Daphne High School failed to meet the Annual Yearly Progress goals set forth by the No Child Left Behind Act, according to reports released Monday by the Alabama Department of Education.

The school did not make AYP because less than 86 percent of 11th-grade black students and 11th-grade students receiving free or reduced meals scored proficiently on the reading subtest.

“What No Child Left Behind does is allow educators in school systems to look at groups of students to measure academic success,” Baldwin County Public Schools Communications Director Terry Wilhite said.

He added that subgroups—including economic background, race/ethnicity, limited English-speaking proficiency, and special education—are monitored and measured.

 Students in the black and free/reduced meals subgroups at DHS make up less than 5 percent of the student population, according to Wilhite.

If a school does not make AYP for two consecutive years  in the same component—such as reading or mathematics—the school is labeled as needing improvement.

“If test scores continue to slip, they will be in ‘school improvement’ status,” Wilhite said. The ‘school improvement’ label brings specific training and technical assistance from the state Support Team, which will help the school staff analyze assessment data and implement an improvement plan.

“School personnel at DHS have identified students in need of additional instruction in reading and math and will begin intervention with these students as soon as school begins on Aug. 10,” Wilhite said.

Wilhite cited the county’s efforts with Baldwin County High School, which received ‘school improvement’ status last year, after failing to make AYP for two consecutive years.

“Baldwin County High School had problems with reading in certain subgroups,” he said. To help raise test scores, the school system provided extra resources, including employing reading specialists, technology aids and one-on-one tutoring.

“We work every year with heart, soul and spirit to have test scores as high as they can be but we never know what’s going to happen until the students take the tests,” Wilhite said.

He added that the school’s faculty began professional development—designed to improve students’ literacy skills—last year and will continue with training this school year.

“We’ve got to make the kids realize that reading is important,” Daphne High principal Don Blanchard said.

“For the weak readers, we’re going to give them the tools that would make reading more enjoyable for them,” Blanchard said. “We started in the spring planning what our focus for this school year will be. I’ve had a committee working all summer on implementing reading strategies.”

Daphne High met 15 of its 17 goals, including proficiency in math across the board. Ninety-one percent of its students are proficient in reading while 93 percent are proficient in math.

Overall, 86 percent of Alabama schools met AYP standards, a 3 percent increase compared to last year.

“Alabama’s public schools have made tremendous progress in the last few years,” Gov. Bob Riley said in a statement. “Just five years ago, only 23 percent of schools met all of their yearly progress goals.

“The bar was raised again this year,” he said. “Plus, we’re seeing a decrease in the number of schools that need ‘school improvement.’”

This year, 1,190 of the state’s 1,376 schools made AYP.

Changes to the No Child Left Behind Act—which includes a national goal of having all students proficient in reading and math by 2014—may be in store, according to state Superintendent of Education Joe Morton.

“State boards of education and influential education groups, such as the Council of Chief State School Officers, have offered suggestions to the U.S. Department of Education for improvement to the No Child Left Behind law,” he said.

“As the U.S. Congress considers reauthorizing the law, one change we hope is made will be to consider different consequences for schools based on the degree to which they miss AYP.”

He added that schools deficient in just one area, like Daphne High, should not be treated the same as schools missing standards in multiple components.

“Additionally, we hope to see students tracked by growth over time instead of just year-to-year classes,” Morton said.

‘No Child’ requires schools and systems to meet annual goals for  academic achievement of the overall student population and by student groups.

In order to be identified as achieving AYP, a school must meet 100 percent of its annual goals.

The school’s AYP status is partially based on achievement on state assessments, such as: the Alabama Reading and Mathematics Test, taken in third through eighth grades; the Alabama High School Graduation Exam, taken in the junior year; and the Alabama Alternate Assessment, taken in grades 3-8.

Also considered are participation rates in these assessments and graduation rates.

The state saw a 29 percent decrease among high poverty Title I schools identified in past reports as needing “school improvement.” A Title I school receives Title I funding from the federal government.

In 2009, 52 of the 866 Title I schools were identified as needing improvement, compared to 73 last year.

Overall, ‘school improvement’ designations have decreased 11 percent, with 122 schools receiving the classification versus 137 in 2008.

2009 DHS AYP

report results

Reading proficiency index (goal= 0)

Reading—percent participation

Math proficiency index (goal= 0)

Math—percent participation

Source: Alabama Department

of Education