At the middle school level, only seven of 13 FCPS schools made AYP, according to the report issued by the Maryland State Department of Education. Image courtesy FCPS

The good news is that 34 (one fewer than last year) of the county's 36 public elementary schools made AYP, based on standardized math and reading test scores, attendance and other factors.

But at the middle school level, only seven of 13 schools made AYP, according to the report issued by the Maryland State Department of Education.

Three county schools will be on the state's school improvement list, which is made up of schools that do not make AYP for two consecutive years. For the coming school year Liberty Elementary School and New Market Middle will join West Frederick Middle on that list.

While the middle school results might look dire, it is important to remember that just one subgroup of students failing to meet the standard can sink an entire school, said Steve Hess, the school system's director of research and accountability, on Tuesday.

For example, West Frederick Middle students showed significant increases in reading and math scores across all eight subgroups from 2008 to 2009. But in the subgroup of students receiving free and reduced-price meals, just 55.6 percent scored at basic or proficient in math. Just one group failing to meet the standard in either reading or math prevents the entire school from meeting AYP, Hess said.

Special-education students as a subgroup often prevent a school from meeting AYP as well, Hess said.

"Pretty much, at the vast majority of schools, special education is the sticking point," he said. "And that's the case across the state."

Tracking children in subgroups according to race, ethnic origin and poverty is a product of federal No Child Left Behind legislation.

Of the nine county schools that didn't make AYP, eight failed to do so "solely or partially because of insufficient progress of special-education students," Hess said.

The intent of No Child Left Behind was to make sure no group of students was ignored. Special-education students are held to the same bar of achievement as other students, Hess said, to ensure that those students get the same resources and attention as others. But when special-education students don't achieve at the same rate as their mainstream peers, their scores are often the reason a school "fails."

The middle school piece is a bigger mystery, Hess said.

"Nationally, middle school kids have had slower rates of improvement than elementary school students," Hess said. "It's something we're working on."