Five Cherokee County schools failed to meet federal guidelines for academic achievement, but the district as a whole made the grade.

Cherokee High, Teasley Middle, Canton Elementary, Oak Grove Elementary and Polaris Evening School all failed to make adequate yearly progress, a standard set by The No Child Left Behind Act. The results were released on Monday by the Georgia Department of Education.

Despite the five schools' results, the Cherokee County School District met AYP school system requirements for the fourth consecutive year.

Factors used to determine whether a school makes AYP include participation and scores on the Georgia Criterion Reference Competency Test for third- through eighth-graders and on the Georgia High School Graduation Test, school attendance and graduation rates. In Cherokee, CrossRoads Middle School/High School, the Ralph Bunche Center and the L.R. Tippens Center are not reviewed for AYP.

The No Child Left Behind Act adopted in 2002 requires schools increase student academic achievement toward 100-percent proficiency in reading and math by the 2013-14 school year.

Schools that consistently fail to make AYP are considered to be needing improvement and face sanctions ranging from being required to offer tutoring to allowing students to transfer to other schools.

No district schools are on the Needs Improvement list.

County Superintendent of Schools Dr. Frank Petruzielo said he was proud of the overall performance of the district, but sees room for improvement.

"The data indicates we need to continue focusing on the new math standards in order to make further improvements in test scores, particularly with students with disabilities," he said. "This is not just an issue here in Cherokee, but statewide. It is imperative that all stakeholders take a hard look at the data and determine if the issue is with standards, teacher preparation or congenital flaws in the federal NCLB Act."

Petruzielo noted the calculation of AYP is unfair, as all students, no matter what their situation may be, are required to be proficient. He added many schools statewide struggle because of the small number of subgroups "not able to master the standards in the amount of time allotted."

Teasley Middle, Oak Grove Elementary and Canton Elementary were all cited for their academic performance on the GCRCT as the reason for not meeting AYP.

Cherokee High and Polaris Evening School did not meet the 80 percent graduation rate required to make AYP. Additionally, Polaris failed to make AYP because of its performance on the math portion of the high school graduation test.

Cherokee High's graduation rate for this year was 78 percent, and Polaris's was 41 percent.

Last year, both Cherokee High and Canton Elementary initially didn't make AYP. Both later were determined to have made AYP after summer GCRCT retest scores for third and fifth grades and summer high school graduates were taken into account.

Petruzielo noted the district has "continually improved academically by all measures" over the past 11 years.

The district's teachers, principals and staff, he said, put together annual School Improvement Plans (SIP) that measure student achievement throughout the school year. Also, he said, students at risk for failing are given Academic Improvement Plans that will map a student's path to success.

Cherokee High Principal Debra Murdock said while she's disappointed the school didn't make AYP, there have been improvements in academics.

Not only has the school increased its graduation rate, it also had the second-highest SAT scores in the county, "terrific Advanced Placement (AP) scores, and EOCT (End-of-Course Test) scores that continue to improve."

Mrs. Murdock noted that Cherokee High had many students with disabilities graduate with special education diplomas, which counted against the school when calculating AYP.

"If these students were counted in the formula, as they should be, we would be well over the 80 mark," she said.

The principal added the school's staff tracks all students to make sure they are on track to advance to the next level by using credit recovery, lunch time tutoring, academic counseling and peer mentoring.

"Our teachers, counselors, administrators and support staff will continue to work to make sure that all students are successful," she said.