Missouri schools falling behind No Child Left Behind

Jul 30, 2010 — The Kansas City Star

Joe Robertson

Jul. 30, 2010 (McClatchy-Tribune Regional News delivered by Newstex) -- More Missouri schools than ever before are failing to meet the demands of the No Child Left Behind Act, according to state test results released today.

That means more sanctions. More schools having to send out explanatory letters to parents. More schools having to change staffs or programs.

But don't expect them to feel the wrath of the state education commissioner.

Overall, Missouri students improved in math, communication arts and science in 2010. No Child Left Behind only considers math and communication arts.

Kansas expects to release its results within two weeks.

Missouri Education Commissioner Chris L. Nicastro's advice to school districts: Keep building on those gains and try to score highly on the state's annual performance report -- and don't worry so much about the flawed expectations in the federal law. With districts such as Kansas City, which has a tenuous hold on provisional accreditation, the state's benchmarks will prove more critical, she said.

For the state, the percentage of students scoring proficient or advanced in communication arts rose from 51.2 to 53.6. In math, the percentage rose from 47.6 to 52.7.

The Kansas City district's percentage rose from 27.6 to 31.3 in communication arts, and from 23.7 to 30.8 in math.

Under No Child Left Behind, schools are expected by 2014 to reach the point at which all children are scoring proficient or advanced on state tests. The annual benchmarks that have been raising the bar toward 100 percent in Missouri were set at 67.4 percent in communication arts and 63.3 percent in math for 2010.

To make adequate yearly progress, or AYP, schools and districts not only must reach that mark as a whole, but succeed in getting every statistically significant subgroup to the mark. Different racial groups, special education students, and students on free and reduced-price lunches, among other groups, must achieve it for the entire school to make it.

Of the 32 districts in Cass, Clay, Jackson and Platte counties, only four made AYP: Strasburg, East Lynne, Missouri City and North Platte. All are small, with few subgroups.

Among schools, including charter schools, 106 made AYP; 227 did not.

Although there is a lot of work to do, Nicastro said, the test performance was better than the AYP results would suggest.

"We saw what we consider nice growth in every subject area and grade levels," she said. "We think the APR (the state's annual performance report) is a better measure than AYP."

The Kansas City district's larger concern right now is that the district is meeting only four of the 14 standards in the state's APR. Although the state weighs other factors, state test performance is the most significant one, accounting for six of the 14 standards. So far, the Kansas City district has fallen short of all the test standards.

The district's provisional status is not in jeopardy as long as the state believes substantial progress is being made toward full accreditation, state education officials said.

Other districts with concerns over their APR status also saw boosts in test scores.

Hickman Mills, meeting six of the state's 14 standards, saw only a small increase in communication arts, in which the percentage of students scoring proficient or advanced rose from 29.4 to 30.5. More growth was seen in math, from 25.5 to 31.1.

Center, meeting eight of 14 standards, saw greater growth. Its percentage of students proficient or above rose from 39.9 to 44.9 in communication arts and from 33.1 to 42 in math.

Hickman Mills and Center ultimately must reach nine of 14 standards to maintain full accreditation.

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How did your school do?

The state will post district and school scores on its website beginning today at www.dese.mo.gov.

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Falling behind

Although Missouri test scores have been rising overall, more schools are falling behind the rising benchmarks under No Child Left Behind.

Schools that receive Title I dollars receive escalating sanctions when they fall short of adequate yearly progress for two or more consecutive years.

Missouri Title I schools receiving sanctions:

2008: 345 schools

2009: 495 schools

2010: 604 schools

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Schools needing improvement

Level 1: Includes Missouri schools that did not make adequate yearly progress -- AYP -- for two consecutive years.

Thirty-four area schools are at Level 1, with at least one school each from the following districts: Belton, Cass-Midway, Center, Excelsior Springs, Fort Osage, Grain Valley, Grandview, Harrisonville, Hickman Mills, Independence, Kansas City, Lee's Summit, North Kansas City, Park Hill, Raymore-Peculiar, Raytown, Sherwood Cass and Smithville.

Level 2: Includes Missouri schools that did not make AYP for three consecutive years.

Thirty area schools are at Level 2, with at least one school each from the following districts: Belton, Center, East Lynne, Grandview, Harrisonville, Hickman Mills, Independence, Kansas City, North Kansas City, Park Hill, Platte County, Raymore-Peculiar and Raytown.

Level 3: Did not make AYP four consecutive years and must begin corrective actions.

Grandview: Conn-West; Hickman Mills: Burke, Santa Fe and Symington; Kansas City: Gladstone; Oak Grove: Primary; Platte County: Platte City Middle; Raytown: Eastwood Hills, Laurel Hills and Spring Valley; charter schools: University Academy Middle and Upper schools.

Level 4: Did not make AYP five consecutive years and must restructure school.

Grandview: Martin City; Hickman Mills: Dobbs and Johnson; Kansas City: Attucks, James, Pitcher, Paige, Swinney, Phillips, Whittier, Central High, East High and Northeast High; Raytown: Westridge; charter school: Gordon Parks.

Level 5: Did not make AYP six consecutive years and must continue restructuring.

Hickman Mills: Smith-Hale Middle, Hickman Mills High and Ruskin High; Kansas City: Banneker, Franklin, Foreign Language Academy, Melcher, Wheatley, Garcia, Rogers, Trailwoods and Troost; charter schools: Alta Vista, Banneker Academy, Della Lamb, Derrick Thomas Academy, Don Bosco Education Center, Genesis, Hogan Preparatory Academy, Tolbert Academy and Urban Community Leadership Academy.

To reach Joe Robertson, call 816-234-4789 or send e-mail to jrobertson@kcstar.com.

Newstex ID: KRTB-0102-47462847