By SEÁN O’DONOGHUE
Managing Editor
Lincoln County High School
West Hamlin Elementary
Ranger Elementary
Duval PK-8
Hamlin PK-8
Midway Elementary
Guyan Valley Middle School
Harts PK-8
Central Office reaction
State Scores - Mathematics
State Scores - RLA
"What we value in West Virginia is constant improvement and student academic growth,” said state Superintendent of Schools Jorea Marple. "Meeting Adequate Yearly Progress under No Child Left Behind (NCLB) is a tough task for schools across the nation. Nonetheless, more West Virginia students are making the grade.” NCLB requires that all students in the United States are proficient by 2014. "Our goal is that students are ready to be successful whether they go to college or enter the workforce,” Marple said. "Even the schools that were not able to jump over the AYP bar still showed individual student improvement and that should be commended,” the superintendent added.
HAMLIN - Three Lincoln County schools made Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) last year, according to WESTEST 2 data released recently by the West Virginia Department of Education. Once again, West Hamlin Elementary achieved the level. The school was named a West Virginia School of Excellence last spring. Also making AYP was Ranger Elementary. And, as a new school, Special Projects Director Dana Snyder said Harts PK-8 made AYP by default. Lincoln County High School, Duval PK-8, Hamlin PK-8, Guyan Valley Middle School, and Midway Elementary all failed to make AYP last year.
Encouraging signs of progress in mathematics continued at Lincoln County High School. According to the May 2012 testing, 33.13 percent of those tested were deemed proficient in maths. For the May 2011 testing, just 28.33 were proficient in the field. Reading and language arts scores were less encouraging at the high school. Just over a quarter, (26.78 percent) of those tested were proficient in reading and language arts. In the May 2011 testing, 30.38 were proficient. A total of 175 students were tested in reading and language arts (RLA), while 176 were tested in mathematics. The graduation rate at the school was 75.2 percent.
At West Hamlin Elementary, the school made AYP for the third year in succession. Test scores improved in math, but marginally declined in RLA. For mathematics, May 2012 testing showed 56.9 students were proficient, compared to 52.15 the previous year. In RLA, 51.93 students were deemed proficient, compared to 52.15 a year earlier.
In comments to The Lincoln Journal, last week, West Hamlin Elementary Principal Kirk King welcomed the unofficial data. "We had some increases in mathematics and stayed about the same in reading/language arts. I continue to be extremely proud of our students, staff, and community in the continuous improvement effort. To make gains three consecutive years speaks volumes about our school community,” said King. "As we transition into new common core standards and a new growth model, I believe that West Hamlin Elementary is on target and will continue to grow as we strive to meet the needs of all our students,” he concluded.
Ranger Elementary rejoined the ranks of AYP schools after missing out last year. The data shows that the school made significant gains in both mathematics and RLA. Half the students (50 percent) tested last May were proficient in mathematics, compared with just 33.96 percent a year earlier. In RLA, 56 percent were proficient, up from 45.28 percent in May 2011 testing.
In comments to The Lincoln Journal in recent days, Ranger Elementary Principal Christina Napier expressed her sincere thanks to the staff, students, parents, and community of Ranger Elementary for what she said was the role they played in the academic growth the children demonstrated in the WESTEST this past school year. "Together, as a team, we can accomplish great things. The academic growth made by Ranger Elementary students is proof. I am extremely proud of all ‘my babies’ and their accomplishments. I consider myself to be the most blessed person in the world because I have the opportunity to work with the most compassionate people with regards to the education of children,” said Napier. "The staff of Ranger Elementary assumes the role of educating children with a personal commitment, and we strive on a daily basis to meet each child’s academic, social, emotional, and physical needs. We are proud of the fact that we met Adequate Yearly Progress; however, our most important accomplishment is the academic growth and success of our children,” concluded the principal.
While the Griffithsville school may not have made AYP, Principal Kim Clayton will no doubt be encouraged by the improvements in both mathematics and RLA. May 2012 testing at Duval PK-8 showed 45.45 percent of students were proficient in mathematics, compared with 41.23 percent one year earlier. In RLA, 42.07 students were proficient, up from 40.72 in 2011.
Scores in both fields disimproved at Hamlin PK-8. In May 2012 testing, 31.41 percent were proficient in mathematics, down from 33.99 percent in 2011. In RLA, 37.16 percent were proficient in May 2012 testing, down from 41.91 percent in 2011.
There was a steep drop in mathematics proficiency at Midway Elementary. Just 29.03 percent of the 104 students were proficient in mathematics, down from 46.39 last year. RLA scores at school also saw regression, albeit not as precipitous as the mathematics decline. Out of 104 students tested, 34.4 percent were proficient in RLA. That was down from 37.11 percent a year earlier.
A total of 263 students were tested in Math and RLA at Guyan Valley Middle School. The school saw progress in math, while RLA proficiency was much the same as a year earlier. In math, 46.85 percent were proficient, up from 43.02 a year earlier. In RLA, 45.27 percent were proficient, slightly down on the 2011 rate of 45.41 percent.
Given its status as a new school, a full breakdown of data for Harts PK-8 was not available. At the school, which opened its doors last January, a total of 273 students were tested in mathematics, while 271 were tested in RLA.
Commenting on the Lincoln County data, Special Projects Director Dana Snyder said the scores show that an increasing number of students in Lincoln County reached or exceeded proficiency in 2011-2012. "The number of Lincoln county students reaching the "at or above" proficiency level has increased in both math and reading across most grade levels. Under No Child Left Behind (NCLB), proficiency is defined as the number of students meeting or exceeding grade level expectations in each subject,” said Snyder, who was the first principal at LCHS. He also noted, that last year, nearly 51 percent of students in Lincoln County showed improvement in mathematics from the 2010-2011 scores. In RLA, 50 percent of Lincoln County students showed improvement from the 2010-2011 scores.
Superintendent Patricia Lucas also commented on the data. "We are very proud of all of our schools and the academic growth that has been noted,” says Lucas. "We are also extremely proud of those schools that have made AYP.” Lucas went on to say that she attributes the gains to those "deep seated relationships that teachers and principals were developing with students, and the relevance of what we teach in the classroom, as well as the rigor that principals and teachers are demanding from our students.”
Statewide, all three grade divisions showed progress in mathematics. For grades 3 to 5, 48.7 percent of students were proficient, up from 44.1 in 2011. For grades 6 to 8, 47 percent were proficient, up from 43.3 in 2011. Finally, for grades 9 to 11, 43.6 percent were proficient, up from 41.6 a year earlier.
For grades 3 to 5, 48.3 percent of students were proficient statewide, up from 46.8 percent a year earlier. For grades 6 to 8, 49.5 percent were proficient, down from 50.1 percent a year earlier. For grades 9 to 11, 47.2 were proficient, up from 46 percent in 2011.
Statewide, 370 schools made AYP out of a total of 651 schools (57 percent). That was a marked improvement on the 2011 outcomes, when 329 of 663 schools made AYP (50 percent).
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