Schools

State Wants to Get Out of Some No Child Left Behind Rules

Illinois is not faring well—with 80 percent of school districts and 65 percent of schools—failing to meet federal standards.

A growing number of schools are failing under the federal accountability law, No Child Left Behind, according to the 2011 State Assessment data that the Illinois State Board of Education has released. In light of these results, state education officials are planning to seek a waiver from some of the law’s provisions.

Results show 695 or 80 percent of Illinois districts and 2,548 or 65 percent of schools, up from 51 percent last year, failed to make Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) under No Child Left Behind. Only eight high schools made AYP based on this year’s test results.

The statewide results were announced Thursday, Oct. 20 as part of the state board’s analysis of the new State Report Card and more than a month after the U.S. Department of Education announced it would consider granting No Child Left Behind waivers to states that agree to certain reform provisions such as adopting more rigorous college and career-ready standards and assessments that measure student growth over time.

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Local school districts have their test results and may choose to release them before the state does on Oct. 31.

“We need a realistic, measurable accountability system based on growth and individual student progress rather than an absolute, unattainable goal handed down from Washington,’’ said State Board of Education Chairman Gery J. Chico in a prepared statement. “Illinois will request a waiver that builds upon the board’s goals to better prepare every student for success in college and careers, raising expectations for all students and closing achievement gaps.”

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State Superintendent Chris Koch told the Chicago News Cooperative that the state board will assemble a committee to develop a waiver application and present it to board officials in early November. The U.S. Department of Education will begin accepting applications in November, but Koch said Illinois intends to submit its application in February.

In order to be granted a waiver, states must set more rigorous curriculum standards, focus on turning around 15 percent of their most-troubled schools and establish teacher and principal evaluations that are tied in some way to student performance, the Chicago News Cooperative reported.

Koch told the Chicago News Cooperative that Illinois is well positioned to receive a waiver. The state recently adopted the Common Core standards, a set of curriculum requirements aimed at preparing students for college, and will be switching to a new state test that aligns with those standards rather than the Illinois Standards Achievement Test (ISAT), which many critics say has been dumbed down over the years. The recent passage of education-reform legislation that redefines how teachers are evaluated and earn tenure is also likely to help Illinois’ application for a waiver.

A State Board of Education news release said that the statewide composite score for students meeting and exceeding on the ISAT given to elementary students saw an increase, going to 82.0 percent in 2011 from 80.9 in 2010. The achievement gap also shows signs of closing with an 11 percent increase in performance for black students at the elementary level since 2006 and a 2.6 percent increase for Hispanic students during that same time.

The composite score for the Prairie State Achievement Exam (PSAE), given to high school juniors, decreased to 50.5 in 2011 from 53 in 2010. One explanation for this year’s decline, according to the state board, may be the increase of about 12,500 PSAE test takers in 2011, per new state rules emphasizing that all high school juniors must take the exam, which includes the ACT.

“It is great to see improvements being made at the elementary level in closing the achievement gap,” said State Superintendent of Education Christopher A. Koch in a prepared statement. “This progress is essential as we implement the common core standards and will help to ensure students enter high school performing at grade level and leave ready for college and careers.”

Students in third through eighth grades in March took the ISAT in reading and mathematics. Fourth and seventh graders also were tested in science. High school juniors last April took the PSAE, which tests students in math, reading, science and writing. Only reading and mathematics results are used in calculating AYP.

In 2011, schools were expected to show 85 percent of students meeting or exceeding proficiency standards, up from 77.5 percent in 2010. The target high school graduation rate increased to 82 percent in 2011 from 80 percent in 2010. Attendance rate targets for elementary and middle schools in 2011 remained the same as the previous year at 91 percent.

The State Board of Education has produced the School Report Card since 1986 for every public school and district in Illinois. State report cards have been produced since 2002 and are required under No Child Left Behind. Click here, then scroll down for charts of statewide scores.


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