Contact  HSCIN@HSCIN.org

2007 AYP Data
2007 AYP Comparisons
Accountability Awards 2005-2006
Annual Measurable Objectives (AMO)
A Cautious Word on Test Scores
Class Sizes 2007-2008
Hoover City Schools Presentation on AYP
How Test Results Are Used
Links and Further Reading
Remediation Data for Hoover City Schools' Graduates
School and District Improvement Plan - click and scroll to bottom of page to view
School and District Improvement Status
Stanford Test Results and Comparisons - prepared by HSCIN
Where to Find the Results 
 

Accountability and Testing Information - Which Tests Students are Required to Take

Each year, the following statewide tests are administered to Hoover's students:

Source:  Alabama State Department of Education, 2006

These same tests are given to all public education students in Alabama, usually in late March or April of each year.  Hoover typically administers these tests over a two-week period, usually in April of each school year. 

The ARMT will include a Science component for school year 2007-2008.

Accountability Standards Questioned Again - posted 11/19/07

John Archibald, in his article on Sunday, November 18, comments on a report issued by the Education Sector, a think tank backed by, among others, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.  This report claims that states are gaming the accountability standards under No Child Left Behind by lowering standards so that schools can make the grade.

Read the article, Report Blasts Schools on Standards - November 14, The Birmingham News, discussing the Education Sector's report.

Download the report, "The Pangloss Index:  How States Game the No Child Left Behind Act" from Education Sector.

Download the "Recommendations to Congress" from Education Sector.

The report, "Getting State Standards Right in the Early and Middle Grades", published in 2006 by the Southern Regional Education Board, raised similar questions about Alabama's standards for accountability.

How the Results Are Used

Results from the Stanford 10 and ARMT for grades 3 through 8 are used to determine whether Hoover students have made Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) as determined by federal and state guidelines under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 2001, commonly referred to as No Child Left Behind (NCLB).

These results are made public usually immediately before school reconvenes the following school year.  Families receive their child's individual results in the days prior to the school- and district-wide information being made public.

The Alabama High School Graduation Exam (AHSGE) is first administered in 10th grade as a checkpoint.  Students may take the exam in 11th and again in 12th grade until they pass all five sections:  reading, language, math, science, and social studies.  State-funded remediation is available for students in 12th grade who fail to pass one or more sections.  The 11th grade score is used for accountability purposes. (Source: Alabama Education Policy Primer, A+, 2004)

2007 Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) Reports - posted 08/14/07

Click the link to open a report of each of Hoover City Schools' AYP results for the 2006-2007 school year.  The school name is in the top left-hand corner of each page.  For help interpreting the reports and the terminology used, see the Alabama State Department of Education 2007 Interpretive Guide.

2007 Comparison Reports of AYP Data for Hoover City Schools - posted 08/18/07

Click the link to access comparison charts among Hoover City Schools elementary schools (grades 3 - 5) and middle schools (grades 6 - 8).  It is important to understand how the AYP data is computed in order to understand what is being compared.  The Alabama State Department of Education 2007 Interpretive Guide is recommended reading.

Alabama State Department of Education 2007 Interpretive Guide for AYP

National Assessment of Educational Progress 2007  Results Available - posted 09/25/07

Click on the link above to go to the NAEP's website to view the 2007 results.  Alabama's fourth graders ranked number one in the country for their gains in reading.  The full report is available there as well.

Click to read the Alabama State Department of Education's news release. 

State Fourth Graders Make Biggest Reading Leap in U.S. - Breaking News, September 25, Birmingham News

Class Size Reports 2007-2008 School Year - posted 04/25/08

Hoover City Schools Presentation on AYP 2006

Dr. Barbara Mayer prepared this presentation for Board members, parents and community members to help us understand the terminology and the requirements under NCLB with regards to accountability.  This is a helpful document to interpreting the requirements and the language used in discussing accountability.

Hoover City Schools Accountability Results for 2005-2006

Hoover City Schools Accountability Results Summary with Explanation 2005-2006

Annual Measurable Objectives (AMO)

This is the benchmark number used to determine whether or not a system has made AYP (Adequate Yearly Progress).  Click here to view the percentages of students that must be proficient in order for a system to make AYP in a given year.  The AMOs are a statewide benchmark and will move upward toward 100% until 2013, when the benchmark will be 100% for all students across the nation, ultimate goal of No Child Left Behind.

For example, for testing year 2006, 51% of 8th graders must test as proficient for  that school to make AYP for that testing year.  In 2008, the benchmark goes up to 59%.  In 2012, the benchmark is 84%, 2013 will be 92%, with 100% of 8th graders expected to be proficient by 2014.

Remember:  Proficient means testing AT GRADE LEVEL.

Getting State Standards Right in the Early and Middle Grades - from the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) - posted 01/20/07  

"SREB states were among the first in the nation to set comprehensive state standards for K-12 schools. But setting standards is only part of the job. Getting the standards right and keeping them right may be the most important task facing public education today. This report recommends the use of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) as a yardstick for state standards and includes state profiles of student performance on standards and NAEP assessments for each SREB state."

Thanks again to A+ Education Foundation for bringing this report to our attention.  This report uses the NAEP standards to determine whether or not Alabama's benchmarks for progress that determine AYP standards are high enough.  The conclusion is that Alabama's benchmarks are far too low, meaning that the level of academic rigor of our state standards needs to be reviewed and re-determined.

School and District Improvement Status

Accountability measures are used to determine school and/or district status with respect to improvement. 

A school that does not meet one AYP goal (see the Hoover City Schools AYP Presentation for definitions and further explanations) two years in a row---even if they are different goals---will be declared in School Improvement Year 1.  Once the School meets all AYP goals, it is declared to be in School Improvement Year 1 Delay. 

The only Hoover City School currently in any Improvement status is Simmons Middle School.  That school is considered to be in Year 1 Delay, as it met all AYP goals for 2005-2006. 

Simmons Middle School maintains a School Improvement Committee that meets monthly and includes faculty and community members on that Committee.

The Hoover City Schools District is also in "Year 1 Delay".   A District School Improvement Committee meets monthly. 

Hoover City Schools' District Improvement Plan - scroll down to the report titled "LEA District School Improvement Plan 07" and click on it
Hoover City Schools' Targeted Assistance Plan (how federal funds will be used for Rocky Ridge Elementary - Hoover's only Title I school)
Hoover City Schools' School Choice Plan - scroll down to the report titled "SCHOOL CHOICE" and click on it.

2007 Accountability Awards from the State Department of Education

The Alabama State Department of Education awards schools monetarily when they fall into one of the following categories:

•        Advancing the Challenge - School where percent of students scoring advanced in reading and     math exceeded state percent scoring advanced.  (School must have at least an 80% poverty rate.) 

•        Meeting the Challenge - School that met AYP for two consecutive years. (School must have at least an   80% poverty rate.) 

•      Exceeding the Challenge - School with subgroup whose percent of students scoring proficient in reading and math exceeded its state counterpart.  (School will receive a monetary reward for each subgroup.) 

•      Addressing the Challenge - School with subgroup that closed the achievement gap in percent of students scoring proficient in reading and math by at least 15% when compared to its state counterpart. (School will receive a monetary reward for each subgroup.) 

•      Torchbearer School - School meeting multiple criteria including poverty, high test scores, and making AYP for two consecutive years.

Click here to see which of Hoover's schools received monetary awards for 2005-2006 accomplishments.

Click here to see which of Hoover's schools received recognition for accomplishments.

Where to Find the Results of Your Child's School and District and How to Interpret Them

Click here to see Dr. Barbara Mayer's informative paper on Hoover City Schools' Current Accountability Status based on the most recent 2005-2006 test data.  Includes a question and answer section.  Very helpful reading.

Hoover City School District was one of four systems in the state that had 33 Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) goals to meet in 2005-2006.  The others were Shelby County, Huntsville City, and Madison County.  Montgomery County had 35 AYP goals, and Mobile County had 39 AYP goals.

The Alabama State Department of Education publishes accountability (testing) data by District, and  by school. 

To view the accountability report, click on this link:  Accountability Reporting. 

You will then be given a series of pull-down menus to make selections.  You can look at data for the District as well as data by individual school.  The Alabama Reading and Math Test results and the Stanford Achievement Test 10 results for 2005-2006 are currently available. 

2007 State of Alabama ARTM Results
2006 State of Alabama ARMT Results
2005 State of Alabama ARMT Results
2004 State of Alabama ARMT Results

Where groups of students are mentioned, you can see the data disaggregated (broken down) by ethnic group, poverty status, special need status, etc.

To see how Hoover City Schools' two largest demographic groups, white and black children, scored on the Stanford 2006, click here.

To see each school district's Stanford Achievement Test Score results, click here. 

2006-2007 Stanford 10 Achievement Test Results for Hoover City Schools - posted 08/07/07

Source:  Alabama State Department of Education website, 2007.
Green—improved
Yellow—stayed the same
Red—worsened
Blank spaces indicate that no testing was done for that grade for that subject.

2007 Stanford 10 State of Alabama Results
2006 Stanford 10 State of Alabama Results

Stanford Test Comparisons - prepared by the HSCIN - posted 12/31/06 through 01/03/07

Stanford Scores 1996 to 2006 for Hoover City Schools - broken down by each Hoover school by grade and subject

Stanford Scores 2006 White and Black population for Hoover City Schools - broken down by each Hoover school by grade, subject, and race

Stanford 2006 Demographics in Hoover City Schools - reflects demographic group percentages at each grade level in Hoover City Schools (not broken down by school, but overall)

Stanford Scores 2006 Comparison among 12 City School Systems in Alabama - Compares whole population test scores by system, grade and subject

Stanford Scores 1996 to 2006 Comparison among 6 City School Systems in Alabama - Compares whole population test scores by system, grade, and subject for the past eleven years.  Include ACT scores as well.

Stanford Scores 2002 to 2006 Comparison among 7 City School Systems by Race - Compares test scores for 2002 to 2006 (the years that disaggregated data is available) by system, grade, subject and race

Comparison of Four City School Systems' Stanford 10 Reading Scores 2005-2006 - Compares test scores for 2005-2006 for four city systems:  Auburn City, Homewood City, Hoover City and Trussville City.  Mountain Brook City and Vestavia City were not included in the comparison.  It breaks down the Percentile Rank by grade for All Students, White Students, and Black Students and includes the percent of Black students that were tested at each grade level.

Publishing of Test Scores

Many private organizations are now publishing test scores. 

One site can be found at www.greatschools.net.  Greatschools.net has a nationwide database available to show results on standardized tests. 

Another site is www.schooldigger.com.  They do not currently post Alabama's test scores, but they do have demographic data through the 2004 school year. 

Remediation Data for Hoover City Schools' Graduates - 2005

Hoover City Schools Data from the Birmingham News article "Public School Remediation Data":

*Please note that the number of Graduates in College does not include those who attended private colleges or those who attend college outside of Alabama.

Alabama Public School Remediation Data - Full article - December 17, Birmingham News

Other Assessments

U.S. Chamber of Commerce Report Card for Education in Alabama - posted 03/11/07

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce compiled this data and has produced report cards for all 50 states.  This report was published in March 2007.

A Cautious Word on Test Scores

Using test scores as a basis for comparison has drawn much commentary from both sides of the debate.  Yes, test scores are a snapshot of the level of learning going on within a school during a particular week of a school year.  Yes, many factors go into how well a student performs on a test.

At this time, test scores are the only objective quantifiable measures by which the community and school administrators can make judgments about the level of learning going on.  Since the addition of the Alabama Reading and Mathematics Test (ARMT), the tests used for comparison more closely reflect the standards for the Alabama Course of Study outlined by the State Department of Education.

Until better measures can be put into place, annual test scores will remain a main basis for comparison.

Some ask why a comparison is necessary.  The ability to compare how our children in Hoover perform on state and national tests helps educators plan better strategies for educating our children.  The comparison assists legislators in making decisions on which programs to fund and which are not effective.  Until the science of learning is clearly defined, much of what educational policy embraces  is based solely on data- and inquiry-based research.

Links and Further Reading

SchoolMatters.com - Every fact and figure that can be compiled is on this website.  Funded by the Broad Foundation and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, SchoolMatters gives detailed testing information for Alabama and its school districts.  Comparison tools are available. Posted 11/23/06

State of Alabama Accountability Plan approved February 2006.  Lots of definitions of individual components of the Accountability Standards.  Posted 11/23/06

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP).  Allows you to look at Accountability and Testing Data for anywhere in the United States that participates in the NAEP testing.  Alabama data is included.

Making Data Work: A Parent and Community Guide.  From the Education Trust Foundation.  Helps community members determine which data is important and how to analyze the data to determine school progress.

Inside the Black Box of High-Performing, High-Poverty Schools.  From the Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence.  Fascinating look at how high-poverty schools outperform many schools in Kentucky.  Discusses the necessary components to perform at high levels. 

State Accountability Reporting System

Stanford 10 Reports
2007
2006
2005
2004

ARMT State Reports
2007
2006
2005
2004

Class Size Reports 2007-2008

This website is not affiliated with Hoover City Schools or the Hoover City Board of Education.  HSCIN is solely responsible for its content.  Links to outside sources of information are not endorsed by the HSCIN, rather are included for informational purposes only.