According to the school accountability measures just released by the Idaho State Department of Education, 379 of Idaho’s 648 schools earned five or four stars — top rankings in the new system.

The State Department of Education wants to use this system to replace the Adequate Yearly Progress measure that is part of the federal No Child Left Behind law. Idaho has requested, but not yet received, a waiver for AYP.

• Five- and Four-Star schools are considered examples for other schools.

• Three-Star schools — 170 schools fall into this category — are those where most students have met benchmarks set by the state. The state is asking them to develop improvement plans in subject areas where their scores fall short of state standards.

• One- and Two-Star schools are those that fall below the benchmarks and will be asked to develop improvement plans. Ninety-nine Idaho schools fall into this group.

HOMEGROWN ALTERNATIVE

The Five-Star System was created in-state last year with the input from local agencies, parents, teachers and community members.

Schools are measured on student academic growth as well as the number of students who score at grade level or higher on the Idaho Standards Achievement Tests. High schools are subject to additional measures, including graduation rate, the number of students enrolled in advanced-placement classes and more.

“The new Five-Star accountability plan will more accurately measure the academic quality of Idaho schools,” said Ken Edmunds, president of the Idaho State Board of Education. “We are pleased that this system was developed in Idaho, with help from our own educators,”

AYP is a narrower measure, focusing mainly on whether students pass the ISAT.

AYP is still in play, since the state is still waiting for federal approval of its waiver application. So in the meantime, the department also released AYP results Friday for the 2011-2012 school year.

Of Idaho’s 147 school districts, 61 made AYP, 86 did not.