A record 293 Iowa public schools fell short of expectations set by
the federal No Child Left Behind law in the 2008-09 school year, a new
report shows.
Many will be forced to offer students tutoring and transfers to different schools or to draw up plans to improve.
The
number of Iowa schools that landed on the federal government's "in need
of assistance" list more than doubled from a year ago. Twenty percent
of Iowa's 1,442 public schools make up this year's federal list, which
some describe as failing.
The schools, including about three-fourths of those in Des Moines
and several in the surrounding suburbs, failed to get enough students
to pass mandatory math and reading tests or had high dropout rates or
low attendance.
Education officials blame rigid federal expectations, which will continue to rise for all states over time.
"The
growth targets go up, and they're going up rapidly now, so there are
going to be more on the list," said Judy Jeffrey, director of the Iowa
Department of Education.
The No Child Left Behind law calls for
schools that get federal money to make sure students in certain grades
have a grasp of reading and math by 2014.
Schools nationwide are
flagged each year for state test scores, attendance and graduation
rates that fail to meet annual targets.
Schools that miss targets for two years in a row are named to the list.
Although Iowa's list was much longer this year, there were bright spots.
More schools met annual targets in reading and math in the 2008-09 school year - 70 percent, up from 68 percent the year before.
There
are two key reasons: Several schools closed, and some schools reported
higher test scores from children in special education and other areas
that had fared poorly in the past.
Middle schools in Carroll, Johnston and Waukee took big enough strides on state tests to get off the list this year.
Extra
training for teachers and remedial classes for students who fell behind
in math and reading made the difference for Johnston Middle School,
Principal Brian Carico said.
Teachers also worked harder to understand the hurdles poor and homeless students face, Carico said.
"Our eighth-grade staff, in particular, really buckled down and said, 'We have to get to know these kids,' " he said.
Still, the list of schools labeled inadequate will continue to climb periodically with the federal law's expectations.
Iowa's proficiency targets for grades 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 11 went up an average 6 percent in 2007-08.
The
percentage of 11th-graders, for example, who had to show basic reading
skills this year was 79 percent. By 2014, all tested students must pass
reading and math tests.
Des Moines school officials said the pattern explains why 45 schools were labeled "failing" this year, up from 22 last year.
"The thing that you're seeing in the rest of the state is what you're seeing here," said spokeswoman Leigh McGivern.
Iowa's
share of schools on the federal list isn't as high as some states.
Nearly half of Minnesota's schools were labeled inadequate. Fifty-six
percent of New Hampshire's schools were on the list.
Some researchers say the law will create nothing more than long lists of "failing" schools by 2014 unless it is tweaked.
"This
whole 100 percent of kids by 2014, I don't know anyone who says that's
anything but fantasy," said Jonathan Plucker, an Indiana University
educational psychology professor. "One hundred percent of Americans
don't know who the president of the United States is. There are limits
to what the schools can do."
The federal law aimed to discourage
schools from writing off children who tend to fall behind, including
poor, immigrant and disabled.
While some studies show the law
successfully turned more attention to needy students, it has drawn far
more publicity for its perceived shortcomings.
Educators and
other critics have said the law punishes schools for the performance of
their most disadvantaged students and uses a flawed formula for judging
schools. The law measures how many students pass tests in one year,
instead of how much they improve over time.
The law also treats schools that receive federal Title I money to help disadvantaged students differently from those that don't.
Schools that don't receive the money face no consequences for being identified as failing.
In Iowa, the stakes are higher for 102 of the 293 "failing" schools that receive the federal money.
Most
are in their first or second years on the list, when schools are forced
to offer students transfers and free tutoring by outside agencies.
Penalties
grow more severe for schools that can't get off the list. By years four
and five, schools must replace teachers, overhaul management or face
outside takeover.
Jeffrey said teacher shortages and other problems will complicate those efforts in Iowa.
"The
other thing we've found is, our districts already take this very
seriously," she said. "In many cases they've already reshuffled
management. They sort of feel like they have nowhere else to go."
That's Rae and I, and our crew! They were pretty excited to be in the paper (even though it's last year's group that made the big impact. Shhh! We won't rain on their parade!). We're famous now!
