State revises list of schools short of federal mandate

Topeka ? More schools have met 2003 targets for adequate yearly progress on standardized state tests, Kansas education officials said.

The Kansas State Department of Education said Friday the revisions were made to data released Aug. 12. The new figures show a reduction in the number of schools and districts identified as “on improvement” under the federal No Child Left Behind Act.

The number of schools identified as on improvement was reduced by three, to 30. The three dropping off the list were Washington Elementary in Independence, Sunflower Elementary in Liberal and Linn Elementary in Topeka.

The number of districts on improvement remained at seven. That list includes the Baldwin school district.

Districts and schools on improvement are required to receive technical assistance under the law.

In all, 40 districts and 175 schools — and the state as a whole — failed to make adequate yearly progress.

The Baldwin school district remains one of seven identified as “on improvement” under the federal No Child Left Behind Act. Two Leavenworth schools — Earl M. Lawson Elementary and Nettie Hartnett/Ben Day Elementary — also are identified as on improvement.The Perry school district was listed as failing to make adequate yearly progress in 2002-03.Several Lawrence-area schools also failed to make adequate yearly progress.They are:Atchison: Atchison High SchoolLawrence: East Heights School, Central Junior High, South Junior High, Lawrence High School, Free State High School.Leavenworth: David Brewer Elementary, Earl M. Lawson Elementary, Nettie Hartnett/Ben Day Elementary, Richard W. Warren Middle School, Leavenworth West Middle School, Leavenworth Senior High School.Ottawa: Hawthorne Elementary, Ottawa Middle School

A school or district goes on improvement after failing to make adequate yearly progress for two consecutive years.

Schools are required to show adequate progress toward improving scores on their states’ reading and math tests, with a mandate that all students be proficient by 2014.

Test scores have been a key part of testimony in Shawnee County District Court in a lawsuit challenging the state’s school finance formula. School officials have testified that the current $2.6 billion in funding is inadequate in their efforts to meet state and national goals.