Official “Adequate Yearly Progress” results show all but one Hall County school and one Gainesville school met AYP under No Child Left Behind standards.

Federal law evaluates schools on their overall performance through AYP determinations based on data such as standardized test scores, attendance and graduation rates. Schools that do not meet AYP are dealt escalating consequences, such as mandatory after school tutoring programs.

Local schools are some of the more than 79 percent of schools statewide that made AYP this year — a 10 percent jump over 2008, according to the state Department of Education. The department reports big gains in elementary and middle schools, where the percentage of elementary schools making AYP jumped 13.4 points and the percentage of middle schools making AYP jumped 10.4 points.

State Superintendent of Schools Kathy Cox said while gains in mathematics resulted from a more rigorous math curriculum and boosted elementary and middle schools this year, there’s still more work to be done in Georgia’s high schools, according to a news release from the state department. The release reported this year, about 47 percent of the state’s high schools met AYP, which is down slightly from last year.

“We know there is a lot of hard work going on in our high schools,” Cox said. “We need to continue to study the data and work together to make sure our high schools are not only meeting AYP goals but are preparing students for the 21st century.”

Fifty-eight schools across the state shed their “Needs Improvement” label by having made AYP for two consecutive years.

Only one Hall County school, South Hall Middle, retains a Needs Improvement label even though it did make AYP this year. Four Hall County schools — East Hall Middle, East Hall High, North Hall Middle and White Sulphur Elementary — came off the Needs Improvement list this year.

While the state Department of Education reports 32 of Hall County’s 33 traditional schools met AYP, the system as a whole did not meet AYP.

Barrow, Gwinnett, Habersham and Jackson county school systems also did not meet AYP this year.

Hall schools Superintendent Will Schofield said based on May retest scores, he expects all 33 schools and the Hall County school system will meet AYP in the state’s final AYP determinations, which include summer retest scores and summer graduates, to be released in late September.

Schofield said largely because the system’s graduation rate is at about 74 percent — 1 percent below the required 75 percent high school graduation rate — the system as a whole did not meet AYP in the initial determination.

The state-defined graduation rate standard was raised from 70 percent last year to 75 percent this year, according to the state Department of Education.

About 50 Hall County high school students are finishing course work or retaking portions of the Georgia High School Graduation test this month and the positive outcome of 16 students’ work could put Hall County over the line to meet AYP systemwide, Schofield said.

And with scores from Criterion-Referenced Competency Test retakes included in the second AYP determination, Schofield said he expects Chicopee Woods Elementary to make AYP.

“Our calculations show with retests, all (33 schools) will make it,” he said.

Gainesville schools met AYP as a system, but Gainesville Middle School did not meet AYP in the initial determination.

Gainesville schools Superintendent Merrianne Dyer said a handful of special needs students’ summer retests could boost Gainesville Middle into AYP status for the second AYP determination this fall. She said the seven-school system is appealing the state department on some special needs students’ scores.

She said Gainesville Middle School needs only one student with disabilities to meet AYP standards on the math portion of the CRCT for the school to meet AYP. Gainesville Middle has not met AYP since 2005 and is on the No Child Left Behind Need’s Improvement list.

If all schools in the Hall County and Gainesville school systems meet AYP in the September determination, the districts will join several others in the area boasting systemwide success.

All schools made AYP in Banks, Rabun, Union, White and Lumpkin county school districts. All schools in the Buford and Jefferson city school systems also made AYP, the state department reported.