09/10/2008
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Staff photo by Thomas Michael Corcoran
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Staff photo by Thomas Michael Corcoranfrom the Kennebec Journal
QUESTIONS REMAIN
No complaints from those who switched to Somerset County center
Vote on 1 may hurt some in election
Steeple at center of debate in Whitefield
VETERANS REQUIRE ASSISTANCE: Homelessness takes center stage
J.P. DEVINE: Overcome sadness with hope
BASKETBALL: NBA Hall of Famer Barry doles out advice at Thomas College
HIGH SCHOOL CROSS COUNTRY: Maranacook sophomore Mace dominates Class B field
All of today's:
News | Sports
from the Kennebec Journal
from the Morning Sentinel
A year later, families await answers on fatalities
Owner of topless coffee shop on the comeback trail
Officials report cheaper, better service after switch
Two people in critical condition
Young Marines stick to program
Issue of homeless veterans at center stage
GIRLS SOCCER STATE CHAMPIONSHIP: Winslow falls to York in Class B
Bard hits her marathon stride
All of today's:
News | Sports
from the Morning Sentinel
School Superintendents James C. Morse Sr. and William P. Braun each have schools in their district that failed to make what the No Child Left Behind law calls adequate yearly progress.
But neither Morse, who heads School Administrative District 47, nor Braun, of SAD 48, sees the schools as failing.
Instead, each sees those schools as victims of a flawed assessment tool.
"I don't think it says anything about SAD 47," Morse said. "I think it says something about how adequate yearly progress is measured."
Both educators argued that the methodology employed makes it inevitable that an increasing number of schools will be classified as failures each year.
The list of failing schools released by the Maine Department of Education on Monday bears them out on this point.
In reading, the number of Maine schools on the list increased from 121 to 139 from the 2006-07 to the 2007-08 school year. Performance in the math portion of the test was even worse: Schools failing to meet the standard jumped from 74 to 117.
University of Maine at Farmington associate professor Becky Berger is not surprised by the increase.
Berger, who specializes in elementary education, said the test sets higher targets over time.
This year, for example, the percentage of high school students expected to meet the standard in reading increased from 50 to 57 percent -- in the math the percentage rose from 20 to 31 percent.
By the 2013-14 school year, the law requires that all students meet the standard.
"As that number increases," Berger said of the target, "you are going to see more and more schools fail to meet that mark. That is just all there is to it."
In SAD 47, the schools on the list are Belgrade Central School, Messalonskee High School, of Oakland, and the James H. Bean School, of Sidney.
In each case, the schools met the standard in regard to the entire testing population but fell short when it came to the students-with-disabilities subgroup.
Morse, though, said the evaluation is flawed on a couple of fronts.
One issue is the sample size, he said. The special-education population at each school tested is relatively small, he said, calling into question its statistical validity.
Braun makes the same argument.
He said Nokomis Regional High School is on the failed list because of the scores of economically disadvantaged students in last year's junior class.
"The fact that we're on the (failing) list gets us a negative public perception," Braun said, "but, in reality, you are talking about 20 kids in a junior class of 180 who didn't do well on a test."
The other problem, Morse said, is that the test does not measure the same group of students each year.
At the high school level, for example, the testing group is always the junior class -- a group of students that changes entirely each year.
"What the test does is take a snapshot of a group of kids in a certain year," Morse said. "You are not following the same kids, so you are not really measuring growth. You are just measuring performance on a certain day."
Morse said he is fortunate that most people in his district don't rely on No Child Left Behind measures to evaluate their schools.
They look, instead, at high graduation rates, low dropout rates, Advanced-Placement offerings and the positive personal contact they have with teachers and administrators.
What he fears, Morse said, is that the No Child Left Behind assessment methodology could lead to a failing subgroup being singled out as the bad guy -- the source of a dark mark for the school.
That would be wrong and unfair, he said.
Berger said she sympathizes with education leaders whose schools get put on the failure list.
At the same time, she supports the ideals of No Child Left Behind. Schools should strive to push their students to the highest level of achievement possible, she said.
Yet the law fails, she said, in helping schools work toward that goal.
"It is one of these ideas that was noble and well-intentioned," she said, "but the implementation of it has just been horribly detrimental to schools in general."
Colin Hickey -- 861-9205
chickey@centralmaine.com
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