The Pittsburgh Public Schools met the federal achievement standard -- adequate yearly progress, or AYP -- with the help of a new measuring method that allows schools to demonstrate progress toward an academic goal but fall short of the goal itself.

According to results of the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment, released today, 56.5 percent of students in grades three through five scored proficient or advanced in reading. The target was 63 percent, but the district got credit for the goal under the new "growth model" measuring tool created by the state.

On the math portion of the test, 67.8 percent of students in grades three through five scored advanced or proficient, way above the target of 56 percent.

The district announced Aug 10 that it had made AYP, but did not release the test scores or other data. The state Department of Education released that information this morning.

This is the first time the district made AYP since the term was created by the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. Pittsburgh is the largest district in the state to make AYP.

The PSSA is given to public-school students statewide in grades three through eight and 11. To make AYP, students in at least one grade span -- 3-5, 6-8 or 11 -- must meet academic goals and goals for attendance, graduation and test participation.

First Published: September 3, 2009, 5:30 p.m.