State revises test scores for all Alleghany Schools

Two, not three of Alleghany County Schools attained Adequate Yearly Progress in 2007-08, as previously reported. The final results were discussed during the Alleghany County Board of Education’s monthly meeting Dec. 10.

Making AYP under the No Child Left Behind mandate were Glade Creek School and Piney Creek School. Meanwhile, Alleghany High School met 12 of 13 target goals (92.3 percent) and Sparta School met 18 of 19 target goals (94.7 percent).

Testing Coordinator Leslie Clark explained new reading standards affected the level of proficiency of local students in third through eighth grades.

"The reading scores became final in the November State Board meeting and we got those back from last year finally where they have changed the reading test and raised the rigor. Here, with Alleghany County in our third grade taking the test, we tested 126, proficient was 102. If we had continued on with the old test, we would have been at a 80.95 percent proficient. The new test, being much more complicated and harder, we were at a 60.32 and had 76 students proficient at the third grade level." Clark then highlighted the results of the reading test for third through eighth grade at each of the elementary schools. Had the reading standards not been changed, on average, the greater majority of students would have achieved a high score; whereas, under the new test standards, a lower score would have been achieved. One example she cited sixth graders at Glade would have attained an average of 86.7 percent under the old test, compared to the 66.7 percent average under the new test and the state’s average of 60.9. Meanwhile, at Piney, students in the sixth grade achieved the same percentage (92.9) under both the old and new test, compared to the state average of 60.9.

Superintendent Jeff Cox explained, "The purpose of bringing this back to you and sharing with the public is to help people understand when you’ve seen the test scores have gone down, to understand the context of that.