The CHALKBOARD
Free Lance-Star reporter Amy Umble covers Stafford County schools and other education issues
No Fredericksburg-area school divisions make AYP
For the second straight year, none of the Fredericksburg area’s school divisions met annual testing goals under the federal No Child Left Behind law.
Statewide, just four of 132 divisions made adequate yearly progress for 2010–11, according to results released yesterday by the Virginia Department of Education.
Of Virginia’s 1,839 public schools, 697—or 38 percent—made AYP. That includes 40 in the Fredericksburg area.
State Superintendent of Public Instruction Patricia Wright says the accountability system has “outlived its usefulness and should be overhauled,” according to a press release.
AYP is largely tied to scores on math and reading Standards of Learning tests. The required pass rates rise every year, with the goal of 100 percent proficiency in 2014.
This year, at least 86 percent of students overall and in each subgroup—white, black, Hispanic, limited-English proficient, economically disadvantaged and students with disabilities—had to pass reading tests. Eighty-five percent needed to pass math tests.
Last year’s pass rates were 81 percent in reading and 79 percent in math.
A school can also meet AYP by reducing the failure rate of a student subgroup by at least 10 percent.
Here are the Fredericksburg-area schools that made AYP:
Colonial Beach
Colonial Beach Elementary
Culpeper County
A.G. Richardson Elementary
Farmington Elementary
Fauquier County
C. Hunter Ritchie Elementary
C.M. Bradley Elementary
Fauquier High
Greenville Elementary
Kettle Run High
P.B. Smith Elementary
W.G. Coleman Elementary
King George County
King George High
Louisa County
Louisa High
Thomas Jefferson Elementary
Trevilians Elementary
Orange County
Gordon Barbour Elementary
Lightfoot Elementary
Locust Grove Elementary
Orange Elementary
Unionville Elementary
Spotsylvania County
Berkeley Elementary
Cedar Forest Elementary
Chancellor Elementary
Chancellor High
Livingston Elementary
Parkside Elementary
Riverbend High
Riverview Elementary
Robert E. Lee Elementary
Stafford County
Colonial Forge High
Falmouth Elementary
Ferry Farm Elementary
Garrisonville Elementary
Grafton Village Elementary
Hampton Oaks Elementary
North Stafford High
Park Ridge Elementary
Rockhill Elementary
Stafford Elementary
Winding Creek Elementary
Westmoreland County
Montross Middle
Students in Title I schools that don’t meet AYP for two consecutive years may be bused to higher-performing schools in the same system at the request of parents. The transfer requirement is in effect until a school makes AYP two years in a row.
Title I schools receive federal money to help educate low-income students.
The following schools must offer transfers:
Caroline County
Bowling Green Elementary
Bowling Green Primary
Culpeper County
Sycamore Park Elementary
Pearl Sample Elementary
Fauquier County
Grace Miller Elementary
King George County
Potomac Elementary
Sealston Elementary
King George Elementary
Spotsylvania County
Livingston Elementary
Stafford County
Falmouth Elementary
Rocky Run Elementary
Widewater Elementary
Westmoreland County
Cople Elementary
Washington District Elementary
Check back to this blog for updates and read the full story in tomorrow’s Free Lance-Star.
