NCLB Sanctions Have District 228 Taking a Closer Look at Curriculum

The standardized testing at the heart of the federal No Child Left Behind law has served as a virtual report card on local schools, and if Illinois schools were assigned a letter grade on those tests, most would be getting Fs.

About 80 percent of Illinois schools fail to meet standards under NCLB.  In February, the Illinois State Board of Education plans to seek a waiver from some of the law’s provisions now that the president has authorized states to seek exemptions if they commit to reform efforts.

Specifically, the state wants an exemption from the requirement that all students must pass standardized reading and math tests by 2014.

In October, the state released standardized test data. Illinois Statehouse News reported on the results:

This past year, about half of Illinois’ 11th-graders, who take the Prairie State Achievement Exam, or PSAE, scored at or above the 85 percent benchmark:

• 51 percent in reading and math;
• 49 percent in science.

In all, 656 of Illinois’ 666 public high schools failed to meet NCLB requirements.

At an October meeting of the  school board, District Assistant Superintendent Corrine Williams explained to the board how the schools in the district fared this year in AYP.

Among the four schools,  posted the highest percentages of fulfillment of state requirements with 53.8 percent in reading and 57.8 percent in math. Hillcrest scored lowest on the percentage scale, with only 28.4 percent in reading and 24.5 percent in math.

At , 48.1 percent of students met the requirements in reading, while 50.3 percent met the requirements in math. At Bremen High School, 35.6 percent of students achieved the standards in reading, while 33 percent met them in math.

Cumulatively, District 228 students reached the standards at a 41.6 percent rate in both reading and math.

Although students in the district didn't meet the state's standards, Williams said, they are making progress at or above a level the district feels they should.

“Even though we're not making AYP at the state level, we are moving kids from their freshman to junior years,” Williams said. “Do we have some work to do? Yes, in some areas, particularly science.”

That growth is between 3 and 6 points in standardized test results between freshman and junior years. To help facilitate further growth, the district has laid out plans to continue to improve AYP in the district.

The plan, according to Williams, will include continued work on the Freshman Learning Centers, College and Career Centers, improvements to the counseling curriculum, reducing student failure within the district and reducing remedial courses. 

Statewide, students in third through eighth grades, overall, scored below the 85 percent benchmark, except for the following student groups who scored at or above the mark:

• 85 percent of eighth-graders in reading;
• 86 percent of eighth-graders in math;
• 87 percent of fourth-graders in math.

State Board of Education Chairman Gery Chico told Statehouse News that the failure rates show NCLB has “lost its usefulness.”
To receive a waiver, the state must:

• set stricter curriculum standards
• establish teacher and principal evaluations ties to student performance
• turn around 15 percent of the worst-performing schools

Jeff Graveline contributed to this report.

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