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BY: TODD GUILD On Tuesday morning, the entire student body of Lakeview Middle School gathered in the gym for a pep rally. Everyone noshed on free breakfast burritos, French toast and juice, while several community leaders, including Watsonville female boxing star Carina Moreno, milled through the crowd, trying to get students excited about the week's events. But the rally wasn't meant to pump the students up for an upcoming sporting event. It's time for the Standardized Testing and Reporting test, which students must take between April 15 and May 13. The STAR test is a weeklong battery of multiple choice tests used by state and federal education officials to determine the success of individual schools. With the bar rising every year to increase the number of students considered proficient - this year, most schools must increase the numbers by about 10 percent - schools throughout the state are looking for ways to motivate their students to take the high-stakes test seriously. Principal Casey O'Brien said the school tries to instill a sense of team pride in the students when preparing them for the week. "We're letting them know just how important it is for them to do well on the test," he said. "The more we impress upon them the importance of the test, the more seriously they take it." Schools that fail to meet certain standards for two consecutive years are considered to be in "Program Improvement." Currently, 14 Pajaro Valley Unified School District schools have reached the four- and five-year marks of PI, making them subject to sanctions that can include replacing curriculum, replacing staff or takeover by an outside agency. In addition to the rally, Lakeview students are rewarded with days where the dress code is relaxed if they make progress on their test results. Last year, Lakeview gained 57 points on its state tests, one of the biggest jumps in the district. It fell just 12 percent short of its federal Adequate Yearly Progress goals, said O'Brien. On Monday, 904 Watsonville High School students who made progress on last year's test got free ice cream sandwiches, and students who teachers believe put genuine effort into their tests are rewarded all week with pizza and other prizes. Renaissance High School students gained 165 points last year, the biggest gain in the county. Principal Tom Tatum attributes this success solely to hard work. The No Child Left Behind act of 2001 requires schools to increase the number of students who are considered proficient in mathematics and English language arts every year. By 2014, the law requires 100 percent of the state's students to be proficient, a target many educators consider impossible. "When you consider the influx of new students who don't speak English every year, I would venture to say that goal is not reachable," said Theresa Rouse, director of educational services for the Santa Cruz County Office of Education. This is part of the reason NCLB was not fully reauthorized by the state's legislature last year, said Rouse. Lawmakers are currently reviewing the law. They are expected to return with a retooled version that could include a later date for the 100 percent proficiency, and more specific definitions of how states define their proficient students. "We'll just keep refining it until we get it right," said Rouse. "These kids are constantly tested, and it's important for us to tell them why," said Nancy Bilicich, director of Federal & State Programs for PVUSD. "We're here for the kids. The whole community is." In Santa Cruz County, 21 schools are considered to be in "Program Improvement," a designation that comes from the "No Child Left Behind" law. |
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