Small area school districts attempting to meet the requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act are seeing varying results this year as the Missouri Assessment Program proficiency targets are higher now than ever before.

Even though the bar has been set higher, some districts that failed to make adequate yearly progress last year prevailed this year.

The Advance School District saw a drop in the number of students overall who tested proficient or advanced in communication arts and math in 2009. The district did not meet requirements for adequate yearly progress that year or in 2010 but has every other year since No Child Left Behind began in 2002.

Advance superintendent Stan Seiler said there is a multifaceted answer to why the district has done better this year even while facing tougher standards.

First, he said, the district has a history of being strong in developing, designing and implementing curriculum at the elementary and high school level that is in line with state expectations.

Second, Seiler said, he sees the attitude of the students, their parents and the community reflected in the district's performance.

Seiler has been superintendent for a year.

"I've been in lots of different school districts in different countries, and we have genuinely good kids who want to do well in school," Seiler said.

Lastly, he said, a good teacher is the deciding factor in the classroom, and the district has them.

A positive attitude also works for the Oran School District, superintendent Mitchell Wood said. Oran has never received sanctions under No Child Left Behind because the district has never had two consecutive years in which targets on MAP tests were not reached. Last year, none of the district's subgroups were able to test proficient in communication arts or math, but this year both targets were reached and the district made adequate yearly progress.

Wood said one thing that helps the district is that administrators and teachers don't look at the goals of No Child Left Behind as unattainable.

"You have to go in there with a positive attitude and just try to improve every year," Wood said. He said underachieving students are identified quickly and helped.

"What it's really all about is trying to get them to the grade level where they need to be," Wood said.

Other districts consistently meeting the requirements of No Child Left Behind include Bell City, Kelso, and Leopold. Bell City missed the MAP math proficiency target in 2010 by one subgroup but has met all other requirements every year and made adequate yearly progress this year. Kelso missed making adequate yearly progress last year but did make it this year. Leopold has never missed a target, making adequate yearly progress every year since the beginning of No Child Left Behind.

Other districts that have done well in the past and just missed making adequate yearly progress this year are Oak Ridge and Altenburg. Oak Ridge is receiving a sanction for the first time because proficiency targets in communication arts were not met for a second consecutive year in the district overall. Altenburg missed testing proficient in math this year in the district overall.

The Kelly School District also saw improvement this year in communication arts. All four of the district's subgroups tested proficient or advanced, while last year no groups did.

eragan@semissourian.com

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