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School meets federal guidelines overall, but not in certain segments By TODD ERZEN Valley High School's poorer students are not displaying the math or reading proficiency required of them by federal No Child Left Behind regulations. The 2007-08 school year was the third in a row for that to be the case in math and the second consecutive year for reading, according to an annual report card released last month. No Child Left Behind measures success based on various sub-groups, as well as for entire student bodies. While Valley made the grade overall, too many of the 69 Valley juniors who qualify for free or reduced lunches fell below federal standards in tests given last year. "The fallacy in No Child Left Behind," West Des Moines school Superintendent Tom Narak said, "is that if any part of your school system is in need of improvement, then the whole system is failing. The government does not measure itself that way." Slightly more than 79 percent of last year's juniors needed to score at or above the 41st percentile of all national test-takers in math and reading in order to be deemed proficient. In the case of the free-and-reduced lunch sub-group, Valley's numbers came in at about 56 percent proficiency for math and nearly 66 percent for reading, while the student body as a whole scored 81 for math and 86 for reading. Kris Saggau is a parent representative from Stilwell Junior High School. Her children include a high school graduate, a student currently at Valley High School and one at Valley Southwoods. She said parents she knows don't bat an eye when it comes to those results. "It causes no alarm whatsoever," Saggau said. "I think No Child Left Behind is a good thing because it sets the bar high, but it isn't always a good fit in how they use it." Valley Southwoods Freshman High School was also listed as a School in Need of Assistance, but Narak said that is because its students are included in Valley High School's data. Narak says the best way to follow up on No Child Left Behind's annual listings is by doing business as usual: Discerning the individual needs of struggling students and developing opportunities for their success without obsessing about test results. "I'm going to be real blunt," Narak said. "Iowa has always allowed for a lot of local control and has always broken down its (assessments) by group. But when No Child Left Behind came into play, it made things extra-punitive. You can't threaten kids and hope things will get better ... they are measuring us with a number that is beyond the capacity of some to reach." The goal of No Child Left Behind is for all students at schools that receive federal money to be proficient in reading and math by 2014. Schools are designated as Schools in Need of Assistance if they fail to meet proficiency standards two years in a row and can ultimately miss out on financial aid or even face state takeovers if they don't turn things around. On a more positive front, Indian Hills Junior High School rebounded last year after failing to meet reading proficiency standards among its eighth-grade special education population the two previous years. Principal Shane Christensen said adding an extra reading class and conducting test preparation exercises was crucial to having success. Indian Hills will need to show a second consecutive year of improvement this year before it is completely taken off No Child Left Behind's watch list. "(Shane) has been very honest and open about everything," said Indian Hills parent Kari Schulte. "I don't have one bit of concern." |
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