The Virginia Department of Education has notified Prince William County Public Schools that Gar-Field Senior High School’s appeal for Adequate Yearly Progress status has been accepted.
According to spokeswoman Irene Cromer, the school district believed this year’s annual measurable objective for math had been incorrectly recorded and consequently submitted the required appeals letter to the state through the division superintendent.
Schools can appeal for several reasons. They include when a school believes that an error or omission was made in reporting the number of enrolled students or the designation of less than a 95 percent participation rate; when a school believes that an error or omission occurred in the calculation of the passing rate (such as a failure to calculate safe harbor or a failure to consider a three-year cumulative pass rate); when a school believes that the demographic information associated with the test scores is in error and when a school believes that there was an omission of other information or data necessary for the determination of AYP.
Gar-Field made AYP two years ago but didn’t make it last year. The newspaper attempted to contact principal William Bixby before deadline but was unsuccessful in its efforts.
As a whole, the school division met AYP for the 2009-10 school year. However, 23 out of the 82 Prince William schools didn’t make AYP — an increase of nine schools from last year.
The federal No Child Left Behind Act calls for all students in the U.S. to be at the highest levels on state tests by 2014. The progress of each school, school division and state is measured annually by checking for AYP.
Staff writer Kipp Hanley can be reached at 703-878-8062.
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