Valley News Dispatch (Alle-Kiski Valley, PA)
July 17, 2011
Headline: No Child mandates 'not going to happen' in Alle-Kiski Valley

By Michael Aubele

While he favors the idea, New Kensington-Arnold School District Superintendent George Batterson said the expectation that every student in America achieve a high level of command over two core classroom disciplines by 2014 is wholly unrealistic.

"It's just not going to happen," Batterson said. "I just don't see, as an educator, how all of the students in all of our schools are going to do that well. It places schools all around the country in a very difficult position."

Under the federal No Child Left Behind law, which Congress passed in 2001 after a push from President George W. Bush to improve K-12 education, educators have been tasked with meeting increasingly stringent requirements for student achievement.

The expectation is that, three years from now, every student show proficiency in reading and math as measured by standardized tests.

Batterson isn't alone in voicing his concern. From other local educators to federal Education Secretary Arne Duncan and President Obama, many are calling on Congress to change the law.

Congress, however, shows no signs of taking action prior to fall, as Obama requested.

Duncan warned last month that failing to overhaul the law would create a national education crisis. He said No Child "is creating a slow-motion train wreck for children, parents and teachers."

Duncan said he would use his federal authority to waive some requirements so that states won't face consequences if their schools don't meet federal standards.

Federal education officials predict that up to 82 percent of public schools could fail to meet this year's proficiency benchmarks, facing sanctions that could involve the loss of federal aid.

Last year, 37 percent of schools failed to meet the requirements, called "adequate yearly progress."

According to the state Education Department, 26 public schools in Pennsylvania failed to make AYP in the 2009-10 testing year, which is the last year for which results are available.

While each of the Alle-Kiski Valley's school districts succeeded in meeting the benchmark, some had individual schools that failed to do so. The list includes the Apollo-Ridge, Armstrong and New Kensington-Arnold school districts.

Calls for reform

"I agree with Secretary Duncan that there should be a reform of No Child Left Behind," said Batterson, who feels that control over education should primarily be given to local officials.

A report raises the possibility that New Kensington-Arnold and 10 other Western Pennsylvania school districts cheated on a state assessment test used to determine whether schools are meeting standards under the federal No Child Left Behind Act. Batterson, who said he had no knowledge of any wrongdoing within the district, noted that irregularities were found in third-grade scores at Fort Crawford Elementary School.

"I think it can be improved," Allegheny Valley School District Superintendent Cheryl Griffith said of the law. "I wouldn't say that philosophically it's bad. There probably wouldn't be too many people who wouldn't want every child to be successful. As educators, we all recognize the importance of being accountable. Those are the two big cornerstones of 'No Child': success and accountability."

She suggested reforms could include additional funding for schools and offering individual districts the right to develop their own assessments, which would need to win state approval.

"There certainly could be more direct funding appropriated for all of the creative support that needs to be in place to personalize learning," Griffith said. "I would think, too, that very careful consideration needs to go into designing the most appropriate assessments and being very realistic in what those standards are and how they should be defined."

Local educators said that, while No Child might have flaws, they won't dedicate time to fighting it. Their goal is to ensure their students succeed in meeting its requirements.

"Highlands School District has repeatedly met AYP despite our economic status and the diverse student population we service every year," district spokeswoman Misty Chybrzynski said. "Teaching students will be more of a challenge with cuts in state funding, which means fewer resources, perhaps fewer teachers and a slight increase in classroom size. But we will continue to make AYP and our students will continue to succeed."

There are local educators who didn't described 'No Child' as flawed. Apollo-Ridge School District Superintendent Margaret "Peggy" DiNinno is one of them.

"I believe that we all have a moral obligation to believe that every child can learn and that we need to help every child to meet his or her fullest potential," she said. "We have to believe as educators that no child should be left behind or out of this process."

DiNinno feels each child should have an education plan tailored to his or her own needs.

"At Apollo-Ridge, we are currently striving to create personalized processes that support this philosophy," she said. "If No Child Left Behind helps us to accomplish this personalized approach to education, then yes, I agree with it.

"One thing for sure is that (No Child) has certainly asked people to look more closely at the individual academic needs of kids and to monitor student growth through various forms of data. I do not have any problem with that at all."

Narrow focus

Still, concerns persist among educators and parents that the law is forcing districts to "teach to the test."

"The big question out there is, 'What is the ultimate purpose of the public school?'" Griffith said. "Are we supposed to make (students) economic competitors and reliable workers? Are we just to help socialize them?

"This is high-stakes testing, but in a lot of ways, it has a narrow focus," Griffith said. "Without a whole lot of discretion, public schools aren't given much choice but to direct a lot of time and attention to the subjects that matter for high-stakes testing."

Regardless of the chief aim of classroom focus, Batterson noted that without appropriate funding, districts are being forced to cut programs designed to help students achieve proficiency, including summer school classes and tutoring.

The penalties for districts that fail to meet AYP "are pretty scary for us," he said. He called on the federal government to provide the funding districts need to meet the mandates.

"These expectations for students in America are great," Batterson said, "as long as the federal government is willing to help."

No Child 'well-intentioned but flawed,' critics say

Like many other lawmakers and officials in local schools, U.S. Rep. Mark Critz argues No Child Left Behind sets standards that can't be met.

Under the law, all students in public schools must achieve "proficiency" in reading and math by 2014 on statewide standardized tests. In Pennsylvania, 81 percent of students must achieve proficiency in reading and 78 percent must achieve that level in math during the 2011-12 school year in order to meet benchmark defined as "adequate yearly progress." Failing to do so could result in sanctions.

The AYP standards jump to 91 percent proficient in reading and 89 percent proficient in math during the 2012-13 school year, according to the state education department.

"Currently, Congress and President Obama are in the process of re-authorizing (the Elementary and Secondary Education Act)," the Johnstown Democrat said about efforts to reform the federal education law -- referred to as No Child Left Behind since it was last re-authorized under President George W. Bush. "The Republican leadership has chosen to re-authorize the legislation in a series of bills versus one large comprehensive bill."

He said some of the bills are "awaiting action on the House floor."

"No Child Left Behind is one of those instances where an idea looks good on a piece of paper, but in reality, creates standards that are impossible to meet," said Critz. "There must be multiple ways to measure students' progress - not just through statewide standardized tests. Teachers are, and always have been, the most important measurement of a child's success, and we must give them the flexibility to teach a curriculum that is tailored to the needs of individual students. Although we have a critical need to reverse the decline in math and science skills to compete in this increasingly global and technical world, I believe the most successful students will be those who go beyond the core subjects of math, science, reading and writing, and who also study history, music, art, and literature."

U.S. Rep Mike Kelly, R-Butler, described the law as "well-intentioned but flawed."

He argued for less federal control over education.

"It was worthwhile to shine a light on groups whose struggles were eclipsed by the general achievement of a school," he said. "However, the paradox is that the struggles of such a group, however small, can now eclipse the general achievement of a school and cause it to be labeled as 'failing.' Results such as this show the problems with an overreaching government trying to impose a one-size-fits-all approach on the country.

"What the Education and Workforce Committee is trying to do with the current re-authorization efforts is to focus on smaller issues in individual bills so that we can maximize the benefits to the students while reducing the federal government footprint on what is essentially a state and local issue."

A spokesman for U.S. Rep. Jason Altmire, D-McCandless, said Altmire wants Congress to re-authorize "No Child" but believes the law needs to be changed "to better serve our students and support our teachers," which involves making sure they have "adequate funding in order to succeed."