LMS Falls Just Short of AYP

Walton County Public School officials released the Adequate Yearly Progress results for Loganville and Walton Grove Schools with eight of the nine schools meeting the federal standards set out under No Child Left Behind.

Loganville Middle School was the only school to miss and that was by just one student from the student with disabilities group failing to pass the math section of the alternative Criterion-Referenced Competency Tests. Officials said there are several appeals to this result being considered and if any one of them is approved then the school will make AYP.

“(LMS) is classified as Adequate- Did Not Meet this year because this is the first time in a number of years that it did not make AYP on the first determination, so there will be no NCLB consequences,” said Kim Embry, spokesperson for WCPS, adding, “For the two CRCT test scores which are considered in AYP, LMS scored 96 percent meets/exceeds in Reading/LA and 90 percent meets/exceeds in math, both of which are exemplary.”

Embry said the Loganville and Walnut Grove students continue to meet the rigorous standards and high targets established by the state’s accountability system. AYP targets have been raised this year.

“Despite this year’s increased AYP targets, eight out of nine schools, or 89 percent, of the Loganville and Walnut Grove schools made AYP – a level that exceeds the state’s performance (63.2 percent) and is one of the highest in the region.”

Embry said that the Loganville and Walnut Grove combined cluster graduation rate sits at nearly 89 percent. This is 27 percent higher than its 2003 rate.

In addition, Embry noted:

• Seven of the nine schools in the Loganville and Walnut Grove clusters have been identified as “Distinguished Schools” by the Georgia Department of Education, which means that they have achieved the AYP mark for three or more consecutive years. Embry said most of the schools have received this distinction for many consecutive years.
• Achievement gaps have decreased considerably with at-risk student groups improving performance in nearly every area.
• Significant increases in the percent of all students performing at the highest levels on these high-stakes tests.

In a press release, Gary Hobbs, superintendent of WCPS, said he was excited about the progress students continue to make.

“Even as the standards continue to increase, our dedicated teachers and support staff exceed expectations to ensure student success in our school,” Hobbs said. “I want our parents to know that our teachers and staff make no excuses and diligently work with every student to help them realize their full potential and prepare them for the future.”

Louise Hutchens, director of testing and research for WCPS said the preliminary AYP determinations are encouraging. 

“While 89 percent of these schools met all of the increased accountability targets this year, the data also shows that 100 percent of the schools met the AYP criteria in at least 92 percent of categories,” Hutchens said. “Our focus will continue to be teaching and learning, and we will use the AYP results to target our struggling populations and ensure that every student and subgroup reach their full potential. “

- Dr. Robert Daria, assistant superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction, said officials are proud of the academic gains that the schools have made for all subgroups.

“The students, parents, staff, and community are all working together to ensure that each of our schools are increasing academic rigor and that our students are successful learners,” Daria said. “We will continue to focus our efforts on excellent instruction and on tailoring our programs to the needs of each student. We look forward to another exciting academic year.” 

Loganville and Walnut Grove Schools Making AYP

School

Number of Consecutive Years of AYP

Status

Bay Creek Elementary

9

Distinguished

Loganville Elementary

9

Distinguished

Loganville High

9

Distinguished

Sharon Elementary*

4

Distinguished

Walnut Grove Elementary

8

Distinguished

Walnut Grove High **

2

Adequate

Youth Elementary

9

Distinguished

Youth Middle

7

Distinguished

*School has been in existence for 4 years.  **School has been in existence for 2 years.

School Not Making AYP

LMS joins 122 other Georgia schools that missed the overall AYP mark this year soley on the basis of the Students with Disabilities subgroup. The school is only one student away from making AYP this year. Officials hope the appeal will enable the school make AYP when the final determination is released in the fall after the appeals have been considered.

“Because LMS made AYP last school year, it has not been identified as a Needs Improvement school,” Embry said. “Loganville Middle has annually improved academic performance over the years – in nearly every area, in every grade level, and for every subgroup. On some assessments, the majority of subgroups have exemplary performance (better than 90 percent of students meeting or exceeding standards). The students with disabilities subgroup has also made great strides over the years improving math performance by 46 percent and reading/language arts performance by 32 percent since 2006.”

The table below shows the percent of improvement of all Loganville Middle AYP subgroups since 2006.

PERCENT OF IMPROVEMENT SINCE 2006

All

Black

White

Students with Disabilities

Economically Disadvantaged

Mathematics

+8%

+19%

+9%

+46%

+16%

Reading/Language Arts

+6%

+15%

+5%

+32%

+12%