Dearborn School District Meets Federal Academic Goals; High Schools Fall Short

Dearborn Public Schools received mostly high marks on the Michigan Department of Education's 2011 School Report Card–but fell short of goals in several schools.

According to statistics released Monday morning, all but five Dearborn schools made Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) according to standards set by the federal No Child Left Behind Act: , , , and . The federal goals are based on standardized test scores–in Michigan's case, the MEAP test.

As a district, Dearborn Public Schools met all goals except high school reading and math.

None of the four high schools showed adequate progress in English Language Arts for students with disabilities, or students with limited English proficiency.

However, Fordson students with disabilities hit federal goals for math ability, as did Edsel Ford's students with limited English proficiency.

Snow Elementary did not make AYP goals due to students with disabilities falling short in both English and math scores.

In addition to the federal guidelines, schools also are graded through a state accreditation system known as Education Yes! Those grades are derived largely on student test scores.

All Dearborn schools received grades of A or B, except for Edsel Ford and Fordson high schools, which were graded C and D, respectively.

No Dearborn schools were tagged for improvement by the MDOE; however, if the schools do not meet AYP standards for two years in a row, they could face consequences.

Statewide AYP Achievement Drops

Overall, Michigan schools saw a 7.1 percentage point decrease in students meeting the federal academic goals, dropping from 86 percent of schools in 2009-10 to 79 percent in 2010-11. Also, 93 percent of school districts met goals–a drop of 2 percent from 2010-11.

Under NCLB, the state must reach 100 percent achievement by the 2013-14 school year.

The Michigan Department of Education attributed this year's drop to higher expectations placed on students.

“We must continue to set high expectations for our schools so our students are prepared for the competitive global economy,” said state Superintendent of Public Instruction Mike Flanagan in a press release. “But we need an accurate and honest reflection of where our schools are in preparing our students.”

Flanagan said he expects the percent of schools making AYP to continue to fall next year as Michigan is raising its assessment cut scores, which determine student proficiency.

“A couple of decades ago, achieving a very basic level of proficiency was sufficient to earn a living wage,” he said. “Today, students need to graduate from high school career- and college-ready.”

The raising of the assessment cut scores will more accurately reflect this new reality. 

“While scores may initially decline, educators support this change because preparing students for long-term success is the right thing to do,” Flanagan said. “I have faith that our outstanding educators across this state will rise to this challenge–and continue to do so with honest effort and integrity.”