At many ‘failing’ schools, parents have choices

Washington’s annual student assessment has changed its name, polished its format.

But results still must meet standards of the federal No Child Left Behind Act, which modestly decrees that a mere 100 percent of U.S. school students will pass their statewide exams by 2014.

“That is not going to happen,” said Chriss Burgess, Vancouver Public Schools assistant superintendent.

The dream of perfection may fade, but NCLB’s teeth are already felt in Clark County.

With more schools missing current federal pass-rate standards, which have stair-stepped higher since 2002, local sanctions are spreading.

New letters have been mailed, or soon will be, to inform thousands of Vancouver and Evergreen district parents that their child’s school is “failing” to make federally defined Adequate Yearly Progress.

Click here to see a database of 2010 test results from local schools

Students show mixed results in post-WASL tests

Schools screen online testing option

As a result, parents may get to switch their child’s school or to obtain free tutoring.

An AYP refresher:

At each grade level, students are split into a measuring matrix for AYP with as many as 37 boxes, defined by ethnicity, primary household language, family income and special education needs.

Only reading and math scores count; the rest of Washington’s state exams are outside the feds’ scope.

Any school whose students fail to hit the state’s pass rate two straight years, in any single category, falls into an AYP “in improvement” column, denoting failure. That could simply be English language learners who stumble in math, or special education students who can’t pass reading tests; no matter. (At the district level, the matrix balloons to 111 categories.)

Miss again, in the same box or boxes, and that school slides into Step 2. Slip another year, and it’s into Step 3.

It takes two straight years of success, in the same box, to work backward and perhaps to escape “failing” status. Very few schools have, to date.

Important to know: Only schools that receive federal Title 1 school supplemental funds face real sanctions, and can offer parents new choices. In the Vancouver area, only elementary schools meet that criterion.

In Evergreen and Vancouver districts, here’s what happens under progressive AYP rules:

• Step 1: All families may elect to switch to a “choice” school — one that’s not failing. District transportation must be offered. In Evergreen, only Fircrest, Hearthwood and Mill Plain elementary schools are open (and have capacity) for choice transfers. In Vancouver, only Eisenhower and Lake Shore elementary schools are options.

Last school year, Vancouver parents of 20 students elected to switch their child’s school; in Evergreen, 72 school students switched campuses.

• Step 2: Besides school choice for all students on a “failing” campus, students who meet income standards for free-and-reduced-price meals may stay at the school and receive private tutoring outside school hours, at district expense.

Last school year, about 130 Vancouver students obtained the extra tutoring, as did 129 Evergreen pupils.

• Step 3: Same rules as Step 2 apply; what’s more, the district must bring in outside help to boost academic oversight and staff improvement at that school. Both Vancouver and Evergreen plan to use private consultants for Step 3 work this year.

Affected campuses

Here’s the preliminary list unveiled Tuesday in Olympia of area schools deemed “failing” under AYP that also have received Title 1 money, which would trigger parent options.

(Note: Local districts have challenged the status of some schools or dropped Title 1 funding, so this list may change. Read letters from districts or call school officials for up-to-date information.)

• Battle Ground: Daybreak Primary (Step 2), Maple Grove Primary (3), Yacolt Primary (2).

• Camas: None reported.

• Washougal: Hathaway Elementary (Step 1), Jemtegaard Middle (3).

• Hockinson: Hockinson Heights Intermediate (Step 1).

• La Center: La Center Elementary (Step 2).

• Ridgefield: South Ridge Elementary (Step 1), Union Ridge Elementary (2).

• Woodland: Woodland Intermediate (Step 1).

• Stevenson-Carson: Carson Elementary (Step 1).

• Evergreen: Burton Elementary (Step 1), Crestline Elementary (2), Ellsworth Elementary (3), Endeavour Elementary (1), Image Elementary (1), Marrion Elementary (1), Orchards Elementary (2), Sifton Elementary (3), Silver Star Elementary (3), Sunset Elementary (1).

• Vancouver: Sarah J. Anderson Elementary (Step 3), Fruit Valley Elementary (1), Harney Elementary (2), Harry S. Truman Elementary (1), Hazel Dell Elementary (1), Hough Elementary (1), Martin L. King Jr. Elementary (2), Lincoln Elementary (1), George C. Marshall Elementary (2), Minnehaha Elementary (2), Peter S. Ogden Elementary (2), Eleanor Roosevelt Elementary (3), Sacajawea Elementary (1), Walnut Grove Elementary (1), Washington Elementary (1).