Editorial: Alabama's AYP grade - WSFA.com: News Weather and Sports for Montgomery, AL.

Editorial: Alabama's AYP grade

Posted: Updated:
By Mark Wilder - email

  • Editorials

  • Tuesday, June 18 2013 7:20 PM EDT2013-06-18 23:20:03 GMT
    The U. S. Supreme Court is expected to rule as soon as Thursday on a suit filed by Shelby County to strike down Section 5 of the 1965 Voting Rights Act. Section 5 requires that the Justice Department pre-approve
    The U. S. Supreme Court is expected to rule as soon as Thursday on a suit filed by Shelby County to strike down Section 5 of the 1965 Voting Rights Act.

  • Thursday, June 13 2013 7:20 PM EDT2013-06-13 23:20:09 GMT
    Summertime is sun, fun, beaches, mountains, swimming pools, golf courses and yes for those in school, a break. But it can also be a special time to create lasting memories for families with children around
    Summertime is sun, fun, beaches, mountains, swimming pools, golf courses and yes for those in school, a break. But it can also be a special time to create lasting memories for families with children around

  • Tuesday, June 11 2013 7:20 PM EDT2013-06-11 23:20:09 GMT
    The recent Map the Meal Gap report issued by Feeding America highlighted what we at the Montgomery Area Food Bank have been witnessing over the past several years- more families than ever are in need of
    The recent Map the Meal Gap report issued by Feeding America highlighted what we at the Montgomery Area Food Bank have been witnessing over the past several years- more families than ever are in need of
    •   
MONTGOMERY, AL (WSFA) -

On Monday Alabama  schools' Adequate Yearly Progress report came out.  49 state school systems including 377 schools did not make AYP this year.

While many people agree that AYP has brought improvement to schools, some have criticized the program as rigid and unrealistic.  Like it or not, it is in place and will be until at least 2014.

It is only one type of report card and it is "pass or fail" with nothing in between.  We don't grade our students solely on pass or fail and we shouldn't grade our schools solely that way either.

Many improvements have been made in the last year, especially in River Region schools.  We should celebrate those successes and build on them.

More concerning is that when schools don't meet AYP goals they will have to apply federal funds to the underachieving segments or programs.  That's fine, but how do we fund the segments and programs from which those federal dollars are taken?

It always comes back to the same issue.  If we can't achieve our education goals with current resources, we need to either spend more money on education, or re-design our school to be more efficient.

Because in a "pass or fail" world, pass is the only acceptable option.

Copyright 2011 WSFA 12 News. All rights reserved.