Three-fourths of the state’s estimated 1,850 public schools met federal standards for reading and math for the 2004-05 school year, according to state figures released Monday.
But roughly 450 schools fell short of “adequate yearly progress,” or AYP, goals established under the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001.
And of those, 97 failed to make AYP – the federal government’s standard for achievement – because, for the first time in three years, the standard was raised in Colorado.
“We were pretty sure there was no way that more schools would have made AYP this year with the targets going up,” said Alyssa Pearson, a senior consultant for the Colorado Department of Education.
For the 2003-04 school year, 78.59 percent of districts made adequate yearly progress.
Under federal law, the percentage of students who must be proficient in math and reading in a school increases over time, with the federal goal being 100 percent proficiency by 2014. In Colorado, proficiency is based on student performance on the Colorado Student Assessment Program test, or CSAP.
The goals for each year must be met not only by the school as a whole, but also by subgroups of students in the school – such as black, Hispanic, disabled, low-income and white students – as long as there are at least 30 students in each subgroup.
Until last year, 47 percent of high school students needed to be proficient in math for a school to satisfy federal standards. This year in Colorado, 60.25 percent must be proficient. States have the option of increasing performance targets each year but must do it at least every three years, Pearson said.
In addition to performance, schools must also have a participation rate of 95 percent on CSAPs and meet certain goals for high school graduation and the number of students who perform at an advanced level.
Schools that fail to meet the federal standards more than one year in a row in the same subject area face sanctions – such as being required to devise an improvement plan, offering supplemental services such as tutoring, and notifying parents they have the choice of sending their child to a better-performing school.
In Aurora, 10 schools showed enough improvement to clear the 2003-04 standards but not the higher bar set for 2004-05, said Lisa Escarcega, the district’s director of assessment and research.
“We knew it was coming,” she said. “It’s not surprising we lost a few of our schools.”
In the Adams 14 School District, 80.9 percent of the students at Monaco Elementary School were proficient in math, well over the 2003-04 target of 75.86 percent but just a hair short of the 2004-05 raised target of 81.9 percent, said Joseph Miller,the district’s director of assessment.
It was a tough blow for the district, which has struggled with raising reading scores.
“There are always challenges in front of schools, and there is always a moving target,” said Brett Drobney, who became Monaco principal this year.
Elliott Asp, an assistant superintendent in the Cherry Creek School District, said the focus on meeting federal standards sometimes overlooks progress schools are making.
Schools that don’t meet the federal standards, even if they come close, are “lumped into one failing bucket” with those that don’t even come close, he said.
State and federal officials said that while they hope to see progress recognized, the federal law is straightforward: Districts either make AYP or they don’t.
Staff writer Karen Rouse can be reached at 303-820-1684 or krouse@denverpost.com.
