Calvert, St. Mary's Students Meet Yearly Goals

Majority of Elementary, Middle Schools in Charles Also Show Progress

All public elementary and middle schools in Calvert and St. Mary's counties met state-set goals for student performance on standardized tests this year, a feat accomplished by only seven counties in Maryland.

Most Charles County schools also met the annual goals and showed marked improvements in middle school reading scores, but a handful of targeted demographic groups at one middle school did not show "adequate yearly progress."

This is the first time St. Mary's schools have met the yearly progress targets established by the federal No Child Left Behind Act for various groups of students, such as racial minorities, students from poor families, special-needs students and students with limited English. Schools must show adequate progress in each area to pass.

"I can't contain myself," St. Mary's Superintendent Michael J. Martirano said when the Maryland State Department of Education released the results last week. "I am so pumped."

No Child Left Behind aims to have all students test at proficient levels and higher by 2014. Each year, the bar is raised and schools must score higher on the state standardized tests. Last week's progress report was for elementary and middle schools. Results of the similar high school exam will be released in the fall, along with assessments of school systems as a whole.

All Charles elementary schools and seven of its eight middle schools met their yearly targets. Mattawoman Middle School has been identified as needing "local attention" to improve the math proficiency of African Americans, students in special education classes and students receiving free and reduced-price lunches. This is the first time since 2003, when the tests were first mandated, that the middle school has missed its target.

"We have to focus on the academic achievement of all of our students," Charles Superintendent James E. Richmond said last week. Richmond said teachers and staff members have several strategies for doing so, including giving students personalized attention and getting them involved in extracurricular activities.

Calvert students consistently perform well on the exams, ranking the school system as one of the top-performing in the state. Superintendent Jack Smith said teachers and staff members will continue to tailor the curriculum to individual students, helping those who are struggling while pushing more students to achieve advanced scores.

Smith added that although tests are necessary, they are "only one measure of what students know."

In St. Mary's, the higher test scores were cause for extra celebration at two schools that were on a state school-improvement watch list. Elementary and middle schools are placed on the list if they fail to meet the standard in two consecutive years. When a school is on the list, parents can transfer their children to other schools.

This year, one of the two St. Mary's schools, Lexington Park Elementary, came off the list. The other, Spring Ridge Middle, must show improvement again next year to be removed.

Statewide, the number of schools on the list this year dropped to 169 from 176, the first time the such decrease since the No Child Left Behind law was enacted in 2001.

Calvert has no schools on the list this year, and Charles has never had a school on the list. Last year, seven Charles schools were identified as needing "local attention." This year, all the schools showed progress and met their goals.