No Child Left Behind message undermines public education in Minnesota
The No Child Left Behind Law needs to be repaired or scrapped because its message is misleading and undermining public education in Minnesota.
Headlines telling that about half the schools in Minnesota not making Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) under provisions of the federal No Child Left Behind Law at first glance lead one to believe the public school system deserves a low grade.
That simply is not the case, because a school can fail to make AYP if students in just one of nine subgroups or categories fail either the reading and math tests.
The subgroups in which students are tested include mentally disabled students, racial/ethnic groups, English Language Learners and economically disadvantaged students.
For example, in the Farmington Middle School West, the school did not make AYP because of low reading test scores among students who have learning disabilities even though the normal students in grades tested above the state average.
Of the 1,048 schools that did not make AYP, 466 missed the mark in one subgroup. A total of 480 schools failed in the learning disabled category, 141 failed in the English as a second language category and 480 failed in the kids in poverty category.
The object of the NCLB legislation is to have schools reach 100 percent proficiency on state standardized tests by 2014 and must make progress every year toward that goal. That goal simply is not attainable, because of the range of student abilities.
Each year, state tests in reading and mathematics are given to students in grades three through eight. The reading test only is taken by students in 10th grade, the mathematics in grade 11 and the writing test in grade nine.
Minnesota’s Department of Education has chosen to give more difficult tests than many other states. Minnesota math testing standards include algebra in eighth grade and trigonometry concepts in grade nine.
In addition the State Department of Education keeps raising the percentage of students that must reach proficiency at each grade level.
With all the emphasis on mathematics and reading and writing, school officials are devoting more time to those subjects and teaching to the test to avoid the bad labels.
As a result, less time and instruction is being given in physical education, music and the arts that are not tested.
No one argues that students should be tested, but other quality measures are important. For example, Minnesota ranks fifth in the nation on graduation rates. It ranks first in the nation on ACT scores where at least half of the graduates took the test.
All students take a national test in fourth, sixth, eight and 12th grades, and Minnesota ranks in the top 10 in the nation.
The NCLB law, says Education Minnesota, has next to nothing about student growth, nothing on instruction and nothing about the support schools need.
Charles Kyte, of the Minnesota Association of School Administrators says NCLB has significantly damaged the reputation of Minnesota schools by casting a false light.
Alice Seagren, state commissioner of education, says the NCLB, while having a noble goal, needs to be fixed. Most parents and educators would agree with her.
Oh man, I bet you are going to get letters for this one:
“…did not make AYP because of low reading test scores among students who have learning disabilities even though the normal students…”