Four Chapel Hill-Carrboro schools failed to meet adequate yearly progress (AYP) standards in reading this year.
Frank Porter Graham Elementary School, McDougle Elementary School, McDougle Middle School and East Chapel Hill High School did not meet AYP, but will not face No Child Left Behind sanctions because they met AYP last year.
Across the district and the state, reading scores fell, with 78.5 percent of CHCCS students proficient in reading, compared with 93.4 of elementary school students and 94.2 percent of middle school students last year.
District officials attribute the drop to the administration of new reading tests for students in grades three through eight, as well as higher standards for attaining proficiency on the tests. Last year, the state schools’ range on reading tests was 83 to 92 percent, compared with 52 to 61 percent this year.
According to a district press release, the CHCCS drop is approximately half of the statewide decline.
Last year, CHCCS had four Schools of Excellence, with 90 percent or more students at or above grade level; 10 Schools of Distinction, with 80 percent or more students at or above grade level; and one School of Progress, with 70 percent or more students at or above grade level. This year, the district, which has an additional school to report with the opening of Carrboro High School, has no Schools of Excellence, 12 Schools of Distinction and four Schools of Progress.
— Staff reports