Two Schools Fail to Achieve State Yearly Progress
ASD Coordinator of Federal Programs & Accountability Dr. Beverly Long gave board directors the news at their regular monthly meeting last month that Kittanning Sr. High and Lenape Elementary students did not meet state Adequate Yearly Progress expectations on last year's Pennsylvania System of State Assessment exams.
by Jonathan Weaver
Students at two local schools have not made Adequate Yearly Progress on Pennsylvania System of School Assessment exams.
Kittanning Senior High School and Lenape Elementary students did not make Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) on exams last school year and are on the state warning list, but no sanctions have been filed and the schools have the opportunity to get off the list in the coming years.
Armstrong School District Coordinator of Federal Programs & Accountability Dr. Beverly Long summarized the state’s goals regarding AYP in regards to the national No Child Left Behind Act.
“When No Child Left Behind came into existence, every state had the opportunity to determine how they were going to have their state meet AYP,” Long said. “They could do a number of things determining how students would eventually get to the target goal of 100 percent by 2014. Pennsylvania adopted a method which was similar to a balloon payment – they started very low and the increase was very minimal, staying at certain levels for several years so that people would have an opportunity to get to those levels and to be proficient.
“The target for this year was 72 percent of students needed to be proficient or above in reading and 67 percent of the students needed to be proficient or above in math,” Long said.
From 2008-10, the targets remained at 63 and 56 percent.
Long warned ASD board directors that students district-and statewide may begin experiencing problems meeting expectations.
“However, beginning this year, the rate of increase is between 10 and 11 percentage points in each category per year till 2014 when the expectation is that 100 percent of our students will be proficient,” Long said. “The target’s are going to become increasingly-more difficult to meet in an increasingly-quicker pace - in the next four years, we have to go from 74 percent last year to 100 percent in 2014.”
Adequate Yearly Progress jumps to 82 percent this school year.
Up until the high school level, Long said students are pretty consistent. She added that Grade 11 students will eventually not be administered the PSSA exam, but will take the Keystone Test, which began statewide this year.
“Pretty much up through grade 11, we are showing a solid core of math proficiency, and in grade 11, we have some issues perhaps in terms of between what students take between the 8th and 11th grade year and what’s being tested on the PSSA.
“The one area that seems to be an issue not only for us but for the state is 11th grade. One of the things we need to note in our district is that PSSA scores are not tied to graduation, as they are in many other districts,” Long said. “The older they get, the more difficult it is for them to become motivated to do well on the test.”
Board directors will receive updated results and calculations before this month’s open caucus session October 17 at 7:30PM.
Armstrong School District | jweaver October 5, 2011
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By JohnK, October 5, 2011 @ 7:53 AM
Oh oh…I hope these Lenape Elementary kids have thick skin. Markilinksi will be calling them slackers and saying the elementary school should be cut to half day.
By Kittanning Lady, October 6, 2011 @ 8:53 AM
@JohnK, What are you 5, Grow up!
By JohnK, October 6, 2011 @ 11:47 AM
Kittanning imbecile, No I am not five. From reading some of your posts, you have limited intelligence. I’ll try to make you understand. When Lenape Vo-Tech’s scores were below standard, Markilinski and Solak tried to get the Vo-Tech made a half day program, MJM called the students slackers and said an education there wasn’t worth much.
Seeing as MJM is in the Witness Protection Program or hiding in the hills of rural Alaska, I’m trying to figure out why Solak isn’t speaking out and questioning why the kids at Lenape Elementary are being scarred for life with these low test scores.
I checked out the bathrooms at Kittanning. They now have soap. Quit your whining!
By Kittanning Lady, October 6, 2011 @ 4:57 PM
@ JohnK,okay,okay not 5 .6? Talk about whining! You keep digging up old news,Markilinski is GONE,Talk about limited intelligence.
By Jerri, October 7, 2011 @ 10:47 AM
JohnK-You obviously didn’t pay attention concerning the Lenape Tech issue. Sure Markilinski made some comments but that had nothing to do with any of the real reasons about the Lenape Tech half day discussions. Those discussions go way back to when Rupp had majority. There is a report from around 2003 where Kerr recommended half day at Lenape. The reason? Money. Almost all tech schools in the state are half day and there are lots of plusses to that. Major savings, more academic opportunities and ease of participating in homeschool extracurriculars. I’m not going to argue over should it be half day or not. I’m just saying that you are incorrect in your assumptions.
What I want to know is where are all the comments on Kittanning High School being on the warning list? Isn’t it funny that the school rated in poorest building condition is now on the warning list for PSSA’s and all you people talk about is close Elderton or Ford City. I can’t help but remember that Kittanning teachers were the only ones speaking up and complaining AGAINST their kids having a renovated school. Wonder what their priorities are?
By maddog, October 7, 2011 @ 2:31 PM
Kittanning imbecile? Very mature. And who is MJM?