Ardmore principal: School improvement list unfairly labels

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August 15, 2009

By Jean Cole The News Courier Sat Aug 15, 2009, 08:08 PM CDT

Things are not always as they appear, according to Ardmore High School Principal Tommy Hunter.

The school’s graduation rate recently landed it on a state list of schools needing improvement but Hunter says its inclusion is misleading and parents and students should not be alarmed.

“The manner in which graduation rate is calculated has changed from time to time and is different from state to state,” Hunter says. “A school automatically makes adequate yearly progress if the graduation rate is above 90 percent or if the graduation rate improves from one year to the next.”

He notes that Ardmore’s graduation rate from 2005 through 2008 has been 78 percent, 77 percent, 90 percent and 83.78 percent.

“The projected rate for 2009 is 93.08 percent,” Hunter says. “A 1 percent drop in the graduation rate from 78 percent down to 77 percent caused the school to not make AYP in 2006, and a drop from 90 percent to 83.78 percent caused the school to once again not make AYP in 2008.”

Hunter says an 83.78 percent graduation rate, while less than 90 percent, is much higher than many schools that did make adequate yearly progress.

“A school can have a graduation rate of 75 percent and make AYP as long as it is an improvement from the previous year,” he says. “The system, as it exists, labels a school such as Ardmore, even though more of its students may graduate than many other schools. Obviously, one student not graduating is too many, but we are working diligently to improve everything about our school every year including the graduation rate.”

The principal said knowing your child’s school is on the list of those needing improvement “can cause undue stress and concern for parents and community members.”

He believes it is unfair to define a school by one category because it is misleading.

“Ardmore has an average ACT score of 23, which is above the state and national average,” Hunter says. “The test scores at Ardmore are consistently above the state average on the SAT and ARMT, which are standardized tests used to determine AYP status.

“When all a person sees is the label ‘not making AYP’ or ‘on school improvement,’ other pertinent information can be overlooked,” he says. “Many other test scores reflect the quality of education received by students at Ardmore. Ardmore students perform excellently on the Alabama High School Graduation Exam, and graduates are prepared for their futures, regardless of what level of higher education they may pursue.”

Hunter says he, the faculty and the staff at Ardmore High “want the parents, community and all stakeholders to understand that the students attending Ardmore High School receive a quality education and they can take pride in their school.”

Here is how the standard of adequate yearly progress came about.

The No Child Left Behind Act established a system of accountability for the nation’s public schools, Hunter said. Within that framework, each school must make what is defined as adequate yearly progress or AYP, he said. Schools are measured in many different areas and subgroups in order to determine their AYP status, he said, and a school must be found proficient in each category for each subgroup in order to make AYP and receive a clear status.

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