ORCSD Fails to make AYP for Math and Reading...added to needs improvement list

DOVER — Recently released state assessment results show many area schools are still not meeting requirements for math and reading levels.

The New Hampshire Department of Education announced 2011 Adequate Yearly Progress reports for state schools and districts, showing 24 new districts have been preliminarily identified as "in needs of improvement," causing the number of districts in the state that need improvement to rise to 87, or 54 percent.

The Oyster River Cooperative School District has been added to the list. It did not meet the AYP levels for reading or math last year or this year. Rollinsford and Somersworth have continued to stay on the district in need of improvement list. Portsmouth schools reached its AYP for reading and was added to the districts in need of improvement status for math this year.

Stratham did not meet the standards for either math or reading this year, despite receiving strong scores last year.

Dover has remained as a district in need of improvement. It's graduation rate has decreased from 87.3 percent to 81.8 percent, but the school met its AYP in reading this year, though not in math. The district did not meet the standard last year in either math or reading.

"In 2010, we had no schools making AYP," said Dover Superintendent Jean Briggs Badger. "But this year we have two schools that made it in reading — the middle school and Horne Street."

Horne Street School also made its AYP in math. Briggs Badger said the district is proud of its progress, but said it still needs to work on continuing to progress. She hopes with the upcoming budget, the district can approve its proposed new math program that could help students struggling with the subject.

At the High School level, Dover students received an index score of 90, surpassing the 89 it was required to reach this year. However, in math, students only received a 68.9, up from last year's 66.6, but still not meeting the required target index score of 72.

Of the 469 school AYP reports, only 28 percent of schools made AYP in all measured areas, and 70 percent did not make AYP in one or more areas.

Across the state, 14 high schools missed the graduation rate target of 80 percent, which included Spaulding High School in Rochester. Last year, the target graduation rate was 75 percent and the number is expected to increase each year in participation of the No Child Left Behind Act.

Spaulding had a 74.7 percent graduation rate for 2010, down almost 12 percent from 2009 when the graduation rate was 86.6 percent.

"The explanation is the rate of our educational disability students is dragging us down," said Spaulding High School Principal Rob Seaward. "It means people in our special education program do graduate, but they take longer than four years."

Since those students may stay at the school until they are 21, Seaward said it takes away from the school's "on time" graduation rates. About 20 percent of Spaulding High School's student population falls into this category, he said.

Other factors may be in place, but the high school will be looking for answers in the coming months.

Across the nation, standards for students are increasing each year and by 2014, all students are expected to score "proficient" in reading and math, according to the No Child Left Behind Act.

"I think more schools each year are not making AYP because of that," said Spaulding High School Assistant Principal Ryan Kaplan.