Brooklyn Park Middle School in Anne Arundel County is another example of a school that might have had to go through an entire school overhaul because a few special-education students couldn't pass the tests one year. The school failed to meet standards in 2005 and 2007, but met them in 2006, according to Bob Mosier, a school system spokesman. Grasmick said the new system keeps good schools from being inappropriately labeled and from tarnishing the reputation of some very good schools.
Under the new plan, schools where enough students don't pass state tests will be put into one of two categories: comprehensive and focused. The comprehensive category will be reserved for the worst schools, those that have a significant percentage of all students who can't pass the tests. In those cases, the state will require the schools to go through an upheaval intended to improve teaching and learning.
But about 40 percent of the schools that have a group of students - including students living in poverty, minority students, special-education students and those learning English as a second language - will be put in the "focused" category. Schools given that label will be expected to concentrate academic changes on a particular group of students.
