Twenty-one families requested to transfer schools in Renton School District this year because of poor Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP).

Karen Proctor is not part of one of those families. She’s keeping her son Teddie at Campbell Hill Elementary this year, despite the school not making AYP. AYP is determined by scores on the spring WASL (Washington Assessment of Student Learning).

AYP is mandated by the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, and means Washington schools must continually improve math and reading WASL scores, or face consequences.

Like all Campbell Hill parents, Proctor received a letter at the beginning of this school year saying the school didn’t meet AYP on last spring’s WASL, and consequently her son could transfer to either

Cascade or Lakeridge, with transportation paid by the district.

She considered the transfer, but after some online research, wasn’t convinced that scores at the other schools were much better.

She also wasn’t excited about the two-bus ride home. And after volunteering in Teddie’s first-grade classroom last year, Proctor has grown fond of Campbell Hill.

“I just get a really good vibe,” she says.

“I thought, ‘I’m going to stay,” she adds.

District spokesperson Randy Matheson doesn’t know how many families transferred schools this year because of AYP scores. He only knows that 21 families named AYP as the motivation for their transfer requests. But he doesn’t know if all 21 of those transfer requests were actually motivated by AYP scores and not by mere convenience, like a family wanting to go to a school closer to their daycare.

The district is required to offer paid transportation to another district school for children attending schools that don’t meet AYP for two or more years in a row. This year, there are four of those schools: Campbell Hill, Highlands and Renton Park elementaries and Dimmitt Middle School.

But Matheson says parents typically choose to stay at their home school.

“Parents say, ‘My kid is doing fine in the classroom, what’s up with the rest of the school? Why are you guys failing?’” Matheson says.

Usually it’s not the rest of the school, but only certain student populations, that are failing to make enough progress on the WASL to make AYP.

AYP is measured at each school, not only within grades and subjects, but within nine student profiles: all students, the five major ethnic groups (American Indian, Asian/Pacific Islander, black, Hispanic and white), low-income, special education and limited English. Each school’s AYP is measured in up to 37 categories. Schools must meet achievement targets (set by grade level and subject) in all categories to make AYP.

AYP is measured in all schools, as required by No Child Left Behind. But only Title I schools that don’t make AYP face federal consequences. Title I is the designation given to schools that receive federal funding because they have a certain ratio of low-income students.

AYP is also measured by school district. Districts must meet achievement targets in up to 111 categories to make AYP. Renton School District did not make AYP this year. The district is in Step 2 of “improvement.” Districts move into improvement when they miss making AYP for two consecutive years in elementary, middle and high school in any subgroup in the same subject. To exit improvement, a school or district must meet AYP targets in each category for two consecutive years.

Schools and districts that don’t make AYP face consequences. Schools have five improvement steps, with escalating requirements at each step. In the first step, districts must offer paid school transfers. In the second step and beyond, tutoring and other services must be offered. At each step the school must work on its school-improvement plan. Schools in Step 5 must restructure, as defined by the district.

Districts have only two improvement steps. In Step 1, a district must develop an improvement plan and can voluntarily work with the state education office (Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction). Districts in Step 2 are required to work with the state.

Only four Renton schools are in improvement. But seven other Renton schools did not make AYP this year, bringing the district’s total to 11. That’s 11 of the district’s 12 Title I schools that did not make AYP this year. Bryn Mawr Elementary is Renton’s only Title I school that made AYP this year.

The schools that did not make AYP are Benson Hill, Campbell Hill, Cascade, Highlands, Kennydale, Lakeridge, Renton Park, Sierra Heights, Talbot Hill and Tiffany Park elementariness and Dimmitt Middle School. That’s up from last year, when all but four of Renton’s 12 Title I schools made AYP.

That performance decrease was mirrored throughout Washington, with 628 schools and 57 districts in improvement, up from last year’s 280 schools and 30 districts.

This performance decrease is likely because of double-digit increases in AYP requirements from last year to this year. AYP requirements will increase until 2014, when all students are expected to pass the WASL. Meanwhile, the state has proposed reforms to No Child Left Behind, due for reauthorization in the upcoming congressional session.

Many Renton schools increased their WASL scores on last spring’s test, some by double digits. But Matheson says many of those increases were “nowhere near the AYP threshold.”

Improvements are in the works. Every district school has an improvement plan. The district also continues to utilize district and school-improvement facilitators and Late Start Fridays, used for teacher and staff collaboration and training. District teachers will also continue scoring and writing WASL questions.

The district is also participating in The Summit Project, a school-improvement initiative funded by the state education office. State-paid professionals will evaluate Renton’s classes, staff and programs and then create a detailed improvement plan, to be implemented over the next three to five years.

Campbell Hill is in Step 3 of improvement, which means the school has not made AYP for four consecutive years. This year, all students and low-income students did not meet the math standard.

But Proctor believes Campbell Hill can improve. She plans to keep Teddie at his home school.

“I feel like my student, no matter where he goes to school, I expect him to be passing,” she says.

And Proctor realizes achievement is about more than test scores.

“Test scores don’t show everything that’s going on,” she says.

Emily Garland can be reached at emily.garland@rentonreporter.com or 425-255-3484, ext. 5052.

Eleven of the district’s 12 Title I schools did not make Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) on last spring’s WASL.

AYP is measured in up to nine population groups. But a population group must have a certain number of students at each school to have its AYP measured. Population groups without adequate numbers at each school are listed as “Not required.”

• Benson Hill Elementary: not in improvement. Not meeting AYP: black, special education, in math. American Indian, Hispanic and limited English not required.

• Campbell Hill Elementary: Step 3 of improvement. Not meeting AYP: all students and low-income in math. American Indian, Hispanic, limited English, special education and white not required

• Cascade Elementary: not in improvement. Not meeting AYP: Hispanic and low-income in math. American Indian, Hispanic and limited English not required.

• Highlands Elementary: Step 3 of improvement. Not meeting AYP: All, Hispanic, special education and low income in reading and math. Limited English in reading. American Indian and black not required.

• Kennydale Elementary: not in improvement. Not meeting AYP: Low income in math. American Indian, limited English and special education not required.

• Lakeridge Elementary: not in improvement. Not meeting AYP: All, black, special education and low income in reading and math. White in math only. American Indian, Asian/Pacific Islander and limited English not required.

• Renton Park Elementary: Step 1 of improvement. Not meeting AYP: Special education and low income in reading and math. Black in math only. American Indian and limited English not required.

• Sierra Heights Elementary: not in improvement. Not meeting AYP: Hispanic, limited English and low income in math and english. American Indian, black and special education not required.

• Talbot Hill Elementary: not in improvement. Not meeting AYP: Black, Hispanic and low income in math. American Indian, limited English and special education not required.

• Tiffany Park Elementary : not in improvement. Not meeting AYP: Limited English in math. American Indian, Hispanic and special education not required.

• Dimmitt Middle School: Step 4 of improvement. Not meeting AYP: All, black, Hispanic, limited English, special education and low income in math and reading. Asian/Pacific Islander and white in math only. American Indian not required.

• Renton School District: Step 2 of improvement. Not meeting AYP in elementary and middle school: All, black, Hispanic, limited English, special education, and low income in reading and math. American Indian not required. Not meeting AYP in high school: All, black and low income in math. American Indian, Hispanic, limited English and special education not required.