Blacksburg High sophomores Robert Blackwell and Allison Shelton research the structure of cells in a physical science lab Tuesday afternoon under the direction of teacher Chad Marett. Blacksburg High and Gaffney High both made Adequate Yearly Progress this year. Strong improvements in their graduation rate placed Blacksburg and Gaffney high schools in exclusive company Wednesday in meeting a federal education benchmark.

They are among 50 high schools statewide to meet Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) when the state Department of Education released results today. Overall, six of 17 county schools met AYP in 2008.

No Child Left Behind is an "all or nothing" rating system where schools nationwide must make all their targets for improved student achievement each year. Most South Carolina schools have either 17 or 21 AYP targets and falling short on even one goal means a school does not meet AY P.

Exit exam scores and graduation rates were the main determining factors in whether high schools met No Child Left Behind requirements.

Gaffney High improved its graduation rate from 62.8 percent in 2007 to 77.1 percent in 2008. Blacksburg High improved its graduation rate from 80 percent to 84.7 percent over the same time period.

Both high schools had graduation rates higher than the state average, which was 72.8 percent.

"We are extremely pleased our district's graduation rate increased. Gaffney and Blacksburg High School were among a very small number of high schools that met AYP this year," Cherokee County School Superintendent Dr. Bill James said. "This accomplishment says a lot about our entire school system and the good our schools have done from kindergarten through 12th grade in preparing students to graduate."

Fifty of the state's 200 high schools met AYP this year, down from 60 high schools last year. None of the state's 85 school districts met their No Child Left Behind goals for a second straight year.

No county middle schools met the federal benchmark this year. Statewide, four of five elementary and middle schools fell short because test score targets jumped upward by more than 50 percent.

High schools will see a major increase in their AYP requirements next year.

High schools must have 71 percent of their students scoring proficient in English in 2009, up from 52.3 percent this year. In math, 70 percent of students must score proficient, up from 50 percent this year.

Blacksburg High Principal Jim Touchberry attributed the recent increase in county graduation rates to the district's funding of a credit recovery program and emphasis on identifying atrisk students early in high school.

"AYP is a yearly project. It is really hard to keep up with the expectations once you have established a good graduation rate and exit exam scores," Touchberry said. "This accomplishment is a testament to the hard work and dedication of our teachers. We will never be satisfied with the status quo. We continue to work hard to improve every year."

State Superintendent of Education Jim Rex said the U.S. Department of Education is allowing several states to pilot "improvement models" that would move beyond No Child Left Behind's current "all or nothing" rating system to one that would note when schools are moving in the right direction.

Rex praised No Child Left Behind's focus on serving all children, particularly minority students, children with limited English ability and children with disabilities. But Rex said that if the law isn't revised, nearly all of the nation's Title I schools will eventually face federal sanctions because they will not be able to reach the federal goal of 100 percent proficiency in 2014.

Rex said schools should not be labeled as "failing" if they don't meet all of their AYP goals.

"If you've got 21 targets and you meet 20, you haven't failed," Rex said, noting the term 'failing school' does not even appear in the federal law. "You have to look at each school's data in depth before you can make a determination of how it performed."