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Guilford County Schools has promoted for years the unique learning experiences available through its many magnet and choice programs, and has had little trouble signing up thousands of students.

Are magnet schools worth it? Join the discussion at the Debatables blog.

But every so often, Board of Education members wonder if the schools' results justify the millions of dollars invested.

Special programs are housed at 36 schools and serve more than 7,000 students. The district will add six magnets later this year, funded by an $8.3 million federal grant.

"We've asked for the evaluation," said board member Nancy Routh. "I think we would all like to feel more comfortable and have a better picture of what is happening."

Local schools have been offering magnet programs since the late 1980s as a way to expand educational choices for students, reduce minority group isolation in low-income areas and maximize the use of existing facilities.

The last district study occurred in the mid-1990s, a few years after schools in Greensboro, High Point and the county merged under one system. Routh said she doesn't remember the board undertaking another review since she joined in 2003, even though the board adopted a policy formalizing the process in 2005.

A lack of adequate data and a magnet fair this Saturday will likely push back any school board decision on programs until at least early summer, perhaps too late to make significant changes during the 2008-09 academic year. Tony Burks, magnet schools director, said he plans to update the board in June.

Superintendent Terry Grier suggested to the board last week that it place underperforming magnets on probation, freezing additional funding and prohibiting them from enrolling new students.

"That's just something that a lot of districts do," Grier said this week. "I think it's only fair to give them notice if they are not meeting the board's expectations and perhaps give them a probationary period of up to a year to meet their performance (goals)."

Data shows about half the schools housing magnet programs met federal Adequate Yearly Progress state testing targets during the 2006-07 school year; eight programs produced scores on those exams of at least 80 percent. Twelve schools failed to make AYP.

Some board members, including Dot Kearns, said they want to know how magnet students have performed compared with nonmagnet students at the same school. George Boschini, principal of General Greene Elementary, which has a 17-year-old science and technology program, said it's also important to track students' performance after they leave their home schools.

"You also have to look deeper and say we have children who are coming from schools where the parents don't feel comfortable with the education," Boschini said.

Routh said she believes following individual students would be both complicated and impractical.

"You can't possibly track each individual student, my heavens," she said.

Test scores alone won't illuminate student progress. Some participants in the Middle College of Entertainment Technology in High Point credited the smaller class sizes and wider course selection. Senior Mikal Davis said she helped start a student government association at the middle college after floundering in classes and bypassing extracurricular activities at Northwest High School.

"I think (choice) is really important," Davis said. "Some students don't learn to their potential in a traditional school."

Assessing results at some schools, such as the early college academies at Smith and High Point Central high schools, might be premature. The board approved those programs over the past two years, and administrators are still working to reach goals.

Principals at both academies said they hope to increase both the percentage of students passing state exams and the number of seniors taking college courses at GTCC. The Academy at Smith, which just moved to a new location in late January, is also establishing its own parent-teacher-student organization, principal Patrice Faison said.

"The board members who joined us at the open house saw that we are on the right path," Faison said. "The evaluation process is fine for me."

Contact Morgan Josey Glover at 373-7078 or morgan.josey@news-record.com