Topeka — The number of public school districts and schools not making adequate yearly progress in Kansas under No Child Left Behind increased significantly this year, according to a report released Tuesday by the Kansas Department of Education.
Statewide, 82 districts and 255 schools didn’t achieve adequate yearly progress this year — compared with 34 districts and 172 schools in 2009.
Educators said performance targets of No Child Left Behind, which increase every year, must be changed in order to better gauge how individual students are doing.
Adequate yearly progress measures a school’s and district’s ability to meet specified targets for student performance on reading and math tests, as well as attendance and graduation. Performance targets, which increased between 5 percent and 8 percent this year, must be met for the full student population as well as sub-groups based on race, ethnicity, income level, special needs and English proficiency. By 2014, 100 percent of students must be proficient.
Interim Education Commissioner Diane DeBacker said the adequate yearly progress measurement fails to show individual student achievement. A student may have increased his or her knowledge greatly but still not make proficiency, she said.
Board of Education Chairwoman Janet Waugh, D-Kansas City, Kan., said she is proud of many schools and districts that are increasing student achievement even though they still not making adequate yearly progress.
“They have grown unbelievably. They’re not failing but it is interpreted as failing,” Waugh said.
The Lawrence school district and Cordley Elementary, Kennedy Elementary, Pickney Elementary, Schwegler Elementary, Central Junior High, South Junior High, Lawrence High School and the Lawrence Virtual School did not achieve adequate yearly progress.
Supt. Rick Doll said few large school districts made adequate yearly progress. That’s because the larger the district, the more sub-groups exist, which means there are more opportunities not to meet the standard.
Doll agreed with DeBacker that when Congress takes up reauthorization of the federal education law later this year, it needs to change the way schools and districts measure the progress of individual students.
Comments
1arrowheaddrive 2 years, 9 months ago
All students to be proficient by 2014. That will be the day.
lynchburgsbest 2 years, 9 months ago
no child left behind is flawed and impossible b.c like 1arrowdheaddrive stated by 2014 all students must be "proficient"
cait48 2 years, 9 months ago
Two words. No money. No money from the feds, no money from the state and certainly no money from the local school board. They would rather spend their money on athletics. Nobody in this state gives a rats patootie about education and with Brownback coming in it's not going to get any better.
lawrencechick 2 years, 9 months ago
It doesn't take much money to make education a priority in your family above everything else and make sure your child is ready to learn each day so the teachers can do their job.
Shardwurm 2 years, 9 months ago
"Two words. No money. No money from the feds, no money from the state and certainly no money from the local school board."
Thank you for posting this. What a fallacy. One of the world's biggest scams - the Education Industry. They've actually got you believing this don't they?
Translation: "I'm a teacher and I want a pay raise."
If more money = better education then how much is enough? If Kansas spent $2 billion on education would that mean we would have the best students in the world? The answer is no. More money does not = better education.
Want better education? Reward the good teachers and fire the bad ones. Eliminate tenure and the union. Make teaching a real profession instead just calling it one. Make teaching positions coveted and sought after - not because it's the only job you can get with a sociology degree. Asking for more money for teachers' salary doesn't do anything unless you allocate it to the right people.
Don't fall for the 'all teachers are angels' cr@p. Just like in any organization you have 20 percent doing 80 percent of the work. Why pay the bottom 80 percent the same as the top 20?
Fix that and you'll have better teachers and better education. Until then you're throwing money into a black hole.
onemansopinion 2 years, 9 months ago
While I disagree with many facets of NCLB, somebody in the legislative branch might want to connect the dots between budget cuts, increased class size and poor standardized test performance.
Just a thought.
weeslicket 2 years, 9 months ago
i am in on this way late again, and i must say, a little bit surprised with the lack of commentary. however, all the commentary has been mostly helpful.
anyway: i remember reading from a certain poster on this forum something to the effect that: "one can set the goal so low, that everyone succeeds."
question: is it also not possible that "one" may also set the goal so high, that everyone fails?
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