Winston-Salem Journal (Winston-Salem, NC)
July 21, 2011
Headline: WS/FC schools No Child Left Behind testing results down slightly

By John Hinton

The Winston-Salem/Forsyth County school district met more than 80 percent of its federal testing targets in 2010-11, down slightly from the previous year, according to preliminary results released Thursday.

But only 19 percent of schools met their individual targets, a dramatic decrease from the year before when 54 percent met their goals.

"That's not good," said Vic Johnson, a school board member.

As part of the federal No Child Left Behind law, schools are measured each year on Adequate Yearly Progress in categories such as test scores, percentage of students tested, attendance, and graduation rates.

If a school misses its goal in even one category, it is classified as failing to make its Adequate Yearly Progress goal overall. If a school has 40 or more students in a subgroup - such as black, Hispanic or economically disadvantaged - those students are considered separately, and each subgroup has to meet goals in reading and math proficiency and percentage of students tested.

That aspect of the federal No Child Left Behind program has been one of the most frustrating for educators, who point out that it means a school may make significant progress in all areas but one, yet still show up as failing to meet its goal.

Statewide, many of North Carolina's 2,500 schools failed make the grade for Adequate Yearly Progress goals.

Preliminary data show fewer than three out of 10 Charlotte-Mecklenburg schools met the targets set for them in the 2010-11 school year. Fewer than one in seven Wake County schools met their mark. More than half the state's 99 charter schools missed.

State testing officials said they are disappointed in the data partly because they saw a big jump in the target scores last year.

In Winston-Salem/Forsyth County schools, the system overall met 64 out of its 78 targets, or 82 percent, school officials said. That's down slightly from 2009-10, when it met 66 of 78 targets, or 85 percent.

Locally, 15 of 81 individual schools, or 19 percent, met their targets. But 64 schools, or 79 percent, didn't meet their targets, said Theo Helm, a spokesman for the school system.

Schools that made Average Yearly Progress were Clemmons Elementary; the Downtown School; Jefferson Elementary; Jefferson Middle; Lewisville Elementary; Meadowlark Elementary; Meadowlark Middle; Old Richmond Elementary; Parkland High; Piney Grove Elementary; Rural Hall Elementary; Vienna Elementary; West Forsyth High; Whitaker Elementary; and Jacket Academy at Carver.

The status of Early College and Middle College hasn't been determined.

Last year, 43 of 80 schools, or 54 percent, met their Average Yearly Progress goals. An alternative high school, Kingswood School, opened in the 2010-11 school year.

The federal law requires that all students perform at or above grade level by 2013-14.

Sixty percent of black students should be performing at grade level, Johnson said, adding that he wants to see how black students performed at each school.

"We have many schools that are integrated, but I don't know how the black children are doing at those schools," he said.

He pointed to the results at Atkins School of Bio-Technology, which met 71 percent, or five of seven, of its targets.

"Atkins did a tremendous job," he said.

Superintendent Don Martin said the system missed its targets for increasing reading and math skills for black students in third through eighth grades, but the system met its math and reading targets for black high school students.

Many schools that didn't meet their targets have high percentages of students who receive free or reduced-price lunches, said Stephen Hairston, the former president of the local NAACP.

"Those schools have teachers and administrators who are working hard to educate these students," said Hairston, who works on education issues for the NAACP.

Martin and board member Marilyn Parker said the all-or-nothing nature of No Child Left Behind and the steep increases in performance targets make results misleading. But the system needs to improve the reading skills of many students, Martin said.

He criticized the Average Yearly Progress calculations.

"How one school's fifth-graders performed as compared to last year's fifth-graders is clearly an apples-to-oranges comparison," he said.

Federal education officials had predicted a substantial drop in the number of schools making Average Yearly Progress as states try to reach 100 percent proficiency in 2013-14.

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan told Congress in March that 82 percent of schools nationwide could miss the targets, and he cited that projection as a reason to overhaul the law.

Donny Lambeth, chairman of the school board, said the local results support Duncan's argument.

"We need to learn from the data and continue to fine-tune the process," Lambeth said.

Teachers and administrators will continue educating students, he said.

"Parents can help by working with kids after school," Lambeth said. "Make sure they have their work done, and challenge them to read and practice."