Three schools make the grade on federal tests

Three of four Alleghany County Schools met their goals for 2004-2005 in the No Child Left Behind federal testing program.

The four schools met 54 of 56 target goals under the No Child Left Behind Act, which was signed into law in 2002. Sparta School did not make Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP), meeting 15 of its 17 target goals.

The two goals not attained were reading and math for exceptional children, but school officials were quick to point out that Sparta is used to house the majority of the county’s students with special needs. Meanwhile, Alleghany High School, Glade Creek and Piney Creek schools made AYP, each meeting 13 of 13 target goals.

Last year, all four county schools met the required goals. If schools fail to make the mark for two consecutive years, then some federal funding can be withheld.

At the heart of the federal program is an attempt to close achievement gaps between different groups of students. In an attempt to identify those gaps, the program requires that schools meet goals known as AYP, in reading and mathematics for 10 different subgroups. Subgroups listed include the school as a whole, white, black, Hispanic, Native American, Asian, multi-racial, economically disadvantaged, those who have limited English proficiency and students with disabilities.

According to Alleghany County Schools’ outgoing Superintendent Duane Davis, the two goals not met by Sparta “were math and reading AYP for the exceptional children subgroup.”

In response to Sparta’s results, Davis commented, “I commend them on how well they’ve done this year, although the exceptional children subgroup did not make AYP in reading and math. It’s easy to understand because (that is) the school that houses all the high needs students in the county.”

Sparta Principal Susan Murphy was out on medical leave and could not be reached for comment last week.

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