September 15, 2007
Saturday

Ketchikan, Alaska - Thirty of Alaska's 54 school districts made adequate yearly progress for the 2006-2007 school year under the federal No Child Left Behind Act, Alaska Education Commissioner Barbara Thompson announced Thursday.

Statewide that represents an improvement from 25 districts making adequate yearly progress (AYP) in 2005-2006 and 22 districts doing so in 2004-2005. Of those districts listed by the Department as not making adequate yearly progress was the Ketchikan School District.

In the Ketchikan School District, seven schools were listed as making adequate yearly progress for the 2007-2008 school year based on the 2006-2007 data. They are: Fawn Mountain Elementary, Houghtaling Elementary, Ketchikan Charter School, Ketchikan High School, Point Higgins Elementary, Schoenbar Middle School, and Tongass School of Arts & Sciences.

Ketchikan Correspondence, Ketchikan Regional Youth Facilities and Revilla Jr/Sr High School were listed by the Alaska Department of Education as not meeting adequate yearly progress for the 2007-2008 school year based on the 2006-2007 data.

The Ketchikan School District as a whole does not meet aedquate yearly progress (AYP) for the 2006-2007 school year according to the Alaska Department of Education. The Ketchikan School District is at an AYP Level 2. The Alaska Department of Educatiion notes that districts in Level 2 and above must develop and implement a district improvement plan, submit the plan to EED, request technical assistance from EED, and provide notice to parents.

The goal of No Child Left Behind is that all students be proficient in reading and math by the end of the 2013-2014 school year. The AYP process provides an annual check of school and district progress toward this goal.

"This year's results show that more districts are implementing effective strategies to improve student performance," Thompson said. "The State Board of Education & Early Development believes that all Alaska students can meet our standards, but we recognize that this takes time. As instruction is aligned with the academic expectations that Alaska educators have set for each grade level, more students are scoring proficient on our state assessments."

Districts statewide are held accountable for AYP in the same way individual schools are. Alaska students in grades 3 to 10 take state standards-based assessments in reading, writing and math. The reading and writing scores are combined into one language arts score.

Districts are held accountable for meeting proficiency targets in those assessments for the student body as a whole and in nine subgroups of students; African American, Alaska Native/American Indian, Asian, Caucasian, Hispanic, multi-ethnic, economically disadvantaged, students with disabilities, and students with limited English proficiency.

Districts are not held accountable separately for subgroups that are so small they would not yield reliable statistics. A subgroup must have at least 26 students.

Districts also are held accountable for the student participation rate in taking the state assessments and for meeting targets in attendance rates and graduation rates.

Statewide, according to the Alaska Department of Education, this year's targets are 71.48 percent of students proficient in language arts, 57.61 percent proficient in math, 95 percent student participation rate in assessments, an attendance rate of 85 percent, and a graduation rate of 55.58 percent.

The Ketchikan School District as a whole demonstrated in 2006-2007 that 71.48% of its students were proficient in reading, writing and language and 57.61% of its students were proficient in mathematics.

The Ketchikan school "District as a Whole" and "Safe Harbor Thresholds" demostrated an attendance rate of 85% and a graduation rate of 55.8%.

Currently, three districts are at Level 1, seven at Level 2 including the Ketchikan School District, five at Level 3, and 16 at Level 4. Of those 16 districts, seven are in multiple years of being at Level 4.

Districts in Level 1 must consult with the Alaska Department of Education & Early Development (EED) regarding the reasons they did not make AYP.

Districts in Level 2 and above must develop and implement a district improvement plan, submit the plan to EED, request technical assistance from EED, and provide notice to parents.

Districts in Level 4 must continue with their improvement plan. They also are subject to corrective actions from the state, such as deferral of funds, changes in curriculum, professional development, replacement of personnel, or removal of schools from the district's jurisdiction.

Districts must make AYP for two consecutive years to be removed from improvement status. The Nenana and Tanana districts came off the improvement list this year. Seven other districts in improvement status made AYP this year and could come off the list next year.

In a provision known as "safe harbor," districts also can make AYP, in a subgroup or the school as a whole, by reducing the percentage of nonproficient students by 10 percent.

However, the district AYP process includes an element that is not used for school AYP. Districts that have not made AYP in general but have made AYP in at least one grade span (grades 3-5, 6-8 or 9-12) do not advance to a higher level of improvement status.

Improvement status refers to districts that are in need of improvement. There are four levels of improvement status, with increasing consequences. The consequences are set out in state regulations under 4 AAC 06.840.

Before implementing corrective action, EED considers whether a district has shown improvement from the previous year in its AYP performance. The department also looks closely at student scores on the state assessments to see whether students are improving, even if they have not yet scored proficient.

Only if a district has not shown improvement in student achievement does EED consider performing an on-site audit of the district's instructional practices. The department's audits review the six components of effective schools: curriculum, assessment, instruction, leadership, supportive learning environment, and professional development. The audit leads to a district improvement plan, which EED monitors on a regular basis.

Related Information:

Alaska schools making adequate yearly progress
http://www.sitnews.us/0907news/091507/Schools_Meeting_AYP.pdf

Alaska school not making adequate yearly progress
http://www.sitnews.us/0907news/091507/Schools_Not_Meeting_AYP.pdf

Summary of Alaska Schools
http://www.sitnews.us/0907news/091507/Summary_Schools.pdf

Districts 2006-2007 AYP Worksheets
http://www.sitnews.us/0907news/091507/2007DistrictAYPWorksheets.pdf

Source of News & Data:

Alaska Department of Education & Early Development
http://www.eed.state.ak.us

 

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