Blair makes the grade

All Blair County school districts made the grade in 2008-09, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Education.

The county's seven districts met the state's Adequate Yearly Progress standards including the Altoona Area School District - the largest district in the county, which rose from last year's School Improvement I status to Making Progress in School Improvement I. No individual Blair County school went below a School Improvement I.

Depending on where a district rates, it either is making progress toward meeting the federal No Child Left Behind Act or may need remedial assistance from the state to help it improve.

For example, a School Improvement I district will receive technical assistance from the state to help it get back on the right track, the Education Department stated on its Web site.

Adequate Yearly Progress keeps tabs on districts and schools through Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA) tests in reading and math for students - including those who have special needs - in grades 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 11.

Schools and districts must meet academic performance in reading and math, graduation and test participation targets. The goal is to have all students 100 percent proficient in reading and math by 2014. The 2008-09 targets were 56 percent in math and 63 percent in reading.

In the Altoona district, Baker, Irving, Ebner and Pleasant Valley elementary schools met the targets. The junior high, Juniata Gap and Logan are in a warning status and Penn-Lincoln, Washington-Jefferson and Wright elementary school and the high school are in Improvement I status. Juniata Elementary School is Making Progress in Improvement I.

"We have a long way to go, no doubt about it, but we're working diligently," Altoona Assistant Superintendent for Secondary Education Mary Lou Ray said.

The state, in its progress reports, looks at various subgroups such as those students who are economically disadvantaged or who are part of a larger group that have Individualized Education Plans but also have learning disabilities.

The state plans to introduce PSSA-modified tests next year. The criteria for who qualifies to take the modified test is not yet available, Ray said. The state plans to limit the number of modified tests, meaning only a small percentage of the tests count in scoring, Ray said.

Pennsylvania Alternate System of Assessment is already given to students with disabilities severe enough to keep them from participating in the PSSAs, according to www.pasaassessment.org.

All schools in the Hollidaysburg Area School District met the standards except the high school, which is in warning status.

Subgroups also impacted the scores at the Hollidaysburg junior and senior high schools and Frankstown Elementary School.

"It's a challenge," Hollidaysburg Assistant Superintendent Gary D. Robinson said. "We're concerned about that. We're addressing that."

Williamsburg Community Junior and Senior High School is Making Progress in School Improvement I, according to the report. Spring Cove, Tyrone Area, Bellwood-Antis and Claysburg-Kimmel made the state standards.

"The pressure that these children endure related to the PSSA is not appropriate," Bellwood-Antis Director of Curriculum Thomas B. Otto wrote of the IEP subgroups in an e-mail. "We believe our efforts to include students in all classes where appropriate is having a positive impact, but there is more work to be done. However, the Keystone Exams and the other alternatives may provide a much more meaningful way for exceptional children to demonstrate and prove their learning to us rather than the PSSA test."

Officials from the Spring Cove, Tyrone and Williamsburg districts did not respond to requests for comment.

Mirror Staff Writer Amanda Clegg is at 949-7030.