Superintendent's Blog

July 21, 2009 - Big Improvements in AYP Made in 2008-09

As you enjoy your summer, I want to share some good news with you. Based on preliminary results, Guilford County Schools made significant gains in Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) during the 2008-09 school year.

Our schools are working extremely hard, and when news like this is released, it’s just one way that confirms our staff’s resolve to raise the bar in student achievement.

For the 2008-09 school year, 69.8 percent of the district’s schools met AYP, which is the highest number for GCS since the measure was established in 2003.

About 82 percent of the district’s middle schools, about 70 percent of elementary schools and about 58 percent of high schools made AYP. Ten of the district’s schools met AYP for the seventh year in a row. Because of these results, two Title I schools will exit school improvement for the 2009-10 school year. Alderman and Archer Elementary schools have met AYP for the past two years, so they will no longer be under No Child Left Behind sanctions.

I’m extremely proud of our students and staff for their accomplishments, but in order to achieve educational excellence for all students, we have a lot of work to do. 

If you aren’t sure what AYP means, let me take a moment to explain. AYP is a federal standard required by the No Child Left Behind Act. It is based on End-of-Grade and End-of-Course test proficiency in reading and mathematics in third through eighth grades and 10th grade.

To meet AYP, schools must reach target goals for all subgroups that include 40 or more students in a school. These subgroups include students who qualify for free or reduced lunch, students with disabilities, students with limited English proficiency and students of specific races or ethnicities. Schools must meet target goals in all subgroups in order to make AYP. For GCS, many subgroups showed 20-point and higher gains in reading and math during the 2008-09 school year.

These results are only preliminary until the N.C. Department of Public Instruction releases the official results and they are approved by the State Board of Education. To view the preliminary results, click here.