Idaho schools denied a reprieve

BOISE – The U.S. Department of Education has rejected a request from the Idaho Board of Education to give hundreds of public schools another chance before facing sanctions under the federal No Child Left Behind Act.

The board asked the federal agency in May to erase student progress measurements that were taken between 2002 and 2006, the years for which the sanctions are based, and allow Idaho public schools a new time frame for meeting proficiency standards under the No Child Left Behind Act.

The board argued Idaho students weren’t prepared to meet the federal standards because of poor statewide education standards exams, and board director Mike Rush asked that Idaho schools be measured beginning with 2007 statewide test results, exams taken after the state improved its testing system.

The U.S. Department of Education has denied the request in writing.

“We do not believe that ‘restarting’ Idaho’s timeline … would either increase the quality of instruction for students or improve the academic achievement of students,” wrote Kerri Briggs, U.S. Department of Education assistant secretary.

The state will now consider asking for more time to bring Idaho students up to federal proficiency levels.

Idaho Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Luna said he wasn’t surprised the request was denied. “We at the State Department of Education will continue to offer schools and districts the support and technical assistance they need to raise student achievement,” Luna said.

About 30 percent of the nation’s schools aren’t making adequate yearly progress – mostly because students didn’t make steady gains in required math and reading exams given in grades three through eight and again in high school. About two-thirds of Idaho schools have fallen short of meeting some No Child Left Behind benchmarks.

Thirty-two Idaho schools could face some of the toughest sanctions under the federal law if they fail to meet academic standards for the most recent school year, prompting the state to intervene.

State board of education officials have argued that they should be given leniency considering the U.S. Department of Education declared the statewide testing system in Idaho inadequate three years ago.

The state was fined $103,000 in 2005 after the federal agency determined the Idaho testing system wasn’t competent in measuring school performance.