Office of the Superintendent of Schools
MONTGOMERY COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS
Rockville, Maryland
August 22, 2005
MEMORANDUM
To:
Members of the Board of Education
From:
Jerry D. Weast, Superintendent of Schools
Subject:
Preliminary High School Adequate Yearly Progress Determinations and High
School Assessment Results
Preliminary data on Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) for high schools and the last results of the
state’s high school assessments (HSA) for students who are not required to pass them for
graduation are scheduled to be released tomorrow, Tuesday, August 23, by the Maryland State
Department of Education (MSDE). The HSA requirement goes into effect for this year’s ninth
graders who graduate in 2009.
On the preliminary data, 75 percent of Montgomery County Public Schools’ (MCPS)
comprehensive high schools (18 of 24) made sufficient progress on state testing programs and
accountability standards in 2005 to comply with the AYP requirements under the No Child Left
Behind Act of 2001. These preliminary AYP determinations are based on the Maryland School
Assessment (MSA) in geometry and graduation rates in 2005 and are in addition to results
previously released for elementary and middle schools.
These results are preliminary because MSDE has replaced the MSA reading test with a new test,
English 2, which will provide AYP information and serve as the English HSA. MSDE is
currently setting standards for this new assessment and anticipates having standards approved by
the state Board of Education in late October. At that time, MSDE will recalculate AYP results to
include the additional assessment, and the list of schools not meeting AYP will be revised and
released in late fall. Additionally, MCPS may appeal any decision based on miscoding of
student data, the inclusion of students who were not enrolled in the school for the full academic
year (since September 30, 2004), or student absences due to medical emergencies.
To achieve AYP, schools must meet their Annual Measurable Objectives (AMOs) for all
students and for students in subgroups defined by race/ethnicity and special services, including
students receiving Free and Reduced-price Meals System (FARMS), special education, and
limited English proficiency (LEP) services. Two high schools previously in School Improvement
Year 1, Gaithersburg and Montgomery Blair, met AYP in 2005. If they achieve AYP in 2006,
both schools will exit School Improvement. For 2005, they will remain in School Improvement
Year 1. John F. Kennedy High School did not meet AYP in math, but will remain in School
Members of the Board of Education
2
August 22, 2005
Improvement Year 1 since a school advances through School Improvement when it does not
meet AMOs in the same academic area for two consecutive years. An additional five schools did
not meet AYP for the first time in 2005 and now require local attention. These schools are
Colonel Zadok Magruder, Watkins Mill, Wheaton, Albert Einstein, and Springbrook high
schools.
Four special or alternative schools did not meet AYP. The Mark Twain School did not meet
AYP in 2005, but will remain in School Improvement Year 1 because the academic area is not
the same. The Regional Institute for Children and Adolescents and the Montgomery Evening
School did not meet AYP in 2005 for the first time and are now on the list of schools requiring
local attention. The Alternative Programs failed to meet AYP in 2005 and have advanced from
School Improvement Year 1 to Year 2.
Table 1
MCPS High Schools Not Meeting AYP in 2005 Requiring Local Attention and
Schools Identified for Improvement for the 2005–2006 School Year
Requiring
Local
Attention
(on alert)
High School/Special Schools
Albert Einstein
Colonel Zadok Magruder
Springbrook
Watkins Mill
Wheaton
Regional Institute for Children
and Adolescents
Academic
Area
Not Met
Math
Math
Math
Math
Math
Math
Year 1
Montgomery Evening
John F. Kennedy
Mark Twain School
Math
Math
Math
Year 2
Alternative Programs
Math
Student Group(s)
Not Making AYP
Special Education
Special Education
Hispanic
African American
All Students, Hispanic, LEP
All Students
African American
White
Special Education
All Students
Special Education
All Students,
African American,
FARMS,
Special Education
All Students
African American,
Hispanic,
FARMS
Graduation
Notes: Information subject to change based on expected appeals and the release of the English 2 results in late fall.
Gaithersburg and Montgomery Blair high schools are maintaining their Year 1 School Improvement status although
they made AYP in 2005 and can exit if they make AYP in 2006.
Members of the Board of Education
3
August 22, 2005
The final HSA data prior to this year’s implementation of the graduation requirement show a
slight decrease in the number of test takers and pass rates from the previous year (Table 2).
These results should be reviewed with caution, however, since students are not required to pass
the tests in order to graduate. Students in the Class of 2009 (students entering Grade 9 this year)
are the first students required to pass the four HSAs as a graduation requirement. For middle
school students, the pass rate on the Algebra/Data Analysis test is 95 percent.
Table 2
Number of MCPS Test Takers and Pass Rates on the HSA 2002–2005
HSA
2002
2003
2004
2005
Algebra/Data
Analysis
% pass
N
71.5
11,486
67.1
12,138
72.4
11,912
67.7
11,317
Biology
% pass
N
72.2
9,697
71.3
10,456
73.8
10,499
70.1
10,326
Government
% pass
N
72.2
9,566
77.3
10,785
79.1
10,669
77.3
11,395
The preliminary AYP results will be revised in late fall when MSDE includes the results of the
new English 2 assessment. The HSA results may not be a representative measure of student
mastery until students are required to pass them as a component of graduation. At that time, they
will become a more accurate reflection of student achievement.
I will continue to keep you informed of further developments.
JDW:csa
Attachment
Copy to:
Executive Staff