Horry County School Superintendent Dr. Cynthia Elsberry held a news conference Monday morning to announce how Horry County schools performed in meeting 2010 goals under the No Child Left Behind Act.

The South Carolina Department of Education released its report  Monday.

Horry County schools met 94.6% of objectives for Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP). That's up from 91.9% in 2009.

According to a news release from Horry County schools, the district missed two of 37 objectives in 2010. Only three of the state's school districts made AYP, compared to none last year. As a whole, South Carolina made 35 of its 37 goals and so fell short of making AYP. District schools met 94% of their combined objectives. The 46 schools receiving AYP ratings met 901 of 966 objectives. Twenty of 24 of elementary schools met AYP, an improvement over the 16 that met AYP last year. None of the District's 10 middle schools met AYP. Green Sea Floyds High School was the only District high school among nine that met AYP.

You can read the rest of the district's news release in its entirety below.

Statewide, only 13 of 184 high schools met all of their federal AYP goals, the same percentage as last year. Among the District schools that did not meet AYP, 80 percent fell just short by missing 1-5 goals. Thirty-percent missed just one goal. Most South Carolina schools have either 17 or 21 federal AYP objectives. Horry County schools have as few as 13 and as many as 29. In the "all-or-nothing" federal accountability system, falling short on even one goal means a school does not make AYP.

Of those schools that did not meet AYP, the most common performance goals missed was the Disabled English Language Arts and Disabled Math subgroups. Next year, the percentage of South Carolina elementary and middle school students who must score proficient on math and English Language Arts tests in order to meet those goals will jump from about 58 percent to nearly 80 percent.

Unless Congress changes the law, by 2014 all students - including those who are poor, speak limited English or have learning disabilities - must meet all state targets on math and English Language Arts tests. In order to meet AYP this year, South Carolina elementary and middle schools must have had at least 58.8 percent of their students proficient in English Language Arts. In math, at least 57.8 percent had to be proficient. In order the make AYP, high schools must have had 71.3 percent of their students proficient in English Language Arts and 70 percent proficient in math.

NCLB background information and school transfer data NCLB requires schools and districts to break out their performance data into a number of student "subcategories" that include ethnicity, special education, poverty and limited ability with English. The more demographic categories a school has, the more goals it must meet. If even one subcategory of students doesn't meet its goal for that year, or if more than five percent of those students weren't tested, the school does not meet AYP for that year. Elementary and middle schools can also miss AYP if their overall attendance rate is lower than 94 percent. High schools miss if graduation rates decline from the previous year. Six of nine District high schools met their graduation rate objective.

For "Title I schools" - those that receive federal Title I funds because they have a significant number of students from economically disadvantaged families - not meeting AYP carries considerable consequences. When a Title I school misses the same AYP target for two years consecutively, the school is designated in "Needs Improvement" status. For schools identified as being in "Needs Improvement" status, parents must be offered the choice of sending their children to another school in that district that is not in "Needs Improvement" status.

For 2010-11, six HCS schools are required to offer a school choice option. Information regarding school choice options has been mailed to students attending impacted schools which include Loris Elementary, Loris Middle, Myrtle Beach Primary, Pee Dee Elementary, South Conway Elementary and Whittemore Park Middle schools. Three of these schools, Loris Elementary, Myrtle Beach Primary, and South Conway Elementary, actually met AYP, but must meet AYP for two consecutive years to come out School Improvement Status where they are no longer required to offer choice.

A second year in "Needs Improvement" (third year of not meeting AYP) requires the school to offer supplemental services such as student tutoring, as well as the choice option. The parent may request either of these options. More severe consequences follow for Title I schools that continue to be designated as "Needs Improvement." A school district in "Needs Improvement" status must use 10 percent of its Title I funds for professional development. In addition, the district must develop a district-wide improvement plan. While NCLB relies on PASS scores to determine performance ratings for South Carolina's elementary and middle schools, high school data come from student performance on the High School Assessment Program.