Preliminary results for the Adequate Yearly Progress reports, recently released by the North Carolina Department of Instruction, indicate that two out of five county schools met all of their target goals.

Mountain View and Westwood elementary schools met all 17 of their target goals. The occasion is an especially momentous one for MVES, as this is the second year the school has made AYP, therefore bringing the school out of School Improvement guidelines.

“I’m very, very proud of Westwood and Mountain View,” Ashe County Schools Superintendent Dr. Travis Reeves said. “I think it is wonderful that they both made it.”

School officials say that understanding AYP and the implications it has for schools and the students is complex at best. To achieve AYP, each school must meet every target goal as missing only one goal prevents the school from achieving this standard measure of success. According to DPI, these reports are outlined and monitored by the guidelines set in place by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. It is the goal of this federal legislation, for all public school children to perform at grade level in reading and mathematics by the end of the 2013-2014 school year. AYP measures the yearly progress of different groups of students at the school, district, and state levels against a yearly target in reading and mathematics, the DPI said. The target goals are set increasingly higher in three-year increments until 2013-2014.

The three remaining county schools that did qualify under the NCLB guidelines for AYP missed doing so by only one target goal each. Reeves explained that Blue Ridge Elementary School and Ashe County Middle School would have qualified for AYP had both schools met their target goal for students with disabilities for math. Ashe County High School would have also achieved AYP had it met the target goal for the four-year cohort graduation rate.

“Those schools didn’t miss the mark by much,” Reeves said.

The superintendent also explained that although the NCLB guidelines are stringent, the county school system will continue to, “Work very hard to continue excellent education services in Ashe County.”

Although Reeves said that he is looking forward to witnessing the true implications of the Obama administration’s revision of the act under the secretary of education, he said that the school system will have to continue to work with the guidelines set before it.

“I definitely think changes need to be made and I think any educator would tell you the same,” Reeves said.

To view the complete AYP reports, visit www.ashe.k12.nc.us and click on the NCDPI link in the left column that will redirect you to 2009-2010 AYP results link.