More
schools fail to reach U.S. standard
Number in Jersey jumps to 851 as
'Left Behind Act' gets tougher
Thursday, August 11, 2005 • BY JOHN MOONEY •
Star-Ledger Staff
One in three New Jersey public schools
fell short last year of new, tougher requirements of the
federal No Child Left Behind Act, including dozens that
could face the harshest sanctions yet.
Yesterday, the state released a list of
851 schools missing the test performance marks set under the
law. The number was a big jump from the 585 falling short
the year before, in large part due to the state's required
scores being raised for the first time in three
years.
With the higher bar, the result is a more
diverse list as well, including more suburban districts,
although the bulk remained from New Jersey's biggest
cities.
Special education scores also remained
the primary stumbling point, state officials said yesterday,
reviving the debate to whether the law is too
severe.
The reaction from schools was a mix of
frustration, skepticism and some resignation. For the more
than 160 schools that came off the lists, there were mild
celebrations.
State officials yesterday played down the
law's labeling of schools.
"We understand how this can carry
confusing messages, and it doesn't accurately capture
progress we've made in the state," said Education Commission
William Librera. "Our's is always a word of
caution."
But the labels bring sanctions, starting
with 376 schools getting the black mark of an "early
warning" in the first year of falling short.
Another 522 schools received the tag as a
"school in need of improvement" for falling short two or
more years, and now face the possibility of letting students
transfer or having to provide outside tutoring. That's up
from 496 schools the year before. Some schools may be
counted twice if they give more than one test.
And for the first time, New Jersey now
has 71 schools required to start the process of
"restructuring" after failing to show enough progress for
five straight years. Each school must decide by January if
it wants greater state intervention, staff overhauls or the
chance of becoming a charter or privately run
school.
Newark has 14 such schools, and Elizabeth
has eight. Statewide, a majority are middle
schools.
In his first year on the job as
Elizabeth's acting superintendent, Pablo Munoz said he hopes
to move beyond those eight schools to make improvements. He
plans more frequent assessments in all schools and 90-minute
blocks of uninterrupted math and language arts instruction.
Three of the eight schools already have hired new
principals, he said.
"I have a more systemic problem in the
district," said Munoz. "We're a district in need of
improvement."
Newark also has begun changes, with each
of its 14 schools on the list among the 19 that saw outside
reviews last year. For a district already operated by the
state, the likeliest option is even greater state
intervention, officials said.
"We've always had a sense of urgency to
improve," said Gayle Griffin, an assistant superintendent.
"But the law gives us some clout behind that
urgency."
Yet going over the list of 14 schools,
Griffin said each had unique needs. Some had seen tremendous
growth in the last year, although not enough. Others
remained with a fraction of students scoring well, barely
improving at all.
"I have limited resources, and what
schools am I going to put them in?" she said. "Do I put them
in Brown Academy, with its 10 or 15 percent (passing), or
Maple Avenue, which was in the 70s?"
The debate has been going on since the
law was signed by President Bush in 2002. The core of the
law demands that all schools see 100 percent of their
students reading and doing math at grade level by
2013-14.
To get there, schools are required to
meet rising performance standards for each category of
student, including special education, low-income, black and
Hispanic. The state sets the specific levels, with federal
approval.
Last year, the bar in New Jersey rose
significantly to as much as 79 percent required to pass the
high school language arts test and 75 percent in elementary
school language arts. The state also added a third-grade
test.
Other states are only now starting to
report their lists, but several have seen a similar rise in
the number of failing schools. Nevada last week reported
that more than half of its schools didn't reach the
requirements, up from about a third the year
before.
Belleville High School was among the bulk
of state schools that fell short by just one out of a total
of 40 categories. Also like many, it involved special
education.
"The high school missed by one indicator
and if you miss one you might as well miss 40 because you
get the same designation," said Joseph Kraemer, the
district's director of curriculum and instruction. "That is
frustrating because your school can get labeled as failing
for a half dozen kids."
Seeing his high school on the "early
warning" list as well, Ridgewood Superintendent John Porter
echoed others in praising the goals of the law, but not its
methods.
"For some, the law is a wake-up call and
getting them to move in the right direction," Porter said.
"But you have to be careful that you don't throw people off
a cliff."
Further information on the requirements
and each school's status can be found through the state
Department of Education's Web site: http://www.state.nj.us/education/.
Staff writers Kasi Addison, Jennifer Golson, Chandra
Hayslett and Bev McCarron contributed to this article. John
Mooney covers education. He may be reached at
jmooney@starledger.com, or (973) 392-1548.
© 2005 The Star-Ledger. Used by NJ.com with
permission.
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