Lakeland, FL--The Ledger February 5, 2007

HEADLINE: Polk Principals Keep Wary Eye Toward US Edict

LAKELAND - As Polk County students begin another round of Florida Comprehensive Assessment Tests this week, principals have a bigger concern than the grade the state will give their school; it's what the federal government says about their school.

That's the result of an informal survey of Polk's principals conducted by The Ledger in January asking their opinions on the FCAT, school grades and the federal No Child Left Behind law. Out of the 121 principals who received it, 27 answered the 10-question survey.

Of those who answered, 71percent said No Child Left Behind was more of a concern to them than school grades issued by the state. And 67 percent said the ultimate goal of the law-to have all children reading and doing math at a level appropriate for their grade by the 2013-2014 school year-is impossible to achieve.

Ralph Frier, a principal for 26 years and head of Ridgeview Global Studies Academy, a charter elementary school in Davenport, said No Child Left Behind was admirable but unrealistic. He said there will always be an achievement gap for some students, such as students who come to school not knowing English.

"I'm not saying the kids can't do it," he said. "It's just going to take a little longer for some of these kids."

Besides, he said, even if all children do read and do math on their grade level by 2013, that level may become a moving target.

"What happens when you get to that point?" he said. "They raise the bar. ... And I think that's going to happen."

Boone Middle School's Pamela Henderson, who has been a principal for seven years, said No Child Left Behind is the reason she's leaving education. Next year, she plans to leave the Haines City school and the education field to practice law.

"I feel like it really punishes poor schools," she said, referring to schools with low-income students. "And my school is one of the poor ones. I don't think it's fair."

All schools across the nation are judged on whether they are making adequate yearly progress (AYP) toward the goals of No Child Left Behind. That judgment is based on student performance on statewide tests. Florida uses the FCAT.

While all schools are judged, only Title 1 schools-those that receive federal dollars for having a high percentage of students from low-income families-face any real consequences for not making adequate progress. The percent of students who qualify for free and reduced-price lunches is used as the measure of poverty.

"If you're a poor school, sanctions apply," Henderson said. "If you're not a poor school, sanctions don't apply."

Those sanctions range from allowing students to transfer to other schools to replacing most of the staff at a school that has repeatedly failed to make adequate progress.

As of last June, Polk had 51 Title 1 schools not making adequate yearly progress. The district lists a total of 58 Title 1 schools on its Web site.

High schools are typically not Title 1 schools because high school students rarely fill out the paperwork required to receive free and reduced-price lunches.

Henderson said part of the problem is that No Child Left Behind expects students in all demographic categories to perform at the same levels. So it's all or nothing. Schools don't get credit if their minority students, non-English speaking students, poor students or disabled students make great strides but fall short of the mark.

She agreed that the goals of No Child Left Behind are unrealistic.

"By 2013, all kids are going to be on grade level," she said. "That's pretty hard to think about."

While Henderson is not opposed to the FCAT, she does think its use in terms of No Child Left Behind is hurting the state's education system. She said Florida is among the states with the lowest percent of schools making adequate yearly progress.

"It's not that our kids are the lowest," she said. "It's just our test is the hardest."

Most of the principals surveyed (56 percent), including Henderson, said they would continue the FCAT and that it has helped Florida's education system (59 percent). Those percentages resemble results from a similar survey The Ledger conducted in 2002.

Of the 39 principals who answered surveys that year, 80 percent said they would continue the FCAT. And 41 percent said the test had helped Florida education, compared to 31 percent who thought it hurt and 28 percent who had an altogether different opinion.

Frier said he would continue FCAT testing and grading schools. He also said both have helped Florida's education system.

"I think it raises the bar," he said. "And I think it raises expectations. I think the accountability is there."

He added: "People do what you inspect, not what you expect."

However, while most principals approved of the FCAT and think it helps education, most were not in favor of school grades. A majority of principals surveyed, 59 percent, said they would end school grades. And more said it hurt Florida's education system (40 percent) than said it helped (30 percent).

Florida schools are graded by the state based primarily on their students' performance on the FCAT. Schools receive points for every percent of students who score at or above their appropriate grade level on the test, for students who improve their math and reading scores and for improvements made by their lowest achieving students. Those points correlate to a letter grade the public can understand.

Besides the points, schools must also test a high percentage of their students and be making adequate progress among their lowest achieving students to receive better grades.

Michael Butler, a first-year principal at Summerlin Academy, a public military high school of choice at Bartow High, said he would continue school grades and thought the grades had helped Florida education by identifying failing schools.

"I think all the testing came out of a perception that schools weren't accountable to the public," he said. "...Parents want to know the education we're giving their students will take them to the next level, prepare them for life after high school."

But he said he'd like to see schools use a subject area proficiency test rather than the FCAT. He said giving a test that's particular to a subject will ensure a student knows what he's supposed to for that class and could be used as a prerequisite for the next class.

"It's kind of like a 'go/no go' scenario," he said. "It seems to me it would accomplish what we're trying to do."

Both Frier and Butler did offer words of caution about too much reliance on testing.

Frier said he visited Japan, where students are under a tremendous amount of pressure to pass tests and where those who fail have been known to commit suicide.

He worries about that kind of pressure seeping into America. For instance, he said third-graders may be retained if they don't pass the FCAT reading test.

"If they don't pass the test, they're scared to death," he said.

Butler said he'd like to see the No Child Left Behind law take in a student's and a school's year-to-year improvement when calculating adequate progress.

He has visited China, where he said only about 2percent of the students are allowed to go to the best high schools based on a test. Of the remainder, some go on to other schools and the rest go to vocational schools, he said.

He said that's why the goals of No Child Left Behind are so well intended, particularly for America.

"We have to make sure everyone succeeds," he said. "I don't think that's a bad proposal."

Andrew Dunn can be reached at andrew.dunn@theledger.com or 863-802-7588.