Fairfax County failed to meet federal benchmarks for student improvement after years of successfully meeting the demands, as Virginia’s top school officials called for an overhaul of the No Child Left Behind requirements.
Alexandria and Arlington, Prince William and Loudoun counties similarly could not meet “adequate yearly progress” by having 81 percent or more of students in all subgroups be proficient in reading, and 79 percent cut it in math, on standardized state exams.
Just four districts, or 3 percent of the state, met AYP this year, with 697, or 38 percent, of schools.
“Accountability is not advanced by arbitrary rules and benchmarks that misidentify schools,” State Superintendent Patricia Wright said. “During the coming weeks, I will begin a discussion with the state board on creating a new model for measuring yearly progress that maintains high expectations for student achievement, recognizes growth — overall and by subgroup — and accurately identifies schools most in need of improvement.”
Wright said she would apply for a waiver for schools that did not make AYP. U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan announced the waivers from the unpopular testing section of the accountability law on Monday. D.C. officials have urged Mayor Vincent Gray to pursue a waiver as well.
Fairfax County made AYP in 2009 and 2010, but fell short this year. The largest district in Virginia, Fairfax was deemed “not in improvement” for both math reading on the Standards of Learning tests.
To make AYP, all student subgroups — by race, gender, income level, and English-fluency — must meet the federal benchmarks.
Arlington, Alexandria and Falls Church City did not make AYP, nor have they in the past three years.
Loudoun and Prince William counties last made AYP in 2009.
