Payson Roundup

All Rim Country’s schools met federal standards set by No Child Left Behind except for Star Valley’s New Visions Academy, according to data released Wednesday by the Arizona Department of Education.

The benchmarks, known as Adequate Yearly Progress, are pass/fail measures that judge schools’ successes from Arizona’s Instrument to Measure Standards test, attendance and graduation rates. The results characterize success from the 2007-2008 school year.

“I’m proud of our teachers, I’m proud of the schools who made AYP,” said Payson Superintendent Casey O’Brien.

All Payson schools and the Pine Strawberry Elementary School passed, as did the Payson Education Center.

The Globe Education Center did not pass. The county superintendent of schools runs the Payson and Globe education centers.

New Visions’ graduation rate fell short of the 71 percent required, according to the data. The school’s director did not respond to requests for comment before press time.

Critics denounce the measures because of their pass/fail nature, O’Brien said. “There are literally 60 some odd ways for our district to fail.”

Statewide, 72 percent of schools passed the standards, according to ADE. By 2014, all schools must pass.

Next week, Arizona Learns statistics will be released, which O’Brien said provides a more comprehensive overview of a district’s success.