Fewer Ga. schools make AYP

ATLANTA — Only 71 percent of Georgia schools made Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) this year, and more than 14 percent carry a Needs Improvement (NI) status, new statistics show.

“The initial AYP results demonstrate that our schools are more focused than ever and that is translating into fewer schools in Needs Improvement status,” State School Superintendent Brad Bryant said in a statement. “However, the academic bar and the graduation rate requirement increased this year, leading to a smaller percentage of schools making AYP, which is something we will focus closely on over the next several months.”

Last year, according to the state Department of Education, 79 percent of the state’s schools made AYP and 15.4 percent of schools were tagged with the NI label. There were a total of 305 NI schools this year, down from 334 a year ago; 35 schools were removed from the NI list this year.

“Getting out of NI status isn’t easy,” Bryant said. “These 35 schools should be very proud of their accomplishments, but have to remain focused so they continue making improvements.”