BY MELANIE BUCK –
A total of 67 public schools showed sufficient improvement on test scores to meet annual targets that were approved by the U.S. Department of Education and are designated as Achieving Schools. The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) was re-authorized by the U.S. Congress in 2001 as the No Child Left Behind ACT (NCLB). Under NCLB, the proficiency targets for all student subgroups were 100 percent for the year 2014. Ouachita River School District, Acorn Campus is the only school in Polk County to receive the rating.
In 2012, Arkansas received flexibility from some of the NCLB requirements. Under the approved flexibility, all schools are required to meet Annual Measurable Objectives (AMOs), or yearly targets, designed to reduce the proficiency, growth and graduation gaps by half by the end of six years. Test scores from 2011 were used to determine the proficiency, growth and graduation gap (based on 2010 data) to establish the targets for each school. Students are classified into two main categories: the All Students group and the Targeted Achievement Gap Group (TAGG), which includes students in one or more of the economically disadvantaged, English Learners and Students With Disabilities subgroups. Also, to be Achieving, a school must test at least 95 percent of the All Students group and the TAGG for both literacy and math.
Superintendent Jerry Strasner said, “I am very proud of the growth that we are seeing in the performance of our students. This is a very honorable achievement and is a reflection of the hard work of our students, teachers, parents, administration, and board.”
About Author
Jeri Pearson
Jeri is the News Director for Pulse Multi-Media and Editor of The Polk County Pulse. She has 10 years of experience in community focused journalism and has won multiple press association awards.
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