No Child Left Behind

Superintendent Comeau comments on the 2005-06 AYP Results

A year of hard work, a focus on individual student needs, and great teaching and learning, has resulted in an increase in our students’ academic proficiency.

In April our students in grades 3—10 took the Alaska Standards Based Assessments that measured their skills in reading, writing and math. The primary reason these tests are given is so that teachers and principals can identify students’ individual strengths and areas needing improvement. They can then refine instructional techniques and ensure that every student improves his or her academic proficiency.

Preliminary results from April testing show that our students’ proficiency increased in both math and in language arts (a combination of reading and writing).

A secondary use of the tests is to measure how our schools are doing on a larger scale. Are students with similar backgrounds making good progress? Is the school as a whole making good progress?

Federal and state regulations set goals, or targets, for how much academic improvement a school needs to make in order to be considered as making “adequate yearly progress.” In all, there are 31 performance targets a school must achieve to make AYP. And schools must hit all 31 targets—missing even one target means the school does not make AYP.

I am proud to say that the 93 schools in the Anchorage School District have made great strides over the last few years. A solid majority of our schools continued to make AYP in 2006.

Some Title I schools — Muldoon, Mountain View, Russian Jack and Lake Otis — have now made AYP for two years in a row. Because of their great improvement, they are not subject to any consequences this year. They do not have to offer school enrollment choice or private tutoring at district expense.

Middle school students’ academic performance has risen as well. Wendler and Gruening have made AYP for the first time. Clark Middle School, while it didn't make AYP, had higher proficiency in both language arts and math last year, and the school reduced the number of missed targets by more than half.

That is progress, even if it isn't recognized by the all-or-nothing AYP rating system.

The hard work will continue through the upcoming school year. Every one of our teachers, principals, and support staff wants to further improve student performance. I'm proud of them and proud of our students. They make us a great school district.

[ School-by-school breakdown ]

Sincerely,
Carol Comeau, Superintendent