No Child Left behind seems to be working
Find a Conversation
| Wed, 08-25-2004 - 3:08pm |
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/04238/367415.stm
81% of Pa. schools get passing grades
Wednesday, August 25, 2004
By Eleanor Chute and Bill Toland, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Four of five Pennsylvania public schools are meeting requirements of the federal No Child Left Behind Act, a significant increase over last year.
State Education Secretary-designee Francis Barnes yesterday released the state's 2004 Academic Achievement Report, which showed that 81 percent of schools -- compared with 62 percent last year -- made "adequate yearly progress." Schools are required to make progress under the No Child Left Behind Act or face sanctions that can range from offering school choice to state intervention. Adequate yearly progress, or AYP, is based on math and reading scores on the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment tests, test participation rates and attendance or graduation rates. The tests are counted in grades five, eight and 11.
Schools also are judged on the progress of subgroups -- such as racial groups, low-income students and special education students -- if there are at least 40 students in the subgroup in the building. So the number of targets varies from school to school and district to district.
Such gains won't be easy to reproduce next year. This year's and last year's academic standards -- 35 percent of students adjudged proficient or better in math and 45 percent in reading or significant growth -- will be raised next year: 45 percent proficient in math and 54 percent in reading.
Barnes emphasized, "We're making progress."
He noted improvements, particularly in fifth- and eighth-grade PSSA scores.
Even some officials in schools that are struggling tried to put the best light on the results.
"Overall, we see we are making progress," said Duquesne Superintendent Jacquelyn Webb.
The Duquesne district is the only district in Allegheny County on the second year of corrective action, the most serious classification. The state Education Department has done a study of the district and within the next few months is expected to release recommendations on what should be done.
Webb was encouraged that some of the adequate yearly progress targets were met, including elementary school math, which met the standard by showing significant improvement. About 24 percent of fifth-graders are proficient in math.
"We're working very hard to make progress and to meet the standards," said Webb.
The Pittsburgh district overall met the targets for math and reading, but it fell short in some of the subgroups and in some schools.
Some other districts also missed the mark with subgroups, and whether they hit the AYP targets or not, all districts that had a large enough subgroup of black students to count had substantial achievement gaps between black and white students.
While last year's list focused only on schools, this year's list also named districts that missed targets.
Pittsburgh and 14 other districts in Allegheny County landed on the School Improvement I list, which means they missed the AYP target for two years and must make districtwide plans. In addition, Duquesne was on the more serious "corrective action" list, and Wilkinsburg was on the School Improvement II list, which also calls for planning. Five others were on a warning list.
In some districts, all of the schools made adequate yearly progress, but the district didn't. The reason for that is that typically some of the schools didn't have enough students to count in a subgroup, but the district as a whole did. In Hampton, for example, all of the schools made adequate yearly progress, but the district is on a warning list because it missed on math and reading scores for special education students.
The way special education students are counted is a sore spot for some school officials. Except for the most seriously disabled, special education students take the same test as other students in the grade level appropriate to their age, not their instruction level.
For districts in Allegheny County making the school improvement lists, one of the most common problems was failing to meet at least one target for special education students.
Keystone Oaks landed on the School Improvement I list because it missed all four special education targets, math and reading scores as well as test participation in both.
William Urbanek, Keystone Oaks assistant superintendent, said special education students have individualized education plans that should be used as a measure of academic progress.
He said the district would have cleared the test participation mark for special education students if just three or four more had taken the test, but he said some refused.
"I'm not alarmed at this," he said. "We are meeting the targets for performance, participation and attendance in all other areas," he said.

Pages
If you are "teaching" and the children are "learning" teacher's accomplishments would be SHOWN through high test scores of their students.
With something as important as education, I am surprised how many people think they don't need evaluations and tests for teachers and students to monitor progress and effective teaching techniques...
What profession does NOT require evaluations and expectations of improvement?
If you are "teaching" and the children are "learning" teacher's accomplishments would be SHOWN through high test scores of their students.>
BRAVO! This is what befuddles me about the teachers' union complaining about having to "teach to the test". These are basic reading and math tests-if the kids can't pass them without the test being taught to them, than just what the heck ARE they learning?
I do think that the teaching agenda needs to be updated, but it appears that this issue comes up with a battle with the unions (at least in NYC it does)
If teachers are doing such a great job, then why aren't the children learning?
If you dont think that the teachers have to share in the blame for that, then there is no point debating this with you.
Edited 9/1/2004 10:48 am ET ET by debateguy
Pages