The recent Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) results for Clarkston High School began with a misunderstanding that has led to both good news and bad.
First, the good news. According to the Michigan Department of Education website, Clarkston High School did meet AYP requirements, passing with a grade B.
The bad news, combining the results of Renaissance High School, located in the Clarkston Community Education Center, brought the scores down.
Over the last week, the issue was debated whether or not Clarkston High School met AYP requirements. In one link on the Michigan Department of Education Web site, CHS did meet requirements, and in another they did not.
When reporting results, the state requires each school to form subgroups amongst the students. Subgroups can include categories such as those with disabilities, those in special education and those who are a minority. One subgroup containing special education students was believed to have been the reason Clarkston High School did not meet AYP standards.
Due to Education Yes! and the federal No Child Left Behind law, groups are graded and scores are tallied, then combined to form a final grade. With this uncertainty, Director of Marketing and Communications Anita Banach went to work. Banach contacted the proper sources and when a response finally arrived, the answer was one she didn’t quite expect.
‘Apparently, the reason we did not meet AYP is because Renaissance High School did not meet the requirements,? said Banach.
As stated on the Michigan Department of Education Web site, Clarkston Community Education Center received a grade D with an alert warning.
Although questions were answered, Clarkston Community Schools is staying on top of this and hopes to rid this extreme confusion in the future.