School Improvement
Albemarle County Public Schools has high expectations for students and is dedicated to ensuring that all students succeed based on multiple measures. One measure is student and school performance based on the Standards of Learning (SOL) tests. The State of Virginia under the federal No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) waiver has established a set of measurable objectives that are common for all schools across the state. These objectives, which are based on our students' performance on the SOL tests, replaced the Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) targets schools were previously required to meet under the federal education law.
Each August, Virginia releases a report based on the prior year's SOL results. To meet Annual Measurable Objectives (AMO), each school's SOL test scores in math for students in the following membership groups were considered: all students; white students; African American students; Hispanic students; limited English proficient students; students with disabilities; and economically disadvantaged students. In addition to the test scores, a minimum of 95% of the students in each group must take the SOL test.
Schools that do not meet the state's math objectives for several membership groups become known as Focus Schools. Focus Schools become eligible for additional support from the school division and State of Virginia as they work to improve. Federal funds are used for intensive staff professional development as well as a state-designated contractor. As part of the schools' improvement plans, the following will occur:
-
A review of curricular planning documents and their alignment to the Virginia Standards of Learning;
-
Ongoing progress monitoring to assess student growth; and
-
Infusing technologies to accelerate learning.
ACPS Title I Coordinator, Andrea Blount
ablount@k12albemarle.org
Albemarle County Public Schools
401 McIntire Road
Charlottesville, VA 22902
(434) 296-5820