A complete report will be given in September, but according to preliminary reports, Havre schools again failed to make the grade under annual yearly progress benchmarks for No Child Left Behind.
"It's frustrating," Superintendent Andy Carlson said. He spoke after the Havre Public Schools Board of Trustees meeting Tuesday.
"I do not believe that that sole measure defines what a district does" or what a child knows, he added.
That doesn't mean that standardized tests don't have a purpose, he said, and he believes in accountability.
"The No. 1 indicator of what kids know should really be that contact with that local teacher," he said.
A more comprehensive report will be given in September, Carlson said, adding that there is concern about not making annual yearly progress.
"It would be wonderful for me to be able to say, 'yeah, we made AYP,'" Carlson said.
Havre Public Schools failed to make AYP in 2009-10 as well.
A scholastic review team from the state Office of Public Instruction visited Sunnyside Intermediate School and Havre Middle School. The team gave the district feedback about how to improve. A similar team will be at all the district campuses this year.
Statewide, students' test scores are improving, despite failures on AYP.
"Rising targets for AYP make it appear that schools are not performing as well when test scores are improving," said Denise Juneau, state superintendent of public instruction, in a press release.
Carlson said that work to educate students is ongoing and doesn't stop between the time tests are taken in the spring and the time reports are poured over in the fall.
"I wouldn't operate a business that way," he said. "Nobody operates that way."
Area AYP results Annual Yearly Progress reports are out from the state Office of Public Instruction. Here's how it breaks down:
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