O'DEA: Great news: We’re excellent

Wellsville Schools have received great news. The 2009 state assessment information has been released and Wellsville has many reasons to celebrate.

Students in grades three though high school took the Kansas State Reading and Math Assessments last spring. These scores are then used to calculate the Adequate Yearly Progress of each school and the district.

What is Adequate Yearly Progress? AYP is a requirement of the No Child Left Behind federal law. It is a process for judging if schools and districts are on track for achieving 100 percent proficiency by the 2013-2014 school year.

Each of the schools in the district, as well as the district, met the AYP targets for the 2008-09 school year. The AYP scores have gradually increased every year since the inception of the No Child Left Behind federal law was enacted. Schools across the state now have to have more students make AYP and test at a higher level to qualify for Standard of Excellence than in years past.

What is Standard of Excellence? The Kansas State Board of Education has established very high expectations for academic achievement for both Kansas schools and for individual students. These expectations are called the “Standard of Excellence.” Each grade level must maintain a certain percentage of students who “meet standards or above” while decreasing the number of students in the categories below “meets standards.”

Wellsville Schools are celebrating because the following grade levels/schools made the coveted Standard of Excellence:

Reading

• Grade 4 — Standard of Excellence

• Grade 5 — Standard of Excellence

• Grade 6 — Standard of Excellence

• Grade 7 — Standard of Excellence

• Grade 8 — Standard of Excellence

• Grade 11 — Standard of Excellence

• Buildingwide: ELEMENTARY — Standard of Excellence

• Buildingwide: MIDDLE SCHOOL — Standard of Excellence

• Buildingwide: HIGH SCHOOL — Standard of Excellence

Math

• Grade 6 — Standard of Excellence

• Grade 7 — Standard of Excellence

• Grade 8 — Standard of Excellence

• Buildingwide: ELEMENTARY — Standard of Excellence

• Buildingwide: MIDDLE SCHOOL — Standard of Excellence

Science

• Buildingwide: MIDDLE SCHOOL — Standard of Excellence (7th grade takes assessment)

While this is a report of last school years’ state testing results, we are confident that this year’s students will be just as prepared and the results will reflect that preparation.

If you wish to personally check out this information, visit the website at www.ksde.org — select building report cards, then Franklin County, then the individual districts within that county.

A large gold star will greet you when the school selected has reached the Standard of Excellence.

Denise O’Dea is superintendent of Wellsville schools.