NASD's 'Report Card' has State's Stamp of Approval

The Nazareth Area School Board on Monday heard an overview of the district's "Report Card" for 2011-2012.

And it's good news, as Patch previously reported: The district—and its six schools—passed with flying colors.

The goal is for all students to be 100 percent "proficient" or "advanced" in math and reading by 2014—meaning they have mastered Pennsylvania's assessment content standards at their grade level.

As required by the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act, the Pennsylvania System of School Assessments (PSSA) is the statewide standards-based assessment. Math and reading tests are given in grades 3 through 8 and 11th grade; writing tests are given in grades 5, 8 and 11; and science tests are given in grades 4, 8 and 11.

A school or district's performance on statewide math and reading assessments is the primary factor in determining Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP), which is also required under NCLB. Student participation and attendance/graduation rate are also factors in making this determination.

Nazareth has a 96 percent graduation rate and a 95 percent attendance rate.

All six of the NASD schools made Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) for the third year in a row.

Also for the second year in a row, the district was named an AP District of the Year. Nazareth is one of 37 such districts in Pennsylvania and 539 nationwide.

Here's a breakdown by school:

Note: Performance targets for AYP were 78 percent in math (up from 67 percent) and 81 percent in reading (up from 72 percent).

Bushkill Elementary School

Mathematics - 102 students tested

• 92% of students proficient and above

Reading - 102 students tested

• 87% of students proficient and above

Lower Nazareth Elementary School

Mathematics - 95 students tested

• 88% of students proficient and above

Reading - 95 students tested

• 86% of students proficient and above

Shafer Elementary School

Mathematics - 145 students tested

• 86% of students proficient and above

Reading - 145 students tested

• 79% of students proficient and above

Nazareth Area Intermediate School

Mathematics - 1,062 students tested

• 85% of students proficient and above

Reading - 1,064 students tested

• 74% of students proficient and above

Grade 4 Science

• 89% of students proficient and above

Nazareth Area Middle School

Mathematics - 745 students tested

• 95% of students proficient and above

Reading - 743 students tested

• 91% of students proficient and above

Grade 8 Science

• 79% of students proficient and above

Nazareth Area High School

Mathematics - 345 students tested

• 76% of students proficient and above

Reading - 346 students tested

• 78% of students proficient and above

Grade 11 Science

• 48% of students proficient and above