For the second year in a row, Virginia Beach City Public Schools is projected to make Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) under federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) guidelines. NCLB requires individual schools and school divisions to meet annual objectives for student performance on statewide tests in reading and mathematics. Based on preliminary data, Virginia Beach City Public Schools is expected to meet the necessary benchmarks at the division level to make AYP for 2006-2007 based on preliminary 2005-2006 test results. At the school level, 94 percent of the division’s 81 testing schools, including all Title 1 schools, are projected to make AYP.

The performance benchmark for schools and school districts increased during the 2005-2006 testing year. In order to make AYP, 69 percent of a school’s students must demonstrate proficiency in reading (up from 65 percent) and 67 percent (up from 63 percent) must be proficient in mathematics. The standards will progressively increase until the 2013-2014 school year at which time 100 percent of the students in individual schools and school districts are expected to achieve proficiency in reading and mathematics.

Under the federal education law, a school division and individual schools must meet or exceed 29 to 35 separate requirements which include: participation in statewide testing, achievement in reading and mathematics, attendance rate, science passing rate (elementary and middle schools) or graduation rate (high schools). Missing a single benchmark may result in a school not making AYP. These requirements apply to the student population as a whole as well as to the following subgroups: students with disabilities, limited English proficient students, economically disadvantaged students, and the state-designated major racial/ethnic groups (Caucasian, African-American, and Hispanic).

“The NCLB standards and expectations continue to increase each year,” said Dr. Jared Cotton, Assistant Superintendent for the Department of Accountability. “If a school has a problem in even one area, it could mean the difference between making AYP and not.”

Five Virginia Beach schools are not projected to make AYP. Arrowhead Elementary, Bayside Middle, Brandon Middle, Independence Middle, and Plaza Middle each missed the necessary benchmark for a single subgroup.

It is important to note that AYP is only one way to measure student proficiency. In fact all of these schools are projected to earn full state accreditation based on student performance on the Standards of Learning (SOL) tests.

“We know from SOL scores that students are learning and achieving,” added Cotton. “The goal now is to provide targeted assistance to the five schools which are not expected to make AYP. It will be important to identify any additional resources and tools which can help our students succeed.”

The Department of Accountability in collaboration with the Department of Curriculum and Instruction will continue to work closely with schools to analyze the data and assist with the development of improvement plans and teaching strategies to address the needs of all learning groups.

For more information about Virginia Beach City Public School’s AYP results, please contact the Department of Accountability at 263-1030.