CENTRE — The Cherokee County School System last week announced that the system has made Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) as defined under the federal No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) for the eighth consecutive year.

The AYP status of Alabama schools and school systems is based on student achievement and participation rates on assessments for reading and mathematics, plus attendances rates for elementary and middle schools and graduation rates for high schools. Under NCLB, schools must meet 100 percent of their respective annual goals in all student groups to be identified as having achieved AYP.

NCLB requires schools to meet annual goals in the academic achievement of the overall student population and by student groups, including economic background, ethnicity, limited English proficiency, and special education. This year all the schools in Cherokee County made AYP and met 100 percent of their target goals, with the exception of Sand Rock. Sand Rock met 15 of 17 goals, therefore meeting 88.24 percent of its target goals.

Sand Rock did not meet their goals in the subgroup of special education grades 3-5 in the areas of math and reading.

Under NCLB requirements the percentage of students required to meet the proficiency standard increases annually. In essence, the bar for each student continues to increase, making it harder each year to obtain AYP status, especially for students with disabilities.

However, the school system is working closely with Sand Rock School to develop intervention strategies and plans to address the reading and math deficits for the particular subgroup of special education students.

“Of course, our goal is the have every school meet all of their target goals in every subgroup,” said Superintendent Brian Johnson. “Overall though, the results for the system are outstanding.”

Johnson said Cherokee County is one of only 30 county school systems out of the 67 that achieved AYP status.

“The results of the Alabama State Departments Accountability Report for our school system and schools is a direct reflection on the hard work and dedication of our teachers, staff, students, and administrators,” Johnson said. “This accomplishment is no small feat, and their efforts and accomplishments do not go unnoticed.”

The full report can be viewed at www.cherokeek12.org or www.alsde.edu.