By Staff
State refiguring boosts schools out of the failing category
By TED STRONG
Staff Writer
New figures released this week by the state show that two more schools in Beaufort County than previously thought met No Child Left Behind standards in the school year just ended.
John Cotten Tayloe and Eastern elementary schools were bumped from failing to passing by the change.
Because Eastern does not have a third grade, it is classified as a feeder school. Its Annual Yearly Progress score is based on tests at Tayloe, where students who attended the first grade at Eastern go for second. The two schools were part of only nine in the entire state helped by the refiguring.
Also hitting the AYP mark were the Beaufort County Ed Tech Center, S.W. Snowden Elementary School, Chocowinity Primary School, Chocowinity Middle School and Northside High School.
Across the county, six schools failed to meet AYP standards, including Bath, John Small and Northeast elementary schools, P.S. Jones Middle School and Southside and Washington high schools.
The state released complete scores for high schools. Elementary and middle school results only cover math scores; schools now making AYP could find themselves in trouble when reading scores are released.
To meet AYP goals, schools must show set degrees of improvement in a variety of different demographic categories. Failure to make the specified improvements in any one category means the school as a whole fails to meet AYP goals.
The recalculation gave schools credit for categories that were graded below proficient but showed improvement from scores in years past. The policy giving credit for improvement in non-proficient categories was begun two years ago.
Bath Elementary School missed only one of its 13 goals and was deemed failing. John Small Elementary missed the mark in 20 of 22 categories.
Other schools missed more broadly, including Washington and Southside high schools, which each hit 12 of 17 goals.