The Greeneville and Greene County school systems both made "adequate yearly progress" (AYP) in regard to federal "No Child Left Behind" standards for the 2008-09 school year, the Tennessee Department of Education announced on Wednesday.

Department of Education spokeswoman Rachel Woods said all Greeneville and Greene County schools are in "good standing" in terms of adequate yearly progress on No Child Left Behind standards.

The announcement came after the state education officials released the list of schools and school districts that either showed gains on the NCLB standards during the 2008-09 school year, or did not.

Under No Child Left Behind (NCLB) guidelines, schools and school districts are measured on whether the students meet performance benchmarks in mathematics, reading and attendance for grades 3-8 and math, English and graduation rate for high schools.

AYP status is also calculated each year for the following student subgroups: White, Hispanic, African American, Native American, Asian/Pacific Islander, Economically Disadvantaged, Students with Disabilities and English Language Learners.

Schools that do not meet the achievement standards for two years are deemed "high priority," according to a state Department of Education news release.

Area schools that remain on the high priority list include Cherokee High School in Hawkins County, Elizabethton High School, Grainger County High School and Sullivan Central High School in Blountville.

During a Wednesday morning conference call, state Education Commissioner Timothy Webb said from Nashville that more schools have entered into good standing in terms of AYP this year than did last year.

But he cautioned that new, more rigorous state educational standards that take effect this year could result in an AYP downturn next year.

"We still have a long way to go to be where we need to be," Webb said during the call in cautioning listeners that state education standards are becoming more rigorous this year.

Webb said the more rigorous state educational standards that are taking effect for the 2009-10 school year could mean that schools and school districts likely will experience a "dip" in state standardized test scores next year.

He also praised teachers and principals across the state for their work in improving AYP results.

Dr. Connie Smith of the state's Department of Education described Wednesday as a "sunny day" in terms of AYP results.

However, she noted that the number of high-priority schools reported this year actually increased from 134 last year to 146 this year. But most schools, and all school systems, on the list are improving, she said. And the number of high priority school districts actually decreased slightly from 5 to 4.

Dr. Smith also noted that 42 schools across the state that had been on the high priority list last year had improved enough to come off the list this year. That, she said, was a 50 percent increase.

NCLB identifies schools that have missed a federal benchmark in the same category for two consecutive years.

Tennessee elects to alert schools and districts that are at-risk of becoming a high priority school under NCLB, according to the news release. At-risk schools receive additional support and assistance from the state in order to avoid the NCLB high priority list.

Schools that have missed one or more benchmarks for one year are considered "target schools."

Last year, Chuckey-Doak Middle School was on the target school list, but improved enough to move off the list this year and is now in good standing in terms of AYP, according to state Department of Education spokesman Rachel Woods.

Last year, Greene County Director of Schools Dr. Joe Parkins said C-DMS had been placed on the target school list because it failed to meet the federal benchmark in mathematics for special-education students.

He said he expected the school to be removed from the list this year.

During a Wednesday morning conference call, state Education Commissioner Timothy Webb said from Nashville that more schools have entered into good standing than last year.