused.
I understand that increasing expectations pose a challenge. However, clearly there is a problem. In the 2009-10 school year, 60 Prince William County Public Schools, and the district as a whole, made AYP. In 2010-11, 54 schools made AYP and the district as a whole did not. For 2011-12, only 20 schools in Prince William made AYP.
It was faster for me to record the schools that did than the schools that did not. Obviously the benchmarks are attainable since we have 20 schools with staff and principals that were able to get it done. The models that Prince William County has set up at its traditional schools, Porter and Pennington, seem to be especially successful as they’ve made AYP every year since 2006 while giving teachers more control over curriculum.
The declining pass rates show PWCS “continue to embrace our mission of providing a World-Class education to all of our students,” according to Walts. I don’t see it that way.
But, maybe I’m confused.
With 20 schools meeting AYP, Prince William schools has a 24 percent pass rate. When I attended Prince William County Schools, 24 percent was an F. Telling my mom that the “test was too hard” would not have saved me from a sound verbal lashing, losing my car keys, and being told that that kind of performance is unacceptable because I should have tried harder and studied longer and been more dedicated to meeting the standards and getting a passing grade. Apparently, now they think that 24 percent is a dedication to excellence. That’s not how I see it.
But, maybe I’m confused.
