Middle Schools Missed Targets Primarily in Special Education and Limited English Proficiency Subgroups

Ninety percent of elementary schools in Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) made Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) on the 2006 Maryland School Assessments (MSAs), according to Maryland State Department of Education data released today.

In fact, only one elementary school out of 125 is on a state watch list, and only 12 will require additional local support in the upcoming school year, testing data shows. Three elementary schools, Clopper Mill, Highland, and Piney Branch, have now met the state-mandated goals for improvement for the last two years and are no longer on any state watch list.

“The AYP results demonstrate that our early success initiatives are helping students achieve, grow, and exceed the requirements of the federal No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB),” said Dr. Jerry D. Weast, superintendent of schools. “We are extremely proud of the students and staff at Clopper Mill, Highland, and Piney Branch for their hard work in making AYP and exiting the state’s list.”

Impressively, all 21 of the elementary schools with the highest poverty levels (Title I) are off the state’s improvement list. “I believe we are the only large school district in America without a single Title I school on any state list requiring improvement,” Weast added.

At the middle school level, 21 schools did not make AYP on the 2006 state assessments. Twelve of these schools will require additional local monitoring and improvement and nine are on the state’s watch list. The main area where all of these schools did not make adequate yearly progress was special education. In addition, some schools missed the performance goals for students with limited English skills and students receiving Free and Reduced-price Meals System (FARMS) services.

Two middle schools—Silver Spring International Middle and Shady Grove Middle—made AYP in 2006 and will leave the state’s watch list if they make AYP again in 2007.

Schools on the state’s watch list must offer families the choice to attend another school during the first year in this status and also offer supplemental educational services, such as tutoring, during the second year if AYP is not achieved.

“The overall performance rate among middle schools further underscores the level of improvement still needed and the importance of our middle school reform efforts,” said Dr. Weast. “The majority of our students clearly made the progress required by the state, but we must keep our efforts focused so that every child can succeed.”

AYP determinations are based on MSA scores, which were released in June. The MSA results show that MCPS students in elementary and middle school achieved their fourth consecutive year of higher test scores. On average, the combined proficiency of students in reading and mathematics indicated that 84 percent of elementary students and 74 percent of middle school students scored at the proficient or advanced level for 2006. Since 2003, the elementary-level results have increased 12.4 percentage points, and the middle school results have risen 9.8 percentage points.

A complete list of the schools not making AYP is provided on the link below.