AYP

Recently, accountability results for the state of Alabama were released and Ardmore High School was listed as “Not making AYP” and also “On School Improvement”. Knowing your child’s school is “On School Improvement” can cause undue stress and concern for parents and community members. The intent of this article is to state the specific reasons for the accountability status for Ardmore High School.

The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) established a system of accountability for the nation’s public schools. Each school must make what is defined as “Adequate Yearly Progress” or AYP. Schools are measured in many different areas and subgroups to determine their AYP status. Schools must be found proficient in each category for each subgroup in order to make AYP and therefore receive a “Clear” status.

Ardmore High School is on School Improvement due to the Graduation Rate. The manner in which Graduation Rate is calculated has changed from time to time and is different from state to state. A school automatically makes AYP if the graduation rate is above 90 or if the graduation rate improves from one year to the other. The graduation rate for Ardmore High School beginning in 2005 and going through 2008 is as follows: 78%, 77%, 90%, 83.78%. The projected rate for 2009 is 93.08%. A one percent drop from 78 to 77% caused the school to not make AYP and a drop from 90 to 83.78% caused the school to once again not make AYP.

It is worthy of noting that 83.78%, while less than 90, is much higher than many schools that did make AYP. A school can have a graduation rate of 75% and make AYP as long as it is an improvement from the previous year. The system, as it exists, labels a school, such as Ardmore, even though more of its students may graduate than many other schools. Obviously, one student not gradating is too many and we are working diligently to improve everything about our school every year including the graduation rate.

One category should not define a school. Ardmore has an average ACT score of 23 which is above the state and national average. The test scores at Ardmore are consistently above the state average on the SAT and ARMT which are standardized tests used to determine AYP status. When all a person sees is the label “Not Making AYP” or “On School Improvement” other pertinent information can be overlooked. Many other test scores reflect the quality of education received by students at Ardmore. Ardmore students perform excellently on the Alabama High School Graduation Exam and graduates are prepared for their future regardless of what level of higher education they may pursue.

The faculty and staff of Ardmore High School want the parents, community and all stakeholders to understand that the students attending Ardmore High School receive a quality education and they can take pride in their school.