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Oregon No Child Left Behind
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No Child Left Behind Act of
2001
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The No Child Left Behind
Act of 2001 (NCLB), signed into law on January 8, 2002, is the reauthorization
of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA). ESEA was born
in the context of the Great Society legislation of the 1960s. It was originally
intended to address the plight of disadvantaged youth in the nation.
The purpose of the act is to
improve learning for all students in the USA. The law has "meat in it" because
states, districts, and schools are held to a high degree of accountability.
Plus the consequences of failing to meet the standards are quite severe.
Specifically, NCLB requires
testing for 95% of all students using each states individual standards and
that the results be divided to show different performance for sub-groups
of students such as students with disabilities or groups reflecting ethnic
and cultural identities. The result of that testing must be made public.
When groups of these students,
who traditionally don’t achieve well in school don’t meet Oregon’s standards,
their schools are subject to an escalating schedule of consequences - starting
with offering students the opportunity to transfer to other schools and
leading up to the state imposing changes in how those schools are managed.
The key phrase is what is called the Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP).
Two Web sites for information
about NCLB:
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The US Department of Education's
Web site at
No Child
Left Behind. The site includes a "Parents Guide", newsletter
subscription, etc.
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Learning First,
an non-profit education organization, has published a
document that explains the law. This document is fairly easy
to read and understand.
No Child Left Behind Ratings
vs. Oregon State Report Cards
The annual Oregon school report
cards differ from the No Child Left Behind ratings. The state judges
schools on average student performances, while the federal rating scrutinize
individual groups such as limited English, minority, low-income, and special
education students. If one of those groups fails to make adequate
progress, the entire school is downgraded. For example in 2006, two students
(limited English skills) at the Twality Middle School in Tigard didn't pass
the reading and writing test, preventing the school from meeting the federal
standard.
The Oregon report card is strictly
informational. It measures schools on averages in reading, math, science,
and writing. Both the Oregon report card and the No Child Left Behind
federal ratings factor in attendance and the number of students taking the
test.
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2008 Adequate Yearly
Progress (AYP) Report
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More than 430 Oregon schools failed
to reach federal performance targets this year, the
worst showing in six years under the federal No Child
Left Behind law. Under No Child Left Behind, schools
are supposed to get all their students to read and do
math at grade level by 2014. The ratings means that
Oregon, along with other states, won't make that deadline.
States were allowed to start with lower
goals and raise them over time, and Oregon begin in
2003 with a goal of having 40 percent of students pass
state tests. In 2008, schools were supposed to get 60
percent of their students to pass reading and math exams,
up from about 50 percent last year. One in three
Oregon public schools failed to meet this goal and now
most of them face no consequences. But if schools fall
short of the targets again next year, and if they accept
federal money (Title I) to help disadvantaged students, nearly
100 schools could be ordered to give their students
priority transfer rights and free bus rides to attend
a higher performing school.
More than 72,000 students with
disabilities attended Oregon public schools last
year (about 13% of all students). The majority of
these students were diagnosed with specific learning
disabilities, speech/language impairments, or
autism.
Why More Schools Failed
The poor showing was caused by
falling test scores in middle schools and a higher
bar for schools to jump this year, according to Tony
Alpert, director of assessment and accountability
for the Oregon Department of Education, which issued
the ratings Monday.
Oregon’s 2008 Preliminary AYP Report:
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61.3% (758 of 1237 Oregon schools)
met AYP standards - last year, 74% met the standard.
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35.1% (434 of 1237 Oregon schools)
did not meet - last year, 21% did not meet the standard.
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69.4% (651 of 938) of elementary
and middle schools met AYP compared to 85% in 2006-07.
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35.8% (107 of 299) of high schools
met AYP compared to 43% in 2006-07.
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45 schools still have a PENDING
Rating (school report is not complete).
Search for 2008 Federal "No Child
Left Behind" Oregon School Ratings
The Oregonian has created an
inactive tool on their website that lets visitors
search for NCLB 2008 school ratings by either
district or county. They used colored symbols
to indicate the status of each school. For
example, the + and
- indicate specific
categories in which the school met or failed to meet
federal targets.
Click
here to use the tool.
Oregon's NCLB Plan
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Schools must also meet an attendance
or graduation requirement in order to make the AYP
list.
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In addition, school districts
must inform parents and communities about school
progress.
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Schools that receive certain types
of federal funds and do not make adequate yearly
progress are required to provide supplemental services,
such as free tutoring or after-school assistance,
take corrective actions and, if still not making
adequate yearly progress after five years, must
make dramatic changes to the way the school is run.
In the fall of 2007, 33 Oregon schools will be hit
with federal sanctions.
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The Oregon
Standards
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The federal law has power over
schools with a large percentage of low-income students because those schools
receive Title I federal money (Oregon receives about $150 million) aimed
at helping the disadvantaged. Under Oregon's application of the law,
schools that don't receive Title I aid face no sanctions or get extra help.
How does a School get on the Troubled
List?
Under Oregon's definition of
AYP, schools have to reach as many as 40 performance targets. Besides getting
40 percent of their students to pass reading and writing tests and 39 percent
to pass in math; schools must test 95 percent of their students; get 92
percent of students to come to school each day; and, for high schools, get
68 percent of students to graduate in four years.
Schools must achieve those
targets for all students, including disabled, low-income and minority students
and students who speak English as a second language.
Consequence of Failing
School districts that receive
Title I federal aid have to submit a plan to the Oregon Department of Education
by October, saying how it will address the performance problems that put
it on the list.
Missing Targets for Two
Years If a school missed achievement targets for two straight
years, they must offer transfers or tutor.
Missing Targets for 4-5
Years The district must take corrective action if the school remains
on the troubled list for four years. After five years on the list, a Title
I school must be restructured. They have to either replace the entire
staff, become a charter school, or divide in separate schools.
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How to Interpret the Results
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Schools failed for two reasons:
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Either student scores
were too low
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The school didn't test
enough students in specific groups - including minorities, those with
disabilities, and those who have limited English skills.
One Student Short And You Make the List
The majority of Oregon schools
that got their names on the needs-improvement list had acceptable overall
achievement and made the list because performance lagged among one or more
groups: Hispanics, low-income students or, most commonly, special education
students. In other words, it only takes one student not tested in a category
(e.g., low income students, minority students, etc.) to make the list.
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Where to Find Oregon's NCLB Results
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The State of Oregon Department
of Education has posted the AYP reports at their Web site. You can
select a school or district AYP Report at:
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National Study Gives Oregon Low Grades for Reading, Math
Test Standards
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Oregon obtained low grades (C, C-, D+) on reading and
math tests used to meet requirements of the NCLB act last year, a study
released in mid-March, 2008 showed.
Oregon's score was good enough for a 27th place in the
national study by Stanford University's Hoover Institution, a
well-funded conservative think tank. The report rated proficiency
standards for fourth- and eight-grade tests for what the federal
government called the Nation's Report Card, which compares achievement
levels among states. You can read the entire report by clicking
here. |
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