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Clinton Schools Miss AYP, Transitioning To New Standards

Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) for school districts across the state were released last week.

AYP is a standard set by the 'No Child Left Behind Act' (NCLB). Superintendent of Clinton Schools Dr. Jeff Holmes explains those standards throughout Illinois and 48 states are being transitioned out for new standards. Dr. Holmes says the last two years they have been transitioning out of the NCLB and come the 2014-15 school year, which will be the first year the new standards are tested for, their students will be ready.

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Until that new standard is fully implemented, Dr. Holmes explains students will still be tested based on the AYP measurements. He says their curriculum is moving over to the new common core standards. He adds when students take their tests, the results will not be aligned with what they are learning.

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Because of this, Clinton schools did not make AYP this year. Dr. Holmes says when he first looked at the numbers, they were a little bit alarming. He explains he went and looked at the ACT scores for this year's seniors and says their numbers compared to the state average are very similar.

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Dr. Holmes feels the Common Core standards will be much better suited for today's teachers. He says it will give them more time to spend on other subjects because they will be required to cover other areas.

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Because the Clinton district did not make AYP this year, Dr. Holmes says the district could be in jeopardy of having to redirect federal dollars from their lower grade levels to their middle and high school students. He says there is still a decision pending from the state of Illinois, so repercussions of them missing AYP are still pending.

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