Hooksett Memorial School and Allenstown Elementary School have joined the list of schools in need of improvement following state testing results.

Several local schools were either added to or maintained their positions on the New Hampshire Department of Education’s “school in need of improvement” list after failing to make adequate yearly progress in either math or reading based on statewide testing.

To be on the list, a school must fail to meet adequate yearly progress, measured by state testing results in grades 3 through 8 and grade 11, in the same content area, reading or math, for two years in a row. To exit the “school in need of improvement” (SINI) designation, schools must meet adequate yearly progress standards in the same content area for two years in a row.

The Department of Education’s 2008-09 adequate yearly progress (AYP) results were compiled based on the state assessments New Hampshire students took in October 2007.

Doing well

Auburn Village School and Epsom Central School made AYP in both content areas this year in all subgroups. Auburn Village School also surpassed the state’s benchmarks for 2007- 08.

After failing to meet AYP for the 2007-08 year, Epsom Central students rose to the performance level of Auburn Village and attained AYP in both reading and math for the 2008-09 year.

“They put a lot of work into trying to emulate the benchmarks in state standards and to match themselves with what the state indicates they should be doing in areas of curriculum,” SAU 53 Superintendent Thomas Haley said.

Dropping down

Test results showed Hooksett Memorial School students missed AYP standards for the second year in a row, getting them a spot on the preliminary 2008-09 SINI list for math.

Memorial students also scored below AYP in reading, and will earn a SINI designation in that subject if they do not show improvement in reading after the next round of testing.

Cawley students missed AYP in math this year, but it was their first year doing so. They are not on the list yet, said Superintendent Phil Littlefield.

Candia Moore School missed AYP in reading but made it in math based on the testing. Having been on the SINI list last year for math, the school must maintain its scores in math in the next testing round to exit that status.

Littlefield said the poor results of the special education subgroup brought the overall schools’ scores down to below AYP standards at both Moore and Memorial.

“As a school, each did fine. In both cases, the issue that they have is the performance of a subgroup and in both cases that is youngsters with an educational disability,” Littlefield said.

After missing AYP in math and reading for the 2007-08 year, Allenstown Elementary students made AYP in reading for 2008-09 and missed it again in math, earning them the designation of a new SINI in math for the 2008-09 year.

Armand Dupont School went into the October testing with a 2007-08 designation of SINI in reading and also having missed AYP in math. After the latest test results showed they missed AYP in math this time around but made it in reading, Dupont is now listed as a SINI in both content areas for 2008-09, and will exit their SINI status for reading if they meet AYP next time.

Three Rivers School in Pembroke missed AYP in math and reading, and will go into the third year of its SINI designation for 2008-09.

Pembroke Hill School made AYP in reading and missed it in math for the 2008-09 year, but is not on the SINI list. The results for Pembroke Village are not yet available because, being designated by the state as a small school, it is subject to a different review of the results.

Haley said the educationally disabled subgroup hurt Pembroke and Allenstown schools, and said those districts might consider appealing the SINI designation after looking more closely at the results.

“The good news is that we made AYP in both areas of the full school and in every subset except for educationally disabled,” Haley said. “We don’t know if we missed AYP in educationally disabled by eight or 10 students, or if we missed by one.”

High schools struggle

Pembroke Academy will enter its third year as a SINI in math and also missed AYP in reading this year. If Pembroke Academy students miss AYP in reading during the next testing cycle, they will go onto the SINI list for reading as well.

Both Manchester Memorial and Central high schools are entering their fourth years on the SINI list for both content areas for 2008-09.

West High School attained AYP in math based on the October testing results, but remains on the SINI list until the next round. Making AYP in math next time will get them off the list for that subject.

West students missed AYP for reading and the school will enter its fourth year on the SINI list for that subject.

According to statewide statistics from the Department of Education, 282 schools in the state failed to make AYP in either reading or math. A total of 175 made AYP in both content areas, based on the October test results.