Moore County schools saw a significant drop in annual yearly progress (AYP), despite the fact that the system maintained its test scores this year.

According to preliminary results released by the school system today, only three schools made AYP on end-of-grade tests last year.

AYP is an all-or-nothing accountability model that assesses academic growth in reading and math each year as a part of the No Child Left Behind Act's (NCLB) mandate that all public school students will be performing at their grade level by 2014.

Schools that did meet the federal benchmark were Academy Heights Elementary School, Cameron Elementary School and Pinehurst Elementary School.

Elementary schools that made AYP last year, but did not this year are Aberdeen Elementary School, High Falls Elementary School, Robbins Elementary School, Sandhills Farmlife Elementary School, Vass-Lakeview Elementary School and West End Elementary School.

Elementary schools that did not make AYP for the second year in a row were Carthage Elementary School, Southern Pines Elementary School and Westmoore Elementary School.

In its first year of operation, West Pine Elementary School did not make AYP, reaching 12 out of 13 target goals.

Aberdeen Primary School and Southern Pines Primary School also did not make AYP, but the two primary schools receive their status based on the performance of their sister schools, Aberdeen Elementary and Southern Pines Elementary, because academic assessments for NCLB begin in third grade.

Two of the county's middle schools did not make AYP this year, but did last year: Elise Middle School and West Pine Middle School.

New Century Middle School and Southern Middle School both have not made AYP in the last two years.

As a new middle school this past year, Crain's Creek Middle School did not make AYP, making 14 out of 19 target goals.

For the third year in a row, none of the county's high schools received AYP recognition.

North Moore High School was the only high school to receive the status in the 2007-2008 year.

Pinckney Academy, the county's alternative school, also did not make AYP.

Of the schools that did not make AYP, three — Vass-Lakeview Elementary, West End Elementary and West Pine Elementary —missed the federal recognition by one target goal.

A sharp increase in North Carolina's target goals for student proficiency is the main reason several schools did not make AYP this year.

Last year, the proficiency benchmark for reading was 43.2 percent and 77.2 percent in math.

This year, that benchmark was raised to 71.6 percent of students performing at or above grade level for reading and 88.6 percent in math.

Since NCLB went into effect in 2001, NC DPI has raised the state's increments of proficiency every three years in steps toward meeting the target goal of having 100 percent students in public school performing at or above grade level by 2014.

The distinction of AYP is given to schools that are able to meet 100 percent of their target growth goals for the year. Growth goals are determined at each school based on the demographics of a student population.

Each goal represents a sub-group of a students that is based on race and other socioeconomic factors. All students in each group must perform at or above the standard of proficiency determined by DPI in order for a school to make AYP.

End-of-grade tests, along with student attendance, determine AYP status for grades three through eight, and performance on end of course tests for Algebra I and English I, along with the 10th grade writing test and a school's graduation rate, distinguish high schools for the recognition.

The State Board of Education is expected to approve the results Aug. 4.

For more information about AYP scores, see Friday's edition of The Pilot.