81 percent of state schools pass No Child Left Behind
NASHVILLE — More Tennessee schools passed the annual No Child Left Behind assessment this year, but a small number were deemed so poor that they now face the toughest sanctions, the state Department of Education said Thursday.
Tennessee outpaced many of its counterparts with 81 percent of its schools meeting all the federal benchmarks, topping Southeastern states including Florida, Georgia, Kentucky and North Carolina which ranged from 23 percent to 78 percent compliance.
“The teachers are to be commended across the state, as are the administrators, because they did a yeoman’s task,” said Keith Brewer, deputy education commissioner.
Of Tennessee’s 1,677 schools, there were 320 schools — or 19 percent — that failed at least one of the federal benchmarks for a first or repeat time. That’s a huge improvement over last year when 47 percent of state schools landed on a “target” or “high priority” list. Most missed passing by just one category.
There are a number of factors included in the assessment, including test scores and the common stumbling blocks of graduation and attendance rates.
Education officials chalked up the improvement to adjustments in the way the assessments are made and a focus in every district to prepare kids for mandatory tests. In some cases, schools changed administrations or removed teachers.
The state said it also has given schools curriculum guidelines to better prepare students for the tests and focused on urban schools. And it placed — and trained — 100 veteran teachers in schools that needed help.
The state on Thursday designated 199 “high priority” schools and 121 “target” schools.
The high priority schools face some intervention from the state Department of Education — and in some cases must allow parents to move their kids to another school with the district providing transportation.
There are 19 that have failed to meet state standards for so long — 16 of them in Memphis, two in Hamilton County and one in Knox County — that state authorities now become responsible for turning around their performance.
“The thing I am most concerned about right now is we have 19 schools that are … getting to the point where the state has an affirmative obligation to do something about them,” Gov. Phil Bredesen said after a speech in Pigeon Forge. “So the issue of how do you make the school better is becoming very immediate. It is not a theoretical issue for me. It is something we are going to have to do something about.”
The “target schools,” those failing a criteria for the first time, will simply be given a heads up, and don’t initially face much extra scrutiny or intervention.
School leaders said they were very pleased with the state’s overall performance.
State Education Commissioner Lana Seivers said Tennessee’s 10-year-old accountability system gave it an advantage in moving to the No Child Left Behind assessment.
“Tennessee is one of the states recognized for being among the first for having an accountability system,” she said at a press conference Thursday.
The No Child Left Behind criteria, sometimes criticized for forcing schools to teach students just to pass the tests, will continue to ramp up standards, making it increasingly difficult for schools to pass.
The Tennessee Education Association, a union for teachers, said the law forces schools to focus solely on math and reading at the expense of arts, music, foreign language and other subjects. The organization warned that more schools are likely to fail under tougher standards next year, making it appear as if schools are getting worse.
“(No Child Left Behind) does not provide for those things that we know will improve the quality of education: smaller class sizes, more up-to-date resources for classrooms, professional development for teachers, and high quality preschool programs,” said TEA president Judy Beasley.
In 10 years, states are expected to make sure that 100 percent of their schools pass the assessment.
Under the law, which took effect two years ago, standardized test scores in reading/language arts and math are broken down by eight student subgroups — white, black, Hispanic, Native American, Asian/Pacific Islander, limited English skills, special education and economically disadvantaged.
Memphis again had the most schools on the two lists among the state’s districts, with a total of 73. Nashville had 40 schools listed, Hamilton County had 26, and Knox County listed 22.
Seivers said it won’t be easy getting all the failed schools off the list.
“There is not a single silver bullet, it’s not going to happen overnight,” she said.
———
On the Net:
Tennessee Department of Education: http://www.state.tn.us/education/