More States Report AYP Results

Media reports in several states which have released reports on schools and districts' AYP results continue today.

Alabama Districts Report Mixed AYP Progress.The Tuscaloosa (AL) News (8/4, Smith) reports that 38 of the 58 West Alabama schools outside Tuscaloosa County made AYP this year, with three districts doing "particularly well: Every school in the Perry, Fayette and Pickens counties school systems made AYP, even as AYP's minimum standards rose steeply last year." However, though ever school in Pickens County made AYP, "the system as a whole failed AYP requirements."

Paper: NCLB Brought Improvements, But Should Be Improved.The Montgomery (AL) Advertiser (8/4) editorializes, "Despite its many critics, the No Child Left Behind program and its emphasis on schools making 'adequate yearly progress' have spurred significant improvements in public education" in Alabama and elsewhere, but is hitting "the 'Lake Wobegon effect.' The program needs to be modified if it is going to continue to be useful." The piece praises NCLB's mandate that all subgroups be targeted for improvements, but complains that the "steadily increasing bar leading to the requirement that all students meet standards by 2014 has been compared to public radio host Garrison Keillor's fictional Minnesota home of Lake Wobegon, a town where 'all the women are strong, all the men are good looking, and all the children are above average.'"

Little Progress Seen In Colorado Assessments.The Colorado Springs Gazette (8/4, McGraw, Iodice) reports that according to Colorado Department of Education data released Wednesday, "Thousands of Colorado students are behind in school and most are unlikely to ever catch up." The piece notes that some 100,000 Colorado students-over 20%-are not expected to become proficient in math or writing by the time they graduate.

Rising Oregon Standards Blamed For Rising Failure Rate.
KVAL-TV Eugene, OR (8/4, Adams) reports that Oregon's NCLB "test standards are going up," but "on the flip side, that means more Oregon schools are falling short of the mark - and some Lane County superintendents are frustrated." The piece notes that as the standards rose, school AYP fell from 71% to 54% over the past year.

Fewer Las Vegas Schools Make AYP.The Las Vegas Review-Journal (8/4, Milliard) reports that the number of the 363 schools in Clarke County, Nevada, that made AYP this year fell to 139, down from last year's figure of 151. The year before, 190 schools made AYP. The piece notes that Deputy Superintendent Pedro Martinez complained that the rising standards associated with NCLB make it difficult for schools that are already lagging behind to catch up.