Birmingham Schools Meet AYP, Several Buildings Named 'Reward Schools'

The Michigan Department of Education (MDE) released its annual school report cards Thursday, and was one of the districts to meet all state standards through Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP).

In addition, seven Birmingham schools — including five elementary schools and two middle schools — were named best-of-the-best.

The (BCS), as well as , , , and elementary schools were named "reward schools" — a new designation from state putting them in the top 5 percent of Michigan schools that have made significant gains in academic progress.

“We applaud the hard work and achievement of the educators and students in our Reward Schools because they are zeroed in on improving learning,” said state Superintendent of Public Instruction Mike Flanagan in a press release. “We need to instill that goal in so many more schools, in order to help all kids be career- and college-ready and successful in life.”

Designating "reward schools" is one of many changes made to AYP this year, though the changes may not matter in the long run. Michigan recently received a newly-granted No Child Left Behind (NCLB) waiver, meaning in 2012-13, the state will no longer be measuring districts based on AYP.

Beginning next year, school districts will receive accountability scorecards instead that use five different colors to recognize varying levels of achiement and accountability for each school building and district.

Birmingham among districts meeting AYP

Birmingham was among the many districts in Michigan meeting AYP in both reading and math in 2011-12, according to the MDE.

In total, 52 percent of Michigan districts made AYP this year, down from 93 percent last year. At the school building level, 82 percent of schools — including all schools from Birmingham — made AYP across the state, compared to 79 percent last year.

The increase of schools not making AYP is due in part to the now used on the MEAP (Michigan Educational Assessment Program) and MME (Michigan Merit Exam) tests.

In addition, the state now factors graduation rates for all students into the calculations, while also looking at the achievement of certain student populations who previously may have not been counted.

In the past, districts only needed to meet AYP targets at one of three levels — elementary, middle and high school. Now, they are required to meet them at all three.

Jan Ellis, a spokeswoman for the MDE, said this year's designations put a focus on the achievement gaps between students and tries to highlight the need for all students to achieve success.

"The goal is to have all students proficient, not just some," she said, adding that in the past, there was the ability to mask poor student performance because the focus was on those students who were doing well.

In Birmingham, the lowest-performing school was . Though making AYP, the school was ranked in the 69th state percentile and received a C in the Education Yes! grade, which is based on student achievement, achievement growth and self-assessments from schools.

All seven Birmingham schools named "reward schools" ranked in the 90th state percentile; joining them was and . All schools in the 90th percentile received A's from Education Yes! except for and .

was ranked in the 85th percentile and received a B from Education Yes! Meanwhile, ranked in the 80th percentile and received an A from Education Yes!, while ranked in the 81st percentile and received an A from Education Yes!

New school designations

While AYP was designed to measure student achievement as required by the federal NCLB, a waiver from the federal government received last month frees Michigan from following some of NCLB rules.

As a result of the waiver, the MDE has identified three new school designations: reward schools, priority schools and focus schools.

Reward Schools: The top five percent of all Michigan schools in the annual top-to-bottom ranking, and the top five percent making the greatest academic progress over the past four years.

Priority Schools: Previously called "persistently lowest achieving schools," these are now identified as those in the bottom five percent of the annual top-to-bottom ranking and any high school with a graduation rate of less than 60 percent for three consecutive years. There were 146 priority schools identified this year, all of which will be required to come up with an improvement plan to improve. None of these schools were in Birmingham.

Focus Schools: The 10 percent of schools with the widest achievement gaps, meaning the academic disparity between the top 30 percent of students and the bottom 30 percent. That list includes 358 schools, many who in the past would be considered high-achieving. The schools are now charged with bridging the gap. None of these schools were in Birmingham as well.

“We are committed to closing the achievement gaps in all of our schools for all of our students,” Flanagan said in the release. “With this measure of transparency, schools will be identified and held accountable for the achievement of all of their students.”