A preliminary state report erroneously identified Ashland High School as one of 18 Jackson County schools that failed to meet all academic and attendance standards set out in the federal No Child Left Behind law, state officials said Tuesday.

Ashland School District officials brought the error in the annual Adequate Yearly Progress report to the attention of the Oregon Department of Education after the data was released Thursday.

ODE officials said the agency mistakenly duplicated the number of disabled dropouts at the high school.

"When the state looks at a high school where students aren't meeting the benchmarks, they look at whether the subgroup, in this case, the disabled, showed growth and the graduation rate," said Samuel Bogdanove, special programs director at the Ashland School District.

The error was the result of a glitch in a new computer system meant to catch duplications in counting, said Chuck Sigmund of ODE.

"We had never counted dropout rates for students with disabilities, limited English or economically disadvantaged before this year," Sigmund said. "Putting everything together was a monster of a task."

There is at least one other case like Ashland's across the state, he said.

The correction will be noted in the final AYP, scheduled for release in the fall.

A number of students with academic disabilities at Ashland High had switched programs and schools in the school district, and the five students reported as dropouts had been counted twice. One of the five dropouts was later discovered to have moved to another school district, but the school district failed to report the transfer to Ashland.

That leaves Ashland High with a total of four disabled dropouts, meaning the high school made adequate yearly progress.

Schools that miss benchmarks in the same areas for two consecutive years and receive federal funds to serve low-income students through a program called Title 1 face penalties for failing to make AYP.

Ashland High, however, does not fall into that category because it does not receive Title 1 funds.

The federal academic benchmarks will lead up to a federal mandate that 100 percent of students be proficient in reading and math by 2014.

"Ultimately, in terms of AYP, the federal government is trying to help us do our best with every kid, whether they are disabled or speak limited English," Bogdanove said. "It's a wonderful idea and a wonderful goal.

"The challenge is it's not always realistic to have the same expectations for students with learning disabilities or limited English."

Reach reporter Paris Achen by calling 541-776-4459 or pachen@mailtribune.com.