School system, all high schools meet state benchmarks

Charles County Public Schools, for the second consecutive year, has met Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) as a system and at each level  elementary, middle and high school. Additionally, all six Charles County public high schools met AYP school performance benchmarks for 2009.

The Maryland State Department of Education released results Monday. The high school AYP is based on the results of grade 12 students' scores on the Maryland High School Assessments (HSA) and graduation rate. Information released Sept. 21 is only for high schools; the state released AYP data for middle and elementary schools in August.

AYP is the gain that schools, school systems, and states must make each year in the proportion of students achieving proficiency in reading and math. To make AYP, schools and school systems must improve in reading and mathematics for all students, as well as for nine student subgroups including each of five racial/ethnic groups, students receiving special education services, Limited English Proficiency services and Free and Reduced Meals services (FARMS). AYP also includes graduation rates for high school and attendance in elementary and middle school. A high school's AYP status is based on the highest student scores among all grade 12 students on the English and algebra/data analysis HSA scores, the school's participation rate in the assessments and its graduation rate.

"Students and staff continue to work toward meeting the rigorous goals set by the state and federal government. Education Week, the College Board and Newsweek all ranked Maryland education as number one in the nation, and I am proud of Charles County Public Schools, our students, teachers and staff who contribute to this extraordinary accomplishment," Superintendent James E. Richmond said. "Our students continue to make progress, and as with every round of testing results, we will take this information and use it to build upon our success and make improvement where needed."

The Maryland School Assessment (MSA) exams are given in the spring to third through eighth-grade students in reading and mathematics. High school students take the HSA in May.

Additional information may be found on the School Improvement in Maryland Web site at http://www.mdk12.org and the Maryland State Department of Education Web site at http://www.marylandpublicschools.org/MSDE.