No child left behind test scores due soon

No Child Left Behind (NCLB) test results are expected any day now and with that comes anticipation as schools in the area wait to see whether or not they have improved from last year and what that means for their students. The school districts announced they expect to receive the results in the next week or so.

According to the U.S. Department of Education Web site, there are four pillars of NCLB: stronger accountability for results, more freedom for states and communities, proven education methods, and more choices for parents. NCLB is based on test scores for students from elementary school up until 12th grade. If schools do not perform up to standards, they have to provide students with supplemental services, and if they are still not making progress after five years, then large changes will come to the school.

For the most part, schools in Sanders County performed well in the 2006-07 school year. If those test scores are any indication, the schools should perform well under increased standards this year. Overall, Montana’s students were 81 percent proficient in reading and 63 percent proficient in math. Last year, the state education superintendent reported that 90 percent of schools met the Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) requirements mandated by NCLB. To qualify as “proficient,” and to make AYP an academic score must be achieved in math and reading, a minimum of 95 percent of students must take the tests, elementary schools must achieve an attendance rate of 80 percent, and high schools must achieve a graduation completion rate of 80 percent.. Last year, schools had to score 74 percent or above proficiency in reading and 51 percent in math to meet AYP. This year, the schools must have 83 percent proficiency in reading and 68 percent proficiency in math. The requirements will continue to increase until the 2013-2014 school year, when schools will be expected to have 100 percent of students proficient in both categories.

Besides dividing results by school, the state also looks at statistics broken down into 11 categories, such as income level and ethnicity. Each demographic group had to have at least 40 students to be measurable.

The Plains school district as a whole scored higher than the state average and had the highest overall scores in Sanders County, with 83 percent of students proficient in reading and 69 percent proficient in math. The Plains seventh- and eighth-graders were 88 percent proficient in reading and 74 percent in math. Plains elementary students scored 79 percent proficiency in reading and 66 percent in math. The only demographic group in the elementary school that failed to meet the state’s mandatory score were special education students, who were only 20 percent proficient in math. Ten percent of special education students were near proficiency and 70 percent were not proficient. In reading, special education students were also 20 percent proficient, but 50 percent were nearly proficient. The other 30 percent were not proficient.

For Plains high school, 91 percent of students were proficient in reading and 54 percent were proficient in math. The only high school demographic which struggled were students who participated in the free/reduced lunch program, who were 47 percent proficient, 40 percent near proficiency and 13 percent not proficient.

Hot Springs’ school district had an 82 percent proficiency rating in reading and 54 percent in math. Overall, the Hot Springs school was 77 percent proficient in reading and 51 percent in math overall. Demographically, males at the school struggled more with reading — only 70 percent proficient, while females seemed to struggle in math — only 50 percent proficient. Both groups will have to improve to meet state standards.

The seventh- and eighth-graders in Hot Springs had a 96 percent proficiency rating in reading and 62 percent in math. A hundred percent of females in seventh and eighth grade were rated proficient in reading and 94 percent of males were. For the Hot Springs high school, 100 percent of students were proficient in reading and 65 percent were proficient in math.

The Thompson Falls school district had 75 percent proficiency in reading and 58 percent in math. Their elementary school had 78 percent proficiency in reading and 58 percent in math. None of the students in special education were proficient. Only 17 percent were nearing proficiency and 83 percent were not proficient. Thompson Falls seventh- through eighth-graders had a 73 percent proficiency rate in reading and 58 percent in math, while the high school students were 87 percent proficient in reading and 54 percent in math. For those high school students who were in the free/reduced lunch program in math 38 percent were labeled proficient while 25 percent were nearing proficiency and 38 percent were not proficient.

Schools that didn’t pass last year were Dixon Elementary, Trout Creek, Noxon, and Paradise.

Dixon elementary was 71 percent proficient in reading, with the lowest score coming from males who were 67 percent proficient. Students who were proficient in English passed with 82 percent and females were 77 percent proficient. In math Dixon elementary had a 36 percent proficiency rating and all of the eligible categories failed to make proficiency.

The Trout Creek school district had a 67 percent proficiency rating in reading and 33 percent in math. The seventh and eighth graders had a 57 percent proficiency in reading and 36 percent in math, which made them not proficient in all of the eligible categories. The same goes for the Trout Creek school — students there were also not proficient in all eligible categories and had 72 percent proficiency rating in reading and 32 percent in math.

The Noxon school district had a proficiency rating of 86 percent in reading and 46 percent in math. Noxon elementary was 86 percent proficient in reading, with the only group not meeting proficiency being females, who were 71 percent proficient. Forty-three percent of students were proficient in math, meaning the school did not meet their proficiency for the subject. The only group that was listed as proficient were those who were not in the free/reduced lunch program with 61 percent proficient. Those who were in the free/reduced lunch program, only 22 percent were proficient. The Noxon seventh- and eighth-graders in Noxon were 86 percent proficient in reading, with the only group not showing proficiency in reading being those in the free/reduced lunch program with a proficiency of 69 percent. The seventh- and eighth-graders were 49 percent proficient in math. Females showed proficiency with 54 percent and those not receiving free/reduced lunch with 56 percent. The lowest proficiency rating for math for those in the seventh and eighth grade were students who participated in the free/reduced lunch program, and 39 percent of them showed proficiency.

Noxon high school failed to meet proficiency in reading with 66 percent. The only group who met the state’s standards for proficiency were those students who were not special education eligible and they had a proficiency rating of 76 percent. For math the high school students met proficiency with 54 percent and all of the eligible categories passed.

Paradise school will have the most to make up this year if it’s going to meet state standards. The school was 48 percent proficient in reading, 33 percent nearing proficiency and 19 percent not proficient. In math, 19 percent of students were proficient, while 29 percent were nearing proficiency and 52 percent not proficient. In order to reach state standards, Paradise will have to increase its reading proficiency by 35 percent and it’s math proficiency by 49 percent.

In a press release last year, Montana Superintendent of Public Instruction Linda McCulloch encouraged parents not to think of education in terms of test scores alone.

“I believe the No Child Left Behind Act gives a false impression of the quality of our schools and educators,” she explained. “The Adequate Yearly Progress Reports look only at the specific measures required by the federal government. The measures are helpful, but present only a small piece of a very large picture of the quality of education provided by Montana schools.”