For the First Time, LHS Falls Short of AYP

For the first time, Lemont High School has failed to make adequate yearly progress (AYP) in standardized state testing.

The Board of Education for Lemont Township High School District 210 briefly discussed the 2010 results at its meeting Tuesday.

"We did not make AYP, and we'll be getting the report card together and putting out the information to put this into context for the community," said Superintendent Sandra Doebert, who presented the board with the 2009-2010 Illinois School Report Card.

Under a federal mandate from the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, all students must meet or exceed state standards in the subjects of reading and mathematics by 2014. Since 2003, the state of Illinois has used AYP to determine whether students are improving their scores based on annual benchmarks.

This year, the state's target for students meeting or exceeding math and reading standards was 77.5 percent -- a 7.5-point increase from 2009. According to a news release, Lemont High School fell short this year with 70.1 percent making AYP reading and 73.2 percent in math.

Last year, the school surpassed the 70-percent target in both subjects, with 75.6 percent in reading and 72.8 percent in math.

Data analyst Kathy Brockett presented the information to the board in a detailed report.

"We really thought we would have a good shot of reaching 77.5 percent," she said. "But we fell short."

The state of Illinois uses scores from the Prairie State Achievement Examination (PSAE), the Illinois Standards Achievement Test (ISAT) and the Illinois Alternate Assessment (IAA) to measure student improvement. The ISAT is administered to students in third through eighth grade, while the PSAE is taken by all high school juniors. Students with disabilities are administered the IAA.

Lemont High School met standards in all other AYP factors, including:

• Graduation rate (LHS: 96 percent, AYP: 80 percent)
• Attendance rate (LHS: 94.7 percent, AYP: 91 percent)
• Percentage of students administered PSAE (LHS: 100 percent, AYP: 95 percent)

There are no consequences for schools failing to meet AYP for the first time. After the second year, schools are placed on the Title I School Improvement plan, which requires districts to provide school choice, supplemental services and corrective action.

Brockett compared state testing to running a marathon. People who run marathons are looking for their personal best but are also aware of where they fit with the rest of the pack, she said.

"That's kind of how we approach the PSAE," she added. "We're looking for our own school best from one year to the next, but then we also want to see how the other guys do. How we're doing relative to the rest of Illinois gives us a sense of our place."

In 2009, Lemont High School ranked among the state's top six percent of high schools in the PSAE. With 73.8 percent of students meeting or exceeding standards, it ranked 41st out of 656 high schools in the state, according to a Chicago Tribune database. Lemont still expects to be in the top 10 percent of high schools for 2010, school officials said.

Citing information from the Chicago Tribune, Brockett pointed out that 558 schools failed to make AYP in 2008, and 721 failed to do so in 2009. This year, 918 grade schools and high schools were unable to make AYP out of 4,954 in the state, she said.

The standards for schools to make AYP have increased significantly since 2003, when only 40 percent of students were required to meet or exceed in math and reading. The target has increased 7.5 points each year, meaning the standard will be 85 percent in 2011, 92.5 percent in 2012 and 2013, and 100 percent in 2014.

"I don't know what kind of statement that makes," Brockett said. "It's not a smart goal they've set — it's not realistic."

No Child Left Behind measures progress between different classes, rather than students' personal growth over time. Students who graduated from Lemont High School in 2010 made AYP standards last year as juniors. Current data reflects the performance of students on track to graduate in 2011.

Despite not making AYP, Lemont High School has shown progress in several areas. The Class of 2010 posted an average composite ACT score of 22.7 -- the highest in school history. The mark was a full 2.0 points higher than the state average.

The school's overall PSAE performance was also much higher than the state average. In 2010, 69.2 percent of Lemont students met or exceeded standards in math, reading and science (which is not used to measure AYP), while the state's average was only 53 percent. The percentage of Lemont students meeting reading standards was 16 points higher than the state's 54.1 percent, and the percentage meeting math standards was 20.5 points higher than the state's 52.7 percent.

Fifteen Lemont High School students were named Prairie State Scholars in 2010, an honor bestowed upon students who exceed standards in all subtests of the exam. Only two students earned the same recognition in 2009.

Despite the news, the school remains optimistic about student progress.

"The PSAE is a "snapshot" and not the totality of the work that our students, faculty and staff put in on a daily basis," Doebert said in an e-mail Wednesday. "We firmly believe that the systemic approach the school has implemented for curriculum, instruction, assessment, intervention, and professional development has led, and will continue to lead, to improving student achievement."

Per state regulations, the 2010 Illinois School Report Card for Lemont High School will be available to the public by the end of October.