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Schools

District 63 Finds Silver Lining in ISAT Scores

Most students show progress even if schools do not meet No Child Left Behind benchmarks.

Two schools made "adequate yearly progress" under the federal No Child Left Behind law, but five lower performers prevented from achieving a better overall benchmark grade.  

Because of the five schools, the district is counted as not making the required annual progress, Charlene Cobb told school board members at their Sept. 7 meeting.

Cobb, the executive director of teaching and learning for the district, said the supposed lack of upward movement was more a reflection of the law than of the schools.

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Earlier: 

No Child Left Behind, which was enacted in 2001 by President George Bush, required schools and school districts to be evaluated on adequate yearly progress starting in 2003. The initial benchmark was that 40 percent of a school’s students—and 40 percent of students in certain subgroups—had to meet or exceed standards on statewide tests.

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That percentage has ratcheted up over the years, as now 85 percent of all students in a school and in each subgroup must meet or exceed state testing standards to reach the “adequate yearly progress” mark, Cobb said.

“We were doing well until about 2010, when it jumped from 70 percent to 77.5 percent,” she said of the law's requirements.

What’s more, by 2014, the law would require 100 percent of students to meet or exceed statewide standards, Cobb said. That includes students who do not yet speak English as their primary language as well as those in special education.

“When this came into effect, I remember thinking that by 2014, they are going to realize this can’t occur,” Cobb said. “That hasn’t happened yet.”

Instead, the federal government has allowed states to apply for waivers from the law, but any such exemptions would not take effect until next year, Cobb said.

The district’s scores on the 2011 ISAT, the state test used to evaluate schools, show many successes, according to the district administrator. The subgroups of students who have limited English proficiency at each school made adequate yearly progress, and Gemini Junior High and Melzer School made all of their targets, she noted.

Students in special education made adequate yearly progress at all schools in reading and at six of seven schools in math. Low-income students made adequate yearly progress at six out of the seven schools in reading and math, while Hispanic and Asian students made adequate yearly progress in reading at six schools and in math at all seven schools, Cobb said.

There are concerns, Cobb said. Among them is that some subgroups, which include low-income or limited-English-proficient students, are making adequate yearly progress under a “safe harbor” provision that allows them to meet lower standards. However, the provision is not used in evaluating a school’s entire student body.

It’s also a matter of some concern that the district’s scores are relatively flat, with only slight improvements in some areas, Cobb said.

If a school fails to meet yearly goals for two straight years, its students must be given the option to transfer to higher-performing local schools if space is available. They would receive free tutoring or attend after-school programs.

Even worse might be the damage to school morale when it is branded as “failing,” Cobb said.

“Our teachers work very hard and they are wonderful, and it’s disturbing when we get phone calls saying, 'We don’t want our children in a failing school,' ” she said.

Much of the problem is due to a lack of understanding, said Walter Gluzkin, school board member.

“Most parents have no idea how [such labeling] is designed,” Gluzkin said. “And they hear the word ‘fail.’ ”

Illinois seems to be moving toward a growth model of evaluating progress that compares how each class does from one year to the next, Cobb said.

The ISAT results show that as students spend more time in District 63 schools, they do better on the test, which should bode well in the coming years, Cobb said.

The district also hopes to improve its scores by focusing on students who are “on the bubble” to make sure efforts are made to help them improve and working with teachers to make sure they are using best practices in the classroom, Cobb said.

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