New state report cards target many high-achieving Ann Arbor schools for improvement

Editor's note: This article has been updated to include the names of several schools listed as reward schools and to note that it was in math that Skyline High School failed to test enough economically disadvantaged students and students of two or more races.

• Updated story: Ann Arbor schools: New state report cards highlight need to address achievement gap

New school report cards released by the state of Michigan Thursday put most Ann Arbor Public Schools, despite overall high achievement, into a new category targeted for improvement.

The new Focus school category targets for improvement schools that have sizable gaps between the highest- and lowest-performing students. The 10 percent of schools with the widest gaps are added to the group. They are to receive support to diagnose and correct the gaps with an eye toward getting all students on track to be considered college or career ready.

Schools on the state’s list of Focus schools included Pioneer and Huron high schools and all its elementary schools. Both are high-achieving schools that met all targets the state requires of schools to earn the designation known as adequate yearly progress.

Ann Arbor schools joined many other high-achieving schools across the state on the list, including those in Troy, Novi and West Bloomfield.

Community High School, a perennial star, made the state’s list of Reward schools. Reward schools are either listed in the top 5 percent of the state’s top-to-bottom list, are among the top 5 percent of schools that made the greatest gains in achievement or are “Beating the Odds” schools, those that overcoming traditional barriers to student achievement and are outperforming schools with similar risk factors and demographic makeup.

Community as well as Burns Park, King, Eberwhite and Wines elementary schools are in the top 5 percent of the state's top-to-bottom list as is Clague Middle School.

Also on the reward list from Washtenaw County are local charter school Central Academy; Dexter’s Bates and Cornerstone elementaries; New Beginnings Academy, also a charter school; and Saline High School and Saline's Harvest Elementary School.

Other districts in Washtenaw County also had schools on the Focus List. Among them are Heritage School and Pleasant Ridge and Woodland Meadows elementary schools in Saline; Mill Creek Middle School in Dexter; Beach Middle School, North Creek Elementary and South Meadows Elementary in Chelsea; Bishop Elementary School and Lincoln High School in the Lincoln district; Milan Middle School and Paddock Elementary School in Milan; Ypsilanti High School; and Willow Run High School.

All Ann Arbor Public Schools except Skyline High School and Ann Arbor Technological High School met the adequate yearly progress standard. Skyline failed to test a high enough percentage of economically disadvantaged students and students of two or more races in math, the state indicated.

Ann Arbor Tech failed to test enough students in general and enough economically disadvantaged students, the state indicated.

The state also released what is expected to be its final Education Yes! report card, where schools are assigned a letter grade for meeting a series of goals. The Education Department has proposed a new accreditation system, but it has not been approved.

Many schools saw a drop in their grades because lawmakers have not approved changes after the state raised its testing standards.

This year, 201 schools received an A, 710 earned a B, 1,720 received a C, 243 earned a D and 4 were unaccredited.

To see data about your child's school, go to the Michigan education data portal page and click on school report card in the navigation bar near the top.