Alabama schools get special 2-year AYP waiver - WAFF-TV: News, Weather and Sports for Huntsville, AL

Alabama schools get special 2-year AYP waiver

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By Liz Hurley - bio | email
Alabama schools are getting a special waiver while a new accountability program is set in place. Alabama schools are getting a special waiver while a new accountability program is set in place.
HUNTSVILLE, AL (WAFF) -

Children get graded every six weeks at school, and each year so does their school.

Public schools in Alabama should have an easier time making the grade because the state has been granted a special waiver from the federal government, basically giving Alabama schools a pass this year.

It's a chance for all public schools to catch up and improve their test scores and other areas where they may have performed poorly on their annual yearly progress report under the No Child Left Behind Act.

In fact, they now will have two years to catch up while Alabama education officials try to come up with replacement system that measures the growth of students.

The AYP report is typically released just before the start of school, so educators are breathing a collective sigh of relief that they've been given this two year reprieve.

A lot of state and school leaders have complained for some time that the AYP scores can be deceiving because the number to get a passing score goes up every year, and you may get a passing grade in every category except for one but you still fail.

So many say the less than perfect progress report we now know will be replaced within the next two years with a brand new accountability test in Alabama.

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