Several schools fail to meet progress levels

While more schools statewide have been placed on a federal list of schools not meeting education standards under the No Child Left Behind law, there was little change in the number of Spokane area schools identified this year.

A preliminary report of schools “needing improvement” released Friday by the state Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction shows schools in the Spokane, West Valley, Mead, Nine Mile Falls and Central Valley districts did not make “adequate yearly progress,” or AYP, for at least two consecutive years.

Some schools, such as Spokane’s North Central High School, are on the list for the third or fourth consecutive year.

In Washington, students’ scores from the Washington Assessment of Student Learning are used to determine AYP, which measures progress in specific groups, such as special education or low-income students. Statewide, 281 Washington schools and 30 school districts landed on the list, up from 250 schools and 28 districts last year.

A school is put into “improvement status” if a subgroup does not meet AYP for two consecutive years in any subject area, such as low-income reading or special education math.

But the label means little unless a school is considered a Title I school – those with high populations of low-income students that receive federal funds. Title I schools not meeting AYP face the loss of federal dollars, or offering parents the choice to transfer to a better-performing school.

Friday’s scores are preliminary, and districts can appeal them.

However, an increase in the number of schools facing improvement status could be on the way next year under changes in how AYP is calculated.

Previously, schools calculated scores for math and reading for fourth, seventh and 10th grades on the WASL. This year, WASL scores for third through eighth grades also were added, increasing the number of students in particular subgroups.

Next year, the state also will be raising the uniform bar for progress in districts, so students will be required to perform at a higher level than in years past. The ultimate goal of No Child Left Behind is to have every child proficient in reading and math by 2014.

“We cannot predict what the final product will look like,” said Bill Ash, assessment coordinator for the Central Valley School District. “But I’m guessing a larger amount of schools are not going to make AYP. … It’s going to be pretty big.”

With No Child Left Behind up for reauthorization, officials like Ash hope some changes will be made to evaluate a school’s progress more accurately.

Congress last reauthorized the law in 2001, in the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. The 2001 law essentially added more requirements for schools to show progress in order to keep collecting federal money.

While school officials agree that improvements are needed, most feel the AYP process unfairly labels schools and districts as failing and is not an accurate picture of a school’s progress. Most of the controversy comes in the way scores for some subgroups of students, such as special education and English language learners, are calculated.

Even with some legislation that allows students to take an alternative assessment, those students struggle to pass the WASL.

“Special education is mostly where we didn’t make AYP,” said Nancy Stowell, Spokane Public Schools superintendent.

The district’s Bryant Center and Bancroft School, both for troubled and special needs students, did not make AYP and is considered a Title I school. Under the law, instead of using those funds elsewhere, the district may be required to redirect 10 percent of its Title I funds to ensure the progress of those students.

“Kids that have been designated as special needs are held to the same standard as everybody else; that doesn’t play as being fair,” Ash said.

Central Valley’s University High School did not make AYP for the third consecutive year in special education reading and math. U-Hi is not a Title I school.

“It puts everyone in the same box, and it looks really neat and clean on paper, but it doesn’t come out that clean when you are actually dealing with students,” Ash said.