In a reversal of fortune, the state department of education has announced the Dawson County School System made adequate yearly progress, or AYP, after all.

Under the federal No Child Left Behind standards, all county schools except the high school met the state test requirements over the summer. The school’s apparent failure to do so had affected the entire system.

But last week’s announcement changed that outcome.

“Spring scores were preliminary,” said Superintendent Keith Porter. “Then with the opportunity to remediate the kids to try to help them over the summer, we were able to make AYP again.

“In the final say, we made it.”

This will be the eighth straight year the system as a whole has made the mark.

Systems that fail to do so for two straight years are designated as “needs improvement.”

Porter said the high school’s initial failure to meet the standards was due to certain subgroups who “came up short in the areas of math and language arts” on the Georgia High School Graduation Test.

AYP is based primarily on student achievement on required statewide tests.

For elementary and middle schools, the exam is the Criterion-Referenced Competency Test, or CRCT. For high school, it is the graduation test.