For the second consecutive year, Gloucester High School has failed to meet its Adequate Yearly Progress requirements. However, students were successful in meeting benchmarks. Although Gloucester County Public Schools failed to meet AYP, they still received accreditation.
     At the end of each school year, public schools must measure their AYP based on scores from standardized tests. When minimum standards are met, schools are considered to be “meeting benchmarks,” but this is based on a broad outlook. On the other hand, AYP is measured more closely and must be met by all subgroups, which includes white, black, Hispanic, limited English proficient, students with disabilities, and economically disadvantaged. Public schools must meet 29 benchmarks, but failure to do so in just one subgroup could cause a school to miss the mark for AYP. The measurement of test scores at the conclusion of each year allows the government to see growth, or mishaps, in the school’s program. The required evaluation of AYP was put into place as a part of the No Child Left Behind Legislation, but many believe there to be many flaws within the program.
     Patricia I. Wright, Superintendent of Public Instruction for Virginia, believes that the accountability system made under NCLB has “outlived its usefulness and should be overhauled.”
     Wright strongly wants to have a waiver put into place to cut ties from the unrealistic, impractical requirements from NCLB.
     “Accountability is not advanced by arbitrary rules and benchmarks that misidentify schools,” states Wright, “…I will begin a discussion with the state board on creating a new model for measuring yearly progress that maintains high expectations for student achievement, recognizes growth- overall and by subgroup- and accurately identifies schools most in need of improvement.”
     U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, with the help of Wright, is trying to find ways to relieve schools of the improbable requirements. At the same time, they must come up with other ways that will sufficiently measure the progress of Virginia’s public schools.
     Students must be tested in English, history/social science, mathematics, and science, and they must score a 70% or more in all fields. If the students do not achieve this goal, the school is not considered “fully accredited.” However, as long as a school is not a Title 1 school (GHS is not), lack of accreditation will not call for school improvement sanctions. But, when a school does not meet AYP requirements, development workshops are set up for teachers and faculty. Officials try to set up programs for students to learn outside of school, get parents involved in the work of their children, and identify possible things that interfere with students’ learning abilities.
     As for GHS, all subjects were passed with percentages as follows: 94 in English, 95 in science, 85 in history, and 81 in math. Math has been the lowest scoring subject for past years, but as a whole, GHS failed to reach a high enough percentage to meet AYP. GHS was given accreditation, but did not meet their goals; rather they met standards closer to the minimum, which allowed them to meet benchmarks.
     Eventually, schools are going to be expected to have 100 percent pass rates in certain subject areas, but this does not determine specific growth individually. The 2010-2011 school year was the second year consecutively that the state of VA did not meet AYP goals, for some subgroups did not meet the benchmarks in reading or mathematics.
In an attempt at improvement, GHS has made many efforts to help students. Tutoring is available, for most teachers are making it a point to stay after to give extra help when necessary. Also, the library has extended hours; they remain open until four o’ clock on Thursdays.
     Since the teachers and staff of GHS are making efforts to better students’ knowledge of standardized test material, then it is now up to students to take advantage of their opportunities. A lot of the blame is placed on teachers when AYP requirements are not met, but the students have to take some responsibility; however, it is the teachers that have to face the repercussions of workshops and possible loss of accreditation.•