Schools Face Another Test: Accountability Educators Wonder How State Will Treat Schools That Fail New Test Standards

Phyllis Willoughby has taught elementary school for 26 years, but lately her job makes her a little nervous.

As a third-grade teacher, Willoughby must help prepare students to pass the state’s new fourth-grade assessments.

“I’m having to completely change the way I teach to prepare for the test,” said Willoughby, a Mullan Road Elementary teacher in south Spokane. “It’s very difficult.”

The state’s 1993 school reform law laid the groundwork for the tests - taken in grades 4, 7 and 10 - along with higher standards kids must meet in all grades.

But next comes the step that has educators across the state on alert: How to hold schools accountable when students don’t meet the standards.

“Accountability has really (put) a lot of pressure on individual school districts,” said Terry Weinmann, assistant superintendent at Riverside School District in north Spokane County.

“School districts that don’t meet the criteria - are they going to get less money or more money? A number of us are wondering what’s in store for us down the road.”

A panel led by Terry Bergeson, state schools superintendent, and former Boeing Co. president Frank Shrontz has drafted a proposal that would provide some answers.

The proposal calls for individual districts to intervene for “low-performing schools.” But if scores still aren’t raised, the state would step in.

As a last resort, the state would have the authority to reorganize the school or district - although the report doesn’t detail what a reorganization would involve.

The proposal also calls for money for all schools to improve scores, with special help for schools where fewer than 25 percent of the students meet the standards.

A biennial budget of up to $132 million - if approved by the Legislature - would provide incentives and assistance.

To make sure schools give a fair picture of their progress, only the most severely handicapped students would be exempt from testing, said Spokane schools Superintendent Gary Livingston, who is on the state accountability panel.

“There is a fear some districts would exclude kids so their test scores would go up,” Livingston said.

Students for whom English is a second language also could be exempt if they’ve been in the country less than a year.

State law already requires school districts to have a plan in place by December to raise fourth-grade reading scores by 25 percent over three years.

The new proposal would set the same goal for seventh and 10th grades. It would apply to writing, math and listening as well as reading.

The state Commission on Student Learning will review the proposal in October, then make its own recommendation to the state Legislature for consideration during the 1999 session.

Critics say they favor accountability, but worry the proposal overlooks important details.

Teachers, for instance, fear they’ll be held accountable for things they can’t control, such as students who fall behind because they move a lot.

“We have kids who come to our classrooms who move six to seven times a year. That needs to be a part of the measurement and right now it’s not,” said Maureen Ramos, vice president for the Spokane Education Association.

“A lot of times it’s because (their parents) can’t pay their rent,” she said. “The kids have to follow and they’re stuck. It’s not the kids’ fault or the teachers’ fault.”

Since consequences for schools with low test scores aren’t outlined in the proposal, some teachers fear the worst - that they’d lose their teaching certificates or lose their jobs to other teachers.

“They’re worried their school would close, and they’d be replaced by other schools,” said Lee Ann Prielipp, Washington Education Association president.

Rich Wood, the union’s spokesman, said educators statewide also are concerned lawmakers won’t agree to spend money to help schools achieve the higher standards.

“There’s a concern the funds will be shifted from existing programs,” Wood said. “Don’t shift the money. It should be new money.”

Wood also believes the accountability panel jumped the gun in proposing a 25 percent boost in scores by the end of the 2000-2001 school year.

“That’s an arbitrary goal that was just picked for the sake of having a target,” he said. “I don’t think we necessarily know if it’s a good goal. It’d be more prudent to wait a couple of years” before setting a target.

The proposal doesn’t clearly outline consequences for schools that fail to improve scores or incentives for those who excel.

That’s something educators say another task force will have to deal with. The current panel is set to disband in late September.

Harry Amend, superintendent at Freeman School District, worries schools that score high will suffer if extra money is funneled only to failing districts.

He has reason for concern - Freeman Elementary students scored higher than most in early assessments. “Should money be taken from Freeman because District X is failing?” Amend asked. “I don’t think so.”

Meanwhile, Willoughby awaits answers on how she and other teachers will be held accountable for that performance.

“Nobody has defined that for us. (The school reform law) came about so quickly, and was put into play so very quickly. Now nobody knows, now what?”

Two sidebars appeared with the story: 1. HEARINGS The state accountability task force will take public comment on its proposal through Sept. 18. A public hearing will take place in Spokane at 7 p.m. Monday in the North Central High School cafeteria, 1600 N. Howard. Other hearings are scheduled Thursday in Vancouver, Aug. 27 in Seattle, Sept. 14 in the Tri-Cities and Sept. 17 in Everett.

2. FOCUS ON READING In District 81, teachers said they’re working toward the immediate goal of getting ready to boost fourth-grade reading scores. They’ve purchased new, nonfiction reading materials for elementary schools and will begin training teachers to use it Sept. 14, said Pat Mainella, language arts coordinator. District 81 is planning to adopt a policy next week stating that each school will strive to meet the state’s reading goals. In classrooms, teachers like Phyllis Willoughby are teaching children to think about how they arrive at solutions and put it in writing - a major emphasis in the new assessments. She avoids true-false quizzes and pairs reading and writing assignments, just like the new tests do. She’s searching for the balance between dealing with parents who think the state is pushing their children too hard and helping those students meet the new standards.