Photo by lovedc.

A year really flies by, doesn’t it? It’s been one full year to the day since the the District last reported results from its Comprehensive Assessment System tests, which is given to students in grades 3 through 8 and high school sophomores in order to determine whether or not District of Columbia public schools are meeting mandated progress under federal No Child Left Behind law.

This morning, Mayor Adrian Fenty, flanked by Deputy Mayor for Education Victor Reinoso and DCPS Chancellor Michelle Rhee, released the results of this year’s assessments at Ballou Senior High School — and scores are reportedly down. [Ed. note: Check after the jump for more detailed information.] According to the Post’s Bill Turque:

Test scores for D.C. public schools show a decline in reading and math proficiency rates in the city’s elementary schools, according to a report released Tuesday. The proficiency rate is essentially a measure of how many students pass the tests.

Scores over the last two years had been on the rise. Last year, nearly half (49 percent) of elementary students were scored at proficiency levels in reading and math, posting an increase of several percentage points over 2008’s results. High school students also posted modest gains last year. Scores had skyrocketed since 2007, when less than a third of DCPS elementary school students were gauged as proficient based on federal standards. Of course, 49 percent means that DCPS were still failing the majority of students; lower scores will certainly be a big blow for Michelle Rhee and a boon for critics of her reforms and management style.

This certainly won’t be the last time you hear about the CAS scores in the coming months. With education such a hot-button issue in this year’s mayoral campaign — not to mention the Chancellor’s not-so-subtle endorsement of the current administration — this decline should provide challengers to Fenty with plenty of ammunition as the campaign trudges on.