| PRESS RELEASE/CALHOUN SCHOOLS
Calhoun County schools and students are learning the ABCs of the state's new accountability system as student performance results were unveiled. The new accountability system is the result of West Virginia receiving flexibility from the federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act from the U.S. Department of Education. Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) no longer exists.
"I am very pleased that West Virginia has been granted a flexibility waiver from the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act from the U.S. Department of Education", stated Calhoun Superintendent of Schools, Roger Propst.
"Our state's new accountability system is a much improved method of assessment of both schools and students. Instead of concentrating on an almost entirely arbitrary cut-line of Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP), the new accountability system addresses growth in student and school achievement from one year to the next, and projects future success or failure based upon a trajectory related to the most recent results.
All students, faculty, and parents should be extremely proud that all three Calhoun schools achieved either Success or Transition classifications, the top two designations in the new system."
"The release of this data is important for our students, teachers and schools," said state Superintendent of Schools James Phares. "This year's results include a mixture of positive results as well as several areas that must be improved. Most importantly, we know our teachers and students should be applauded for their hard work and efforts because even though the statewide assessment became more intense in 2010, the majority of our students continued to show growth."
As part of the West Virginia Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) Waiver, the state is using its own accountability system created by West Virginia education experts for West Virginia students.
This accountability system more effectively identifies struggling schools, provides individual student growth data, better directs resources to struggling schools and recognizes schools that are doing well.
Under the new accountability system, Calhoun County schools and students receive a score for factors such as whether students are meeting grade level expectations, how much a school has closed its achievement gap between groups of students, and how much students are improving academically no matter their current level of performance.
The different pieces of data lay the foundation for the West Virginia accountability system.
The new accountability system also designates every school as a Success, Transition, Focus, Support or Priority school. The My School Performance website is a quick and easy way for schools, teachers, parents and students to review specific school data:
wvde.state.wv.us
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