More
schools face federal penalties
State errs in its No Child Left Behind
tally
Saturday, October 16, 2004 • BY JOHN MOONEY •
Star-Ledger Staff
More than 150 schools in New Jersey were mislabeled by
the state last month under the federal No Child Left Behind
act, with some now facing greater sanctions than they
thought, others fewer.
More than two dozen schools moved closer to getting off
the law's unflattering lists of those failing to meet the
required student performance levels, according to a state
announcement yesterday.
Hackettstown, Hawthorne and Somerset County Vocational
high schools came off the lists altogether.
But most moved the other way, now heading toward greater
penalties than they first were told, such as requirements
that students be offered a chance to transfer to another
school or receive free extra tutoring.
"We apologize for any inconvenience or confusion this
may have caused, and we are issuing this correction so that
the districts and the department are working off of the same
page," said Isaac Bryant, the assistant state education
commissioner whose office oversees implementation of the
federal law.
"We know now what went wrong, and we have taken the
right steps to make sure this does not happen in the
future," he said.
A full list of the schools affected is available through
the state Department of Education's Web site:
www.state.nj.us/njded/news/ 1015ayp.htm.
The overall number of schools making the lists did not
change much, falling from 621 schools to 597, still about a
quarter of the schools statewide. Yet the department's
errors only added to many administrators' frustrations with
federal mandates they haven't much liked in the first
place.
North Brunswick saw its John Adams Elementary School get
a reprieve after it was found to have met all the test score
targets in 2004, moving it from the "early warning" list to
a transitional category.
But its Parsons Elementary School went the other way,
now required to provide families a chance to go elsewhere.
The letters will go out soon, said the district's
superintendent, but he's not sure where students would find
the extra room.
"We're right at capacity in every one of our schools,
and then there would be transportation costs, too," said
Superintendent Robert Rimmer. "This can cause a lot more
problems than any of us anticipated.
"Everybody agrees the intention of the law is
admirable," he said. "But the implementation, like in any
bureaucratic program, creates nightmares for
districts."
Even the principal of one school benefiting from the
correction said it speaks more to what he called the "folly"
of the law than any program changes he made.
Hawthorne High School came off the list altogether
because it was found to have fewer than 35 special-education
students, the state's new cutoff for these scores to be
counted.
"I like to think we improve all the time, but really all
that happened is the state changed the number," said
Principal David Browne. "If this doesn't illustrate the
ridiculous nature of No Child Left Behind, nothing
will."
John Mooney covers education. He can be reached at
jmooney@star ledger.com, or (973) 392-1548.
© 2004 The Star-Ledger. Used by NJ.com with
permission.
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