by KIM HILSENBECK
Only five Hays CISD school campuses met the Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) evaluation conducted by the Texas Education Agency for the 2011-2012 school year.
Another 17 campuses missed the cutoff in math, reading or both. The school district overall also did not meet the AYP standards.
Statewide, 44 percent of campuses met the targets. For Hays, 23 percent of its campuses met the targets.
Missing the mark, called Stage 1 or Safe Harbor, carries several consequences, including offering transfers to students, with the transportation costs borne by the district.
Debbie Ratcliffe, TEA spokesperson said, most students in Stage 1 schools do not make the switch.
“Last year, only 1,500 students across the state transferred to another school,” Ratcliffe said.
Hays CISD spokesperson Tim Savoy said the district is putting together a guide and a website called “Understanding AYP” to help parents and educators better understand how the scores are compiled and more importantly, what they mean to the community.
“Our test scores and student performance remains strong,” Savoy said. “However, they are not keeping pace with the rapidly escalating federal standards of what counts as meeting AYP.”
Under the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act, the passing standards must rise to 100 percent on mathematics and reading by 2014. At the current rate of less than half of Texas public schools meeting AYP, schools must make significant leaps to reach that standard.
“Five percent increases are challenging but doable,” Ratcliffe said. “Higher jumps are harder.”
According to Ratcliffe, the agency wanted to forgo the AYP ratings and instead carry over the previous year’s scores while the state transitions from the TAKS test to the newly minted STAAR, but the U.S. Department of Education denied the request.
But Ratcliffe said her analysts believe the AYP scores are still valid as outlined in the bridge report, which is what TEA used to bridge the two tests to perform the evaluation.
The AYP evaluation is a required provision under NCLB. Districts, campuses and the state are required to meet AYP criteria on three measures: Reading/Language Arts, Mathematics, and either Graduation Rate (for high schools and districts) or Attendance Rate (for elementary and middle/junior high schools).
Under this system, a school met AYP requirements if 87 percent or more students passed the state reading/English test, 83 percent passed the mathematics test, and 95 percent of students participated in the testing.
Schools and districts that receive Title I, Part A funds that fail to meet AYP for two consecutive years must offer supplemental education services, provide transfers, and/or take corrective actions as outlined by the provisions of NCLB.
Ratcliffe said campuses also may have to retool their Campus Improvement Guide if they do not meet AYP standards.
