Two Parkland Schools Fall Short In Adequate Yearly Progress

Ironton Elementary and Parkland High fell short of meeting Adequate Yearly Progress goals, according to preliminary information provided at Tuesday's Parkland School Board meeting.

Officials said the No Child Left Behind reporting structure for subgroups led to Ironton Elementary receiving a "warning" status and Parkland High School receiving an elevated warning status again this year to "School Improvement II." 

The district's remaining seven elementary schools and the two middle schools met Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) goals.

Ironton Elementary was given a warning based on the reading performance of the Individual Education Plan subgroup, which includes students who receive learning support, said Marge Evans, the district's coordinator of data assessment and federal programs.

Parkland High School was elevated to "School Improvement II" because of the math performance of the Individual Education Plan subgroup and the reading performance of the economically disadvantaged subgroup, Evans said. The high school is required to submit an improvement plan to the Pennsylvania Department of Education.

 of School Improvement I because of the math performance of the economically disadvantaged subgroup.

Under No Child Left Behind, if a school has 40 or more students in a subgroup, Annual Yearly Progress targets must be applied. If any subgroup fails to meet a target, the entire school is failed. Larger school districts typically have more subgroup categories.

No Child Left Behind was designed to allow for accountability. 

Superintendent Richard Sniscak noted that the 2012 AYP academic targets had increased significantly over the previous year -- to 81 percent from 72 percent for reading, and to 78 percent from 67 percent for math.

He said Ironton and "fell prey" to the punitive aspects of No Child Left Behind. He said the preliminary AYP results demonstrate the need for lawmakers to reconcile No Child Left Behind with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, which governs how schools provide services to children with disabilities. 

He said he would not revisit the "lack of fairness" in a law that tests all students and expects the same from those who are least able.

Sniscak said officials could not be prouder of the staff's work and that the data would be used to improve support to the students. 

The district on Tuesday also provided a summary report of the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment's (PSSA) preliminary results, which is used to measure Adequate Yearly Progress.

Here are the preliminary percentages of students who performed at advanced or proficient levels in the PSSA areas of reading and math.

* Reading

Grade 3 -- 84 percent in 2012 (84 percent in 2011)

Grade 4 -- 84 percent (84 percent in 2011)

Grade 5 -- 75 percent (78 percent in 2011)

Grade 6 -- 80 percent (83 percent in 2011)

Grade 7 -- 85 Percent (92 percent in 2011)

Grade 8 -- 92 percent (94 percent in 2011)

Grade 11 -- 82 percent (83 percent in 2011)

* Math

Grade 3 -- 90 percent (90 percent in 2011)

Grade 4 -- 91 percent (92 percent in 2011)

Grade 5 -- 80 percent (85 percent in 2011)

Grade 6 -- 90 percent (92 percent in 2011)

Grade 7 -- 93 percent (95 percent in 2011)

Grade 8 -- 91 percent (96 percent in 2011)

Grade 11 -- 79 percent (78 percent in 2011)

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