Warren County R-III School District officials have vowed to improve Adequate Yearly Performance (AYP) scores, following a presentation at last Thursday's board meeting which revealed substandard scores. The AYP is a federal percentage-based score that gauges the number of students from third to 12th grade who are proficient or advanced in communication arts and mathematics courses. Federal proficiency score standards for 2011 for communication arts and mathematics are 75.5 percent and 72.5 percent, respectively. According to district officials, the proficiency score standard for both subjects must be 100 percent in 2014. Jill Lawson, director of curriculum and instruction, said the district needs to make improvements in multiple areas. "What we've been doing has not been working, so we need to develop that and take some drastic measures," she said. According to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE), the scores for the district are as follows: Warrenton High School communication arts - 66.1 percent; mathematics - 55.7 percent; Black Hawk Middle School communication arts - 43.2 percent; mathematics - 45.7 percent; Rebecca Boone Elementary communication arts - 44.9 percent; mathematics - 45.9 percent; Warrior Ridge Elementary (third grade) communication arts - 42 percent; mathematics (third grade) - 47.8 percent. Lawson said improvements would only come with the help of district officials. "The whole idea is that we have to be accountable for student learning," she said. "We need accountability to push the kids to the next level, no matter where they are." Lawson is able to pinpoint areas where the district is struggling. "There's a drop between third and fourth grade and fifth and sixth grade because the students are changing buildings," she said. "We have to be in the classrooms and be involved with what is happening with the students. We have to tighten up the curriculum." Assistant Superintendent Dr. Gregg Klinginsmith agreed. "We're giving teachers tests so they can evaluate their own instruction and giving them ways to measure themselves," he said. District officials said while new methods of teaching are necessary for student success, they know improvements won't be instant. "We're making adjustments tangible," Klinginsmith said. "We're going to collaborate on data the teachers are collecting and monitor where their kids are. We want to be honest with people. It's where we are and improvements will take time." Lawson said each change to enhance the district's AYP scores is centered around the students. "We're giving the teachers time to get together and share the best practices with one another," she said. "Our kids deserve it. We have great kids and we just need to take care of our kids." R-II District Makes Strides in AYP Scores Wright City R-II School District officials said more improvements in its AYP scores for 2011 are needed, but they are pleased with strides in certain areas. The scores were presented to board members during the Aug. 18 meeting. "We've made some huge gains with some subgroups," said Assistant Superintendent David Buck. "It's huge when you look at individual tests that we had focused on improvement with and we're able to base it on data to make better decisions to get better results. It's paying off." The district is moving in the right direction with 100 percent of its teachers being highly qualified, according to Buck. He said some areas of concern may be the size of each grade level. "We're small enough that some classes are really bright and it's tough for the class following them to improve," he added. "That's part of it. They may be doing well, but they're not improving." According to DESE, the scores for the district are as follows: Wright City High School communication arts - 70.5 percent; mathematics - 32 percent; Wright City Middle School communication arts - 33.4 percent; mathematics - 29.8 percent; Wright City East and West Elementary communication arts - 43.4 percent; mathematics - 50.8 percent. The high and elementary schools' scores in mathematics increased substantially from last year, when the scores were 15.7 percent and 37.1 percent, respectively. Buck said the district is focusing on increasing student rigor and engagement. "We're focusing development on things we can leverage," he said. "You might have 50 teachers go to 50 workshops and they're focusing on student engagement, rigor, instruction and assessment. "It's not a one-time workshop," he added. "When you have 50 teachers collaborating together, you'll get teachers saying ‘I tried X and it worked for me. Who tried Y?' " Buck said student improvement will come from action. "It's not just an intent to improve our practices," he said. "Are we having an impact on our students? We're trying to measure that."