Is No Child Left Behind Working?
Looking Behind the Numbers
By Bobbi Mlynar
Thursday, August 9, 2007
State assessment test results provided good news and bad news for Emporia school board members Wednesday night.
The good news, according to Superintendent John Heim — 2002’s 55 percent reading proficiency scores rose to this year’s almost-75 percent.
“So, almost a 50 percent gain in achievement over the five years,” Heim told board members during the meeting. “That’s incredible. … We’ve seen significant improvement in every single category over the last five years. This, to me, is a testament to what our teachers have done in the classroom, and we ought to be celebrating this.”
The same statistic has a flip side.
“The bad news is right here,” Heim said. “The fact that we have 75 percent of our all-student group achieve proficiency, that’s great. But it also means we have 25 percent of our kids who haven’t. We can’t become complacent. We have to find a way to reach that 25 percent.”
Before the meeting, Heim talked about the tests and the effects they’d had on education in the district. The tests are done to measure progress required by the No Child Left Behind Act, passed by the U.S. Congress in 2001 and signed into law in January 2002.
NCLB is up for possible re-authorization this year. Within the next five years, 100 percent of the district’s students will need to test as being proficient in math and reading if NCLB is re-authorized as it now stands.
“I think it’s definitely caused us to focus especially on reading and math,” Heim said.
NCLB also has forced districts to be creative in finding new ways to teach old subjects, and to develop better systems for follow-up in teaching individual students.
The district has developed a District Improvement Plan that has drawn plaudits from NCLB officials. It has implemented a new “response intervention model” that helps teachers monitor students’ progress and intervene in areas where the student may show weaknesses. A new “Literacy First” program has been implemented at secondary schools and Professional Learning Communities program is helping teachers and students develop and grow in their skills.
“Those are main strategies we’re using,” Heim said.
Small groups of four or five teachers meet together weekly to make sure they’re working well on curriculum, lesson plans, and other educational strategies. If one teacher’s students seem to be doing better in a certain area than the others’, that teacher talks with the others about methods she’s using to help students succeed.
“It’s really more of a team approach to looking at curriculum, assessments,” Heim said. “It’s not rocket science; it’s just working together.”
Strategists have been hired throughout the grade levels to help teachers with specific small groups that may be lagging behind in some areas.
Impossible goal?
Despite the concerted effort and ongoing emphasis in the two core subjects, the district as a whole has failed to meet the Adequate Yearly Progress required by NCLB. The district was required to create an improvement plan proposal, which was completed several months ago.
The district as a whole and EMS as a building will remain on “improvement status” for at least two more years, according to information provided by George Abel, assistant superintendent of teaching and learning. Further sanctions could come if the deficiencies are not corrected. Heim is skeptical that 100 percent of the district students will ever be able to reach the NCLB proficiency goals. The goal may be unreasonable and unreachable for many school districts.
That leaves Heim as one of a growing number of educators nationwide who are ready to see changes in No Child Left Behind. The number includes Emporia teachers who are frustrated by the ongoing need to “teach to the test” rather than educating students on a broad range of subjects and encouraging individuals to develop in their own areas of interest.
“Locally, you just don’t find anybody who thinks it’s a good idea,” he said. “It’s a good concept and it’s a great goal, but when you try to quantify a great concept or a great goal, you just become lost in the morass.”
Heim supports the Practicality in Education Act introduced this year by U.S. Rep. Jerry Moran, R-Kansas, and he said other educators have told him they share his opinion.
“Absolutely,” Heim said. “I think he’s hitting all the issues that need to be fixed. I think there’s broad support for that. … There’s certainly an effort in Washington trying to fix some of these things.”
President Bush has stated that he wants no changes in No Child Left Behind.
Heim was pleased, though, that the local district has shown significant improvement in overall scores since testing began in 2002.
“One thing we were talking about in principals’ meeting, if you look at where we started in 2002 and where we ended up in 2007, it’s pretty close to 50 percent growth across the board,” he said.
Numbers tell the tale
Assessment tests for NCLB were changed in 2005 to include Grades 3 through 8 and one high-school grade level. The original test had only 10 questions and was easier than the current test, which is expected to be used, unchanged, for seven years.
Overall, the district surpassed NCLB goals in both reading and math. The “all students” math scores went from 51.8 percent proficiency in 2002 to 72.7 percent proficiency in 2007. “All students” showed a similar trend in reading, going from 55 percent proficiency in 2002 to 74.2 percent proficiency in 2007.
All elementary and intermediate schools in the district achieved Adequate Yearly Progress status in both categories.
Emporia Middle School and Emporia High School, however, both failed to meet AYP in reading, and EMS also failed to meet AYP in math, according to Abel.
EHS’s “all students” scores went from 54.1 percent proficiency in 2002 to 63.6 percent in 2007. EMS scores rose from 62.3 percent reading proficiency in 2002 to 74.1 percent in 2007.
Abel said in an Aug. 3 memorandum that not meeting AYP status “continues to be due in large part to the achievement gap with traditionally underperforming subgroup results.”
Subgroups have skewed AYP assessments since the testing began, in part, because not all districts have a broad range of subgroups, under NCLB guidelines. Smaller school districts may not have enough students to qualify for subgroups, nor enough subgroups to be be counted against their scores. Larger districts, like Emporia’s, that have more diverse populations are likely to have an assortment of subgroups. When subgroups do not meet proficiency goals, those districts’ AYP standing is affected.
Subgroups scored separately in Emporia public schools are: low socio-economic students, Hispanics, Asian, African-Americans, students with disabilities, and English Language Learners. The district’s ELL students includes not only children who speak Spanish, but also children whose native tongues are Arabic, Cambodian, Chinese, English, French, Korean, Laotian, Somali, or Vietnamese.
Help students or tests?
A portion of the AYP problem stems from the way those subgroup students are counted. One student, Heim said, can be included in multiple subgroups. A Hispanic student, for example, would be scored within that category, but also might be included in the English Language Learners, students with disabilities, and low socio-economic categories. The same type of multiple subgroupings are often seen in students with disabilities and in other categories.
“And if he doesn’t pass the test, he counts against you in each one of those categories,” Heim said.
Another Emporia subgroup, African-American, is large enough to qualify as a subgroup, but small enough that a slight deviation in numbers can skew test scores, Heim said.
When successes happen within subgroupings, they often are a two-edged sword for the district.
Heim illustrated the problem with an anecdote about a student with disabilities whose IEP required that he take an easier, modified assessment given to some in his subgroup.
“Let’s say we’re doing a really good job on this student. The teacher’s working hard, the parents are working hard, the student is working hard,” Heim said. “Let’s say the kid gets 100 percent in this. Should he be taking the modified test?
“We have to make the decision based on his academic needs, not to meet AYP,” he said.
The district goes with the only ethical choice: the student progresses to a higher level test because his skills have improved.
“What does that do to your score? You probably won’t do as well,” Heim said. But the student will.
“So, he gets out of special ed. That happens,” he said. “... Now the smartest kid in that subgroup is not in that group any more.”
The scenario is even more likely to happen within the English Language Learners, who often begin with no language skills and progress to fluent English; they then move out of the ELL category.
jasper007 (anonymous) says...
My experience with the No Child Left Behind has been more like Pass The Child To The Next Grade!! My son is a "special needs" student, meaning special education. He is a freshman this year and is still several "grade" levels behind in his assessment. But every year he just gets passed on. I haven't seen much work with him. He is a bright kid, but does have some difficulties. Being divorced and not the primary care-giver has also been frustrating for him. He gets no help at his primary home, but at my house, we read, do math, etc. No omework is sent home!!!??? You would not believe the explanation for that one! Para's tend to do more than the teachers. Seems that is how it works. If the child is "special needs", it is the para, not the teacher doing the job. JUST MY OPINION!
August 9, 2007 at 6:51 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
emporialifer (anonymous) says...
I have never understood the No Child Left Behind plan. I understand and accept that all adults should be held accountable at their jobs; however, how do you hold someone accountable for something that is entirely out of their control? I remember back in my day taking these tests and for most students it was a big joke. Why should they even try on these tests when they aren't being held accountable for the results? I think teachers should be held accountable for doing a good job, but standardized tests are not a good assessment for judging success. Even the Educational Field discusses how standardized tests are not a good measurement for student learning, yet they require all wannabe teachers to pass the PPST - hmmmmm.
There are too many variables with standardized tests. We all know that there is a percentage of students who do not perform well under the time restraints or that environment (I can remember seeing kids crammed in a gymnasium at table upon table taking these tests - I don't think that is an ideal environment). What about the higher level of kids who now have to wait while the teacher teaches to the lower level kids to make sure that No Child is Left Behind - are we really helping or are we hindering? Let's give our kids a chance. There has to be a better way to assess our educators and make sure students are performing up to par.
I also want to applaud jasper for being a "hands-on" parent. Unfortunately too often you run into the opposite and that could be a large contributing factor to what is going on in the schools.
August 10, 2007 at 9:45 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
hottopics (anonymous) says...
My opinions is that they are cramming information down our children at a high rate of speed. And its learn it or else the school itself gets punished. I'd be so overwhelmed if I were a student in this day and age. My kids work hard and seem to make it but not without feeling the frustration. I am all for help and extra programs but lighten up will ya. I am only speaking about elementary grades, we havent got to the upper grades yet.
I feel for the teachers, they have to plan and demand on a daily basis. Then are expected to accept a joke of a salary.
August 19, 2007 at 7:51 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
4Jayhawks (anonymous) says...
What happened to the basics? Reading, Writing and Arithmatic. I haven't been able to help my youngest with homework for years because it has all changed so much. They start teaching kids things in grade school that when I went to school we learned in 7 or 8 grades and they have to know all the stuff they used to teach in kindergarten before they even start school. I realize with the advance of technology they have to learn all these new things but sometimes it seems a little much. It puts too much pressure on them. I also think maybe 3 yr. old preschool is to young to start school.
August 21, 2007 at 9:17 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
47hclwym (anonymous) says...
Amen! 4J... Then they send the work home for us to help them to "better premote home/school" how ever they worded it. We are paying Them to teach this stuff. I have a full time job and would rather spend my evening playing and talking with my kids rather than doing the "manditory" home work Monday-Thursday. Oh after I finally get home from work and cook the dinner do the dishes etc... I can't send all this to school with kid and ask the teacher to do MY job. They do give us Friday off I guess. MANDITORY daily home work??? What happened to if you worked hard while at school got the assignment done?
August 21, 2007 at 2:06 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
47hclwym (anonymous) says...
You must either be a teacher or married to one, ks. I didn't go to school to be a teacher nor did I get hired to be a teacher. So why should I go home and be forced to be one after having done the job I went to school for. They chose to be a teacher and signed up for the job. Do they ENJOY it? Not my problem. Don't be a teacher if you don't want to do the work. I have no problem with some home work I had to do it. But.... I do have a problem getting a note sent home from the TEACHER stating that every night Monday-Thursday my child WILL not maybe WILL be bringing home work home and that I need to sit down and do it with them. If I wanted to be a teacher I would be one or not pay the Sate to teach and would home school. As for daycare, Yeah they need more adults per child. They are dealing with from new born(in cribs) to 5 year olds up running around and getting into stuff. At school the kids are sat in neat little rows. Even at recess the yare confined to a small area with several adults and kids from other classes. Kudos for your seamingly very inteligent child. Congrats.
August 23, 2007 at 3:46 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
4Jayhawks (anonymous) says...
I have a great deal of respect for teachers and do realize they are teaching what is required by the state and school board. I don't blame them for the homework load or what is being taught.
August 23, 2007 at 11:14 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
47hclwym (anonymous) says...
I'm sorry if I have offended you. Acually no I am not. I have the right to post my thoughts just like you have the right to post yours. I don't disagree with you that a teachers job hard. This has nothing to do with the teachers being told to do something. Why would this 1 teacher be the only one being told to send home work every day? My other children aren't being sent home with it every day. So don't try telling me that the boss man is making them do this. I also don't have a problem being involved in my childrens ed. I just agree with everyday MANDITORY home work. A couple days a week because they couldn't get it done in school fine. Thats not manditory thats either them goofing off and not getting stuff done or just a busy day. Daycare don't make more money then teachers and they do have to be licensed $$$ with SRS to run a daycare and are subject to inspections to make sure they are up to par. Have you ever tryed babysitting 12-15 kids that belong to some else? Every one has a way of raising there kids some not so good. REQUIRED education again they chose the job knew what they were getting into. Like I said I have NO desire to be a teacher so NO I shouldn't home school I don't know where you got that I think it would easy either I never said that in any of my posts nor did I imply it. I don't like other peoples kids well enough to spend that kind of time with them. Thats why I am NOT a teacher. So you will never have the opertunity to be a fly on my wall sorry and that gosh... Yes, I do believe Iwould be pulling my hair out with in a few hours. So in close... Thank you for attacking me for having my view points. I thought since some of the other posters that do this have quit posting so much I could get back and be heard without being told I am wrong and stupid. I guess I was wrong and stupid there are still people on that just can't stand to let someone voice their thoughts with out getting offended. Rant over. May
August 24, 2007 at 9:12 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
sohawaiian2 (anonymous) says...
Read the excellent article, "so much homework, so little time" in the current (September) issue of Family Circle. It discusses how kids are stressed as a result of tons of homework. Nightly battles and melt downs over homework make for very unhappy households. More isn't always better.
The claim is that there is "no link between homework and test scores in elementary school. Performance improves only among sixth to ninth graders who limit homework to 90 minutes a night and high schoolers who stop after two hours; for those who toil longer, test scores actually drop."
This article includes suggestions of what parents can do.
I never did believe in assigning massive amounts of homework. Kids, especially high school ones, have lots of legitimate things to do after school. Instead, I believed that giving kids time in class to complete MOST of an assignment worked best. Those who chose to waste time had homework. Those who worked diligently didn't.
With regard to teachers being told what to do: As a former Kansas teacher I hope I can shed some light here. Teaching is still autonymous, thank goodness. Administrators do not tell teachers how to teach. Unless a teacher is having a particularly difficult time, and needs help, administrators don't dictate methodology. However, school districts do adopt a curriculum for each subject taught, and teachers are required to follow the standards, benchmarks and indicators.I always viewed these state standards like a map to keep me on track, grade by grade. But teaching to the test? No.
The NCLB Act is not a bad system. In theory, it works quite well, especially now that the system has been in place long enough to compare apples to apples and not apples to oranges. It is possible to see improvement in different categories over a period of years. It needs to improve how different groups are studied, however. Also, readjust the idea that 100 percent of the student population must test proficient in math and reading by 2012. Logically impossible. One thing the NCLB does do is measure accountability of teachers as well as students.I want my child's teacher to be accountable, don't you?
Since NCLB, schools have worked harder than ever had at developing improvement plans so that kids will be proficient, especially in math and reading. When I first began teaching, there was no such thing.What I like most about the NCLB is this: it is specific.
How do you find out what your child should be learning by a certain grade level? Go to www.ksde.org. It's listed under standards and benchmarks for different disciplines. Granted, it's a long document, but look it up. You can see the specifics for yourself.
August 24, 2007 at 12:56 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
47hclwym (anonymous) says...
ks you are a petty petty person. Grow up. Yes, maybe I should have said he/she instead of they. waah cry me a river. I really do think you are one or married to one since you seam to know sooooo much about what they do and are paid. Pay more attention to the point not how it is typed. Yes, Daycare people get 2-3 an hour per kid. But... They can't have 20 kids per provider. If I remember right its like 8 or 10 and out of that money they (dang I keep doing it)LOL he/she have to pay taxes on it just like everyone else plus most of the food they oops he/she feeds the kids comes out of their oops again his/her pocket. SRS helps some but not much. So in reality the day care provider is not making 40 - 60 an hour but around 20. Yes, that is still good money around 40,000 a year but teachers are in that pay scale also. Unless maybe a new teacher or my sister is lying about how much she makes. Most teachers are great I'm dogging on teachers in general just a certain one who has been a teacher for many years to answer that point.
I'm done with ya so you can calm down now. kisses
August 24, 2007 at 3:04 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
sohawaiian2 (anonymous) says...
Kstrebuchet: good question about whether a teacher should be held accountable in case 100 percent of a district does not reach proficiency. While I do believe that teachers should be held accountable, it doesn't boil down to any one individual teacher. Think of what would be involved to prove that from year to year. Lots of data crunching, that's for sure. Even then, it's difficult to prove empirically.
Let's say that student A had always been proficient every time he was assessed. Suddenly in grade 10, he bombed the test. Who is accountable? His tenth grade teacher? Girl friend ditched him the day before? A fight in the locker room that day? An argument with mom right before school? Illness?
At the first faculty meeting of the year, one of my superintendents would hand out the scores from the previous year, read those scores, then congratulate the departments involved. BUT, he was always sure to say, "Remember folks, this reflects on all of you. You have all taught these kids." He was right. As a high school teacher, I was merely adding my content to the teacher who taught those kids the year before, and the year before that, etc. Our scores were high ones and we were proud of our kids and ourselves; we all wanted to be accountable. Conversely, if the news were not so good, shouldn't we also feel the same? Should we be fired? No. But a meeting with administration to discuss the problem? Yes.
In-Services allow entire staffs to meet over these scores and discuss what changes, if any, need to be made. Or in the case of success, how much more can be expected.
You're right, many don't want a mass of homework. But it's important for parents to approach the school with concerns. Again, that Family Circle article has many good ideas on how to approach this. Many parents resent being held responsible for their kids' educations; they believe schools are supposed to be doing that. But there has to be a happy medium, and there sure is a lot of research out there to prove that too much homework is overkill.
Ah yes, the 9-5 myth. Most of my friends are teachers and I know they do now what I did then. Riding beside me on the trip home several times a week were stacks of papers to grade. Teachers are supposed to get a planning period for that, but there is so much to do during that time. Nights, weekends, holidays too. It doesn't stop when the busses leave.
You're right about teachers teaching for the love of it all. I had to teach for 22 years to start making $40K. But I didn't enter the profession for the money. Oh sure, we scream and yell about pay raises, but in the end, most just want a cost of living raise. We do it for the love of the game. When I retired, the cards and letters I received from 22 years worth of kids who are all over this world was astounding. That's why.
August 24, 2007 at 4:37 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
47hclwym (anonymous) says...
Ok I will bite one more time. Last one. Lets just say I am going to try and grow up after this petty post since you think it so fun to attack me for having an opinion and my lack of typing skills. Since you are so fond of "quoting"people.
"as far as "attacking" someone, My apoligizes to you, (and yes I am sorry) I just get rather offended when people who are only helping my children to become better people are, at least in my mind, being put down for their efforts.
Rant Over"
Apoligizes? When you apologize to someone you don't follow up by defending your reasoning. A GOOD teacher of mine told me that one time. if you mean there is no excuses. So forgive me if I don't accept.
Like I said petty petty person. Do you always type perfectly? No! Do you always spell perfectly? No! Are you perfect? No! I have seen other posts of yours. This seams to be the norm for you. Attacking peoples flaws. maybe you need to get some of your own self asteam. So why are you busting my perverbial balls for missing a word or 2. You don't have read between the lines to get the point if you have you been reading my posts and we all know you have. Bye bye and again kisses
August 26, 2007 at 9:21 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
47hclwym (anonymous) says...
Thanks I do have to say our bantor has made me feel a little younger less like the 44 I am. Maybe it is going back and remembering my old teachers. I really don't have a problem with the majority of our teachers just a few. 1 ingeneral. I have gone to the board and he/she. Anyway I'm done with this topic and we will have to agree to disagree. See ya on another post?!
August 26, 2007 at 5:46 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )