Preliminary test scores have given Durham Public Schools leaders a clearer picture of which schools to target through the district's new plan to reform low-performing schools.

While that list won't be known until after the scores become official in August, the preliminary results are mixed: About 86 percent of Durham schools reported increases in their ABCs of Accountability scores, but only 25 percent made Adequate Yearly Progress.

District officials highlighted the composite test scores - a measure of how many students are performing on grade level - during a Wednesday press conference at Lakewood Elementary, whose test scores improved the most among elementary schools. The school was one of 13 out of the district's 52 schools that made AYP.

The numbers weren't much better for the district's Title I schools - those that receive extra funding due to a large population of students on free and reduced lunch. Only seven out of 25 made AYP. Twenty of those schools were under sanctions for not making AYP for at least the past two years - five of those schools reached all of their goals this year.

AYP measures a school's progress in reaching the goal of the federal No Child Left Behind Act, which is for all students to be at or above grade level by the end of the 2013-14 school year. To make AYP, a school must meet proficiency goals in reading/language arts and math for certain student groups in grades 3-8 and 10, with at least 95 percent of students taking the tests. In addition, the school must show progress in other categories, such as attendance or graduation rates.

For now, even with the AYP results, school officials believe the increased test scores show progress.

"We're proud of the progress that has been made but it is our expectation to have as many students as possible proficient," said Lewis Ferebee, DPS' chief of staff. "We want many of our schools to fall into 80 percent, 90 percent proficiency. While we're proud of the progress we've made, we want to take the correct steps in supporting our schools and monitoring our schools to get them to this level."

Reading scores show that 55 percent of DPS students in grades 3-8 are proficient, a 2.1 percent gain from last year. Math scores for the same grades show a 68.6 percent proficiency, a 2.3 percent increase.

High school End of Course scores show double-digit gains in seven out of eight subjects, comprising an overall 67.6 percent proficiency. Algebra 2 scores increased by 21.8 percent.

Fifth grade science scores increased 11.3 percent, demonstrating an overall 60.2 percent proficiency. Eighth grade science scores increased by 4.6 percent, showing an overall 59.1 percent proficiency.

"I feel very pleased with the progress these results are showing," said Heidi Carter, school board member. "I think we're on a steady course of improvement. My excitement is a little bit dampened that our proficiency levels are still in the 60 percent range. We want them to be in the 90 percent range. We have a lot of work ahead of us."

Most of that work, district leaders hope, will happen under the new Design for Accelerated Progress Structure, which increases accountability for teachers and principals at the lowest-performing schools. Whether they get to keep their jobs depends on how well students do in the classroom and on state tests. Schools would have up to four years to turn things around or risk consequences that include closure.

Under this plan, schools will receive points based on seven categories, which include End of Grade and End of Course scores, state recognition and expected growth. A school's total points will determine its classification: managed, targeted or reaching accelerated progress.

School Superintendent Eric Becoats said budget constraints might lead to some modifications to the plan. With a budget that's about $20 million less than last year, the district had to work out a deal with county commissioners - supplemented with lottery funds - to save 237 teaching jobs. With federal stimulus funding drying up after the 2010-11 school year, school officials are preparing for the worst.

"You have to say what things we're going to focus on and what things we want to do well, and that may mean that we may have to stop doing something to provide focus if we have less resources," he said. "That's something we'll be focusing on for next year."

The tighter budget will make next year challenging for the school district, said Carter, who added that the plan will be one of multiple approaches needed to improve academic performance.

"We'll just have to be as lean and mean as we can," she said.

The N.C. Department of Public Instruction will release the official AYP results on August 5.