Nine of Moore County's 21 public schools achieved Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) last year, meeting federal guidelines set down by the No Child Left Behind Law.

That is down from 11 schools that met the standard last year, but the percentage of those that achieved AYP remains higher than other surrounding counties.

Local AYP results can be viewed by clicking on the link above under the heading "More Information."

The goal of the federal No Child Left Behind law is for all public school children to perform at grade level in reading and mathematics by the end of the 2013-2014 school year. To meet that goal, certain performance standards, reported as adequate yearly progress, must be met each year.

Moore County Superintendent Susan Purser could not be reached for comment by deadline Tuesday. Purser has said in the past that meeting the ever-increasing standard is a formidable task. She has been critical of the federal law, saying it focuses more on punitive sanctions than recognition for gains made by students and teachers.

Meeting AYP goals is not just a matter of overall improvement for a school's population. Schools must show improvement in 10 target groups. If the standard is not met for reading or math by just one of the 10 subgroups of students, the entire school has not met AYP, under the federal law.

Those subgroups are: white, black, Hispanic, Native American, Asian, multiracial, economically disadvantaged, limited English proficient, students with disabilities and the total school population. Each group must have at least 40 students for the school to be held accountable for AYP standard.

The Moore County school system has created teams for each school to more effectively analyze data and create plans to improve achievement. Those teams are composed of staff members, parents and some students.

Schools that met AYP were Cameron Elementary, Elise Middle, Sandhills Farm Life Elementary, Highfalls Element-ary, North Moore High, Academy Heights Elementary, Pinehurst Elementary, West End Element-ary and Westmoore Elementary.

Those that did not meet AYP were Aberdeen Elementary, Carthage Elementary, New Century Middle, Pinecrest High, Robbins Elementary, Southern Middle, Southern Pines Primary, Southern Pines Elementary, Union Pines High, Vass-Lakeview Elementary and West Pine Middle.

Aberdeen Primary and Southern Pines Primary are not listed because the testing required for AYP occurs only at schools with grade 3 and higher. However, since K-2 schools do not participate in the testing, they assume the same AYP status as the schools they "feed into."

Title I schools can also be designated for school improvements if they do not meet certain requirements of No Child Left Behind two years in a row.

Contact Tom Embrey at 693-2477 or by e-mail at tembrey@thepilot.com.