New test cited in AYP gains

Elementary and middle schools fared better than high schools in meeting federal Adequate Yearly Progress targets, but the improvement mostly can be attributed to a change in the calculation on how schools meet those goals, according to results released by the state Department of Education today.

South Carolina replaced the PACT exam with a new standardized test, the PASS exam, last year. The previous PACT exam had a four-level scoring system -- below basic, basic, proficient and advanced -- and students had to score proficient to make AYP. When lawmakers replaced PACT with PASS, they moved to a three-level scoring system -- not met, met and exemplary -- and required students to score at the met level to meet AYP. That means more students could meet AYP because the standard for doing so was lower.

"There is no way to tell how much of the improvement is due to changes in the way AYP is computed versus any real gain in student achievement," said Jon Butzon, chairman of the Charleston Education Network, an education advocacy group. "Just the giant size of the jump, far bigger than in any previous year, suggests strongly that it is way more of the former than the latter."

State Superintendent of Education Jim Rex said the previous standard of proficient set the bar higher for Palmetto State students than those in other states, which meant students' weaknesses were exaggerated.

"The Legislature decided, I think rightly so, to level the playing field in terms of the federal accountability report so that our state system doesn't put us at a disadvantage with other states," he said. "I do not see this as lowering the standard. Our academic standards are still the same. ..."

The federal law holds schools and districts accountable for student performance in a number of subcategories that include ethnicity, special education, poverty and those with limited ability to speak English. To make AYP, every subgroup must perform to a certain standard, and if even one subgroup doesn't, the whole school fails to make AYP. Most schools have to meet performance goals in 17 or 21 areas, and the standards for AYP rise incrementally until all students must score at the met level on math and English tests by 2014.

The results released today are the first from the new PASS exam. None of the state's school districts made AYP, and all of the local districts fell short in meeting AYP for its students with disabilities. In Berkeley and Dorchester 2, that was the only area in which the districts failed to meet AYP.

Berkeley schools Superintendent Anthony Parker said, "if there is a flaw in No Child Left Behind, it centers on the issue of the exceptional child."

Parker said he and many other superintendents across the country think the issue should be addressed when the law is reauthorized. The district has no problem being accountable for academic growth among its disabled students, he said, "but it's unreasonable to hold them to the same standards as other students."

No high schools in Berkeley, Dorchester 2 or Dorchester 4 school districts met AYP. The standards to meet AYP were raised for those students this year, and Dorchester 4 Superintendent Jerry Montjoy said when so many high schools fail to meet goals, it raises the question: "Is this an appropriate assessment of what we're doing?" In Berkeley, most high schools improved from last year, Parker said, just not enough to reach the new level.

In Charleston, School Superintendent Nancy McGinley was excited about the substantial increase from last year in the number of schools meeting AYP, from 21 to more than 50 this year, and the fact that the district as a whole came closer to making AYP. The district missed federal benchmarks in four areas: math among students who are disabled, black or poor, and in English among disabled students. She hopes the new math curriculum and approach being implemented in pre-kindergarten through sixth grade classes will lead to better math scores.

Rural Dorchester District 4 failed to meet all of its AYP targets for the fifth consecutive year. This year, the district's disabled students did not meet goals in English or math. And, both black and low-income students failed to meet math goals. Montjoy said the district will offer more math tutoring for students after school and during the school day. Although two of the district's four middle and elementary schools didn't meet AYP, they came closer than they did the previous year, he said.

School Actions

Adequate Yearly Progress is the target that schools must meet under the federal No Child Left Behind law. Districts and high-poverty schools that fail to meet AYP face consequences.

High-poverty schools may have to give students the option of transferring to a higher-performing school or offering tutoring.

Berkeley, Charleston and Dorchester 4 are in corrective action, having missed AYP for at least four years, and must implement improvement plans. Dorchester 2 stayed in the same status as last year because it made progress in the area needing improvement.

These schools missed AYP for at least six years. They face the most serious consequences and must implement a restructuring plan:

Berkeley: Berkeley Intermediate; College Park Elementary; Devon Forest Elementary; H.E. Bonner Elementary; St. Stephen Middle; and Whitesville Elementary.

Charleston: Alice Birney Middle; Baptist Hill High; Burke High; Morningside Middle; and North Charleston High.

Dorchester 2: None

Dorchester 4: St. George Middle and Williams Memorial Elementary.