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The No Child Left Behind
Act of 2001 (NCLB), signed into law on January 8, 2002, is the reauthorization
of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA). ESEA was born
in the context of the Great Society legislation of the 1960s. It was originally
intended to address the plight of disadvantaged youth in the nation.
The ratings are intended to reveal how well schools teach
reading and math to all their students, including minority students, those
in special education and those learning English as a second language.
For the 55 percent of schools that don't receive federal
Title I money to help disadvantaged students, the ratings boost their public
image if they meet all federal targets, or spoil their reputation if they
don't.
For the 500 Oregon schools that receive Title I funding,
including two-thirds of the state's elementary schools, the ratings carry
high stakes. Schools that miss federal targets two years in a row must notify
parents, offer students a transfer to a higher-performing school and report
to state overseers what they're doing to improve. Schools also get money
− typically about $100,000 or more a year
− to help spur improvements.
Specifically, NCLB requires
testing for 95% of all students using each states individual standards and
that the results be divided to show different performance for sub-groups
of students such as students with disabilities or groups reflecting ethnic
and cultural identities. The result of that testing must be made public.
The key words are "individual state standards." The incentives for an
improvement also may cause states to lower their official standards.
Because each state can produce its own standardized tests, a state can
make its statewide tests easier to increase scores. A 2007 study by the
U.S. Dept. of Education indicates that the observed differences in
states' reported scores is largely due to differences in the stringency
of their standards.
When groups of these students,
who traditionally don’t achieve well in school don’t meet Oregon’s standards,
their schools are subject to an escalating schedule of consequences
− starting
with offering students the opportunity to transfer to other schools and
leading up to the state imposing changes in how those schools are managed.
The key phrase is what is called the Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP).
Two Web sites for information
about NCLB:
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The US Department of Education's
Web site has information about the
No Child
Left Behind act.
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Learning First,
an non-profit education organization, has published a
number of
documents that explains the law and changes made to it over the
year. These documents are easy
to read and understand.
Most Oregon High Schools and Middle Schools Exempt
Schools that don't receive federal money face no consequence
for failing to make what the feds call "adequate yearly progress." They
don't have to offer transfers or tutoring no matter how pervasive or long-standing
their performance problems are.
About 90 percent of Oregon high schools and 80 percent
of middle schools are in that category and therefore exempt from consequences
under No Child Left Behind. Rather, it is the 500 Oregon schools that get
federal funds, including two-thirds of the state's elementary schools, for
whom the federal ratings carry high stakes, such as transfers and tutoring.
No Child Left Behind Ratings
vs. Oregon State Report Cards
The annual Oregon school report
cards differ from the No Child Left Behind ratings. The state judges
schools on average student performances, while the federal rating scrutinize
individual groups such as limited English, minority, low-income, and special
education students. If one of those groups fails to make adequate
progress, the entire school is downgraded. For example in 2006, two students
(limited English skills) at the Twality Middle School in Tigard didn't pass
the reading and writing test, preventing the school from meeting the federal
standard.
The Oregon report card is strictly
informational. It measures schools on averages in reading, math, science,
and writing. Both the Oregon report card and the No Child Left Behind
federal ratings factor in attendance and the number of students taking the
test.
Each State Has Their Own Measurements
Each state has developed and
implemented measurements for determining whether its schools are making adequate yearly progress (AYP). AYP
is an individual state's measure of progress toward the goal of students
achieving to state academic standards in at least
reading/language arts and math. The criticism is that each
state has their own measurements so it is impossible to compare states.
Just look at the number of students who score at a "meet expectations"
level on Oregon 10th grade OAS test of math and reading. Based on where
Oregon has set its standards for student achievement, a "meets
expectations" score is not particularly high. Oregon needs to
raise expectations for all students and a first step would be to adopt
the National
Common Core Standards. Over thirty other states have adopted the
standards.
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