Published: November 19, 2008 08:34 am      

No child left behind? What about the school district?

By Libby Cluett
lcluett@mineralwellsindex.com

Three of every four Texas schools met this year’s Adequate Yearly Progress benchmark.

Mineral Wells ISD was in the quarter that missed meeting the federal standard.

According to the preliminary AYP report, MWISD missed performance in reading and math. Additionally, Mineral Wells Junior High missed AYP in math and Travis Elementary missed in math and reading.

The federal rating is based on student scores on the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills test, administered by the state.

According to Texas’ accountability rating the district is “Academically Acceptable.” So, why is MWISD in the company of 398 of the state’s 1,229 public school districts missing the federal rating? And why did two MWISD schools miss AYP on some tests?

MWISD Assistant Superintendent of Instructional Services Bobbye Estes explained that AYP is a way to evaluate campuses, whereas the TAKS is a way to evaluate a child. “It’s the same test and the same students, but different accountability systems,” she said.

One item to note is this rating is factored on 95 percent of all MWJH and Travis students tested in all grades. Only third graders are tested at Houston Elementary and 10th graders at Mineral Wells High School. Therefore, the district rating relies heavily on the rating of five grade levels at MWJH and Travis.

“No Child Left Behind has made it difficult for school districts due to conflicts between federal standards and state standards,” said MWISD board member Ellie Starr. “A school can be rated academically acceptable by the state but still miss AYP according to the NCLB mandates.”

Estes, Starr and others point to new federal requirements added this year.

Special Ed

Estes explained to board members last week that the schools and district missed its AYP rating due to specific special education subgroups.

“In the past, students in special ed were assessed based on their assessed education level, i.e. a resource student in fourth grade might actually be performing at a second-grade level, so they would have taken a state assessment at a second-grade level,” Starr explained. “[Last] spring … special education students were required to be assessed at their actual grade level. It’s basically the same test as a regular ed student, but they may be allowed to have certain accommodations based on their needs.”

A new federal requirement has students with disabilities taking roughly the same test as their age and grade-level peers – but with some modifications based on their need.

Why? When the Texas Education Agency designed a test specifically for grade 3-10 students with disabilities who receive instruction based on the state’s curriculum but for whom the TAKS test is an inappropriate measure of their academic progress.

According to Estes, the federal government would not approved the SDAA II (State-Developed Alternative Assessment II).

“Instead it decided to do all tests all at grade level,” she said. “A fifth grader reading at a second-grade level will be tested at the fifth grade level.”

These new assessments include:

• TAKS-Accommodated, which has accommodations like larger fonts, fewer items or having math read orally.

• TAKS-M (modified), which has simpler vocabulary and fewer answer choices.

These new tests are “designed for students who have a disability that significantly affects academic progress in the grade-level curriculum and precludes the achievement of grade-level proficiency.

The 2007 phasing out of SDAA II for the new grade-level modified TAKS tests left many educators questioning the reality of testing students with different cognitive levels on the same grade level. Some contend it potentially leaves children behind.

A cap on kids

Not only are public school students now required to take modified tests based on their grade level versus their performance level, there is a new federal participation cap on the number of students who can take alternate assessment tests.

TEA spokesperson Suzanne Marchman said that the federal accountability system places a 3 percent cap on the number of students who can take the TAKS modified and alternate tests. She said that any students over the 3 percent cap are considered failed.

“If you take 10 kids who need TAKS-M and all 10 pass, only 3 percent can be counted [as passing on the federal level]. For the other seven, the federal system counts them as failers,” she explained. Marchman added that the federal government developed the cap because of concerns with schools inflating the number of students taking modified and alternate tests.

However, the TEA does not use the same cap to determine accountability according to Marchman. Instead, it relies on a school’s admission, review, and dismissal committee – also a federal mandate – to determine what tests a student takes based on their needs.

“It’s definitely an awkward situation. We advise that administrators, when talking to the ARD committee, go with what’s best for the kids and let the adults worry about the ratings and systems – don’t make [students] shoulder that burden.”

Estes confirmed that MWISD makes decisions based on “what is the most appropriate test for the child.”

Future results

Marchman said there are many districts in the same boat as MWISD that missed AYP.

If a campus or district receiving federal Title I funds fails to meet AYP for two consecutive years it is subject to certain requirements such as offering supplemental education services, offering school choice and/or taking corrective actions.

Estes explained that districts are allowed “one strike” the first year they miss AYP.

Last week, she told board members the district is not on a stage requirement, adding, “We intend to make the progress we need, so campuses and students meet AYP next year.”

Starr said she talked with Estes and several of the principals, “and I am certain that they are doing everything they can to meet AYP for next year.”

“Despite our district missing AYP, they work hard and are doing some great things. It’s an outstanding school district; we have great administrators and great teachers,” concluded Starr.