Fourteen of the Darlington County School District’s twenty-oneschools met the “Adequate Yearly Progress” (AYP) requirement asoutlined in the federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) law, stateeducation officials announced today. The Darlington County SchoolDistrict as a whole met 93% of the established goals, up from 82% lastyear.
Darlington County schools, like most South Carolina schools, haveeither 17 or 21 federal goals, and falling short on even one means thatthey do not meet AYP and thus move toward possible sanctions.
“I am pleased with the strides our schools have made toward makingAYP,” said Dr. Rainey Knight, Darlington County School Districtsuperintendent. “We expect a great deal from our students and teachers.We will continue to strive toward proficiency for every child. At thesame time, we have to recognize that not every child learns at the samerate academically. Our children are wonderfully diverse and talented.Some may need more time to understand a concept. Regardless, we willcontinue to give all our children a high quality education so they cansucceed.”
In order to meet AYP this year, South Carolina elementary and middleschools must have had at least 58.8% of their students proficient inEnglish Language Arts. In math, at least 57.8% had to be proficient.
In Darlington County, 82% of elementary and middle schools met AYP.All four of the remaining elementary and middle schools that did notmeet AYP, fell short by missing only one or two goals.
In order to make AYP, high schools must have had 71.3% of theirstudents proficient in English Language Arts and 70% proficient in math.
Of the four high schools in the Darlington County School District,only Mayo High School for Math, Science & Technology made AYP,though Lamar High School missed making AYP by only one goal. BothHartsville High and Darlington High missed making AYP by less than 10goals. Across South Carolina, only 13 of 184 high schools (7%) met allof their federal AYP goals.
Darlington County School District met 27 of the 29 federallyestablished goals. Only three school districts in South Carolina met100 of the goals for AYP.
Next year schools and districts will find it much harder to earnAYP. Next year, the percentage of South Carolina elementary and middleschool students who must score proficient on math and English LanguageArts tests will jump from about 58% to nearly 80%. By 2014 all students– including students who are poor, speak limited English or havelearning disabilities – must score “proficient” on 100% on math andEnglish Language Arts tests.
While NCLB relies on PASS scores to determine performance ratingsfor South Carolina’s elementary and middle schools, high school datacomes from student performance on the High School Assessment Program.
DARLINGTON COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT SCHOOLS
School Name – # Goals Met
Brockington Elementary – 20 of 21
Brunson-Dargan Elementary – 19 of 21
Cain Elementary – MET AYP – 13 of 13
Carolina Elementary – MET AYP – 17 of 17
Darlington High – 12 of 21
Darlington Middle – 19 of 21
Hartsville High – 13 of 21
Hartsville Middle – 19 of 21
Lamar Elementary – MET AYP – 13 of 13
Lamar High – 12 of 13
Mayo High Math, Science & Tech – MET AYP – 9 of 9
North Hartsville Elementary – MET AYP – 21 of 21
Pate Elementary – MET AYP – 17 of 17
Rosenwald Elementary/Middle – MET AYP – 13 of 13
Southside Early Childhood Center – MET AYP – 17 of 17
Spaulding Elementary – MET AYP – 17 of 17
Spaulding Middle – MET AYP – 17 of 17
St. John’s Elementary – MET AYP – 17 of 17
Thornwell School for the Arts – MET AYP – 13 of 13
Washington St. Elementary – MET AYP – 13 of 13
West Hartsville Elementary – MET AYP – 17 of 17
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