Superintendents: ‘No Child’ not clear indication of performance

By Trisha Marczak (Contact) | The Daily Journal

Published Monday, August 18, 2008

The list of schools falling short on No Child Left Behind (NCLB) standards may not be a clear indication of how schools are comparing with state average MCA-II test scores, say area superintendents.

On the list of area districts that did not meet “adequate yearly progress” (AYP) but still managed to generate higher percentage proficiency levels than state averages in either math or reading were Fergus Falls, Perham and Rothsay.

On the flip side, area districts that did meet AYP standards but had overall proficiency levels that did not meet state averages were Ashby and Henning.

State-wide, 62 percent of students tested at proficient levels in math, while 71 percent proved proficiency in reading.

There are even area schools that did not meet AYP standards but had proficiency levels that ranked higher than neighboring schools that did meet AYP.

Take Ashby School District which met AYP standards this year, for example. Fifty-seven percent of the students tested at proficient math levels and 68 percent tested at proficient reading levels. Now compare that with the Perham School Districtwhich didn’t meet AYP, but had a higher percentage of students that tested in both math and reading at proficient levels; 69 percent proficient in math and 76 percent in reading.

How can this be? AYP standards are based on a number of factors, and depending on the number of students in each district, some districts may have more to worry about than others.

The state breaks down each district’s test scores into eight categories: white, black, Hispanic, Asian/Pacific Islander, American Indian, English language learners, students with disabilities and students who qualify for free and reduced lunch. If a district has more than 20 students — 40 students with disabilities — in any one of these categories, 95 percent of the students in the category must be tested. If their test scores do not meet AYP standards, the entire district is labeled as not meeting AYP.

A district that may have 25 students in a specific category with test scores that do not meet AYP is at a disadvantage compared to a district that may only have 10 students in a category who do not, overall, test to AYP standards.

The Perham District missed the AYP mark because of two subgroups: Hispanic and students with disabilities. But Superintendent Tamara Uselman says this is not an accurate or fair portrayal of the district or the students who qualify for the categories.

“It is absurd to say a school district isn’t making AYP and they are struggling when they are actually showing growth,” Uselman said. “It’s a pretty broad brush to use in a very negative way.”

Although Hispanic students just barely missed AYP standards, students’ scores did improve drastically when compared to last year, which is quite an accomplishment, Uselman said.

“They (Hispanic students) are being tested in a language they’re not immersed in all day,” she said.

The Fergus Falls school district didn’t meet AYP in special needs middle school reading and Area Learning Center math. Superintendent Jerry Ness is also concerned about the negative effect this may have on students and staff.

“Those teachers feel a lot of pressure,” Ness said, “those kids feel a lot of pressure and that’s not what we want to do here.”

Pelican Rapids School District, which has a high percentage of sub-category students, has run into this problem.

“I feel bad that people may look at this snap shot of test scores as the only picture or indicator of the quality of our school,” said Pelican Rapids Superintendent Deb Wanek, whose district did not meet AYP standards this year.

Pelican Rapid’s Viking Elementary School has struggled with the NCLB standards from the beginning, with many of its students landing in sub-categories. Although the school has continually failed to meet AYP standards, Wanek says the school is improving. The elementary school made AYP this year in four of the five subjects that it did not last year.