Sanctioned
schools list improves
But a fourth of
state facilities don't measure up to No Child Left
Behind
Thursday, September 30, 2004 • BY JOHN MOONEY •
Star-Ledger Staff
A quarter of New Jersey's
public schools fell short in meeting the requirements of the
federal No Child Left Behind act last year -- an improvement
over the year before -- but the gains hardly quieted
criticism of the landmark law.
Three weeks overdue, the
state yesterday released the list of 621 schools that failed
to meet precise test score and participation levels for
2003-04 required under President Bush's law. Last year, the
number was close to 1,000.
The release also included
another nearly 300 schools that met the requirements in 2004
but, due to previous scores, remained on the sanctioned list
until they hit the marks for two straight years.
With sweeping consequences
for schools that fall short, the law is not forgiving. Many
schools failed in several of the 40 categories, but also
pulled in were dozens of others from urban and suburban
districts that met all but only one or two.
The law mandates that
schools show steady improvements -- what is called "adequate
yearly progress" -- in overall student test scores and
participation, within every category broken down by race,
socioeconomic status and special education.
At a legislative hearing
earlier in the week, state and local officials lambasted the
law for its severe sanctions and the limited extra funding
that comes to failing schools. Yesterday, the officials
responsible for implementing the law remained
incredulous.
"These lists have never
represented accurately the overall quality of the schools,"
said state Education Commissioner William Librera. "Any
belief that these are failing schools, we reject that
completely."
Nevertheless, the task for
schools to meet these mandates will get only more difficult,
as New Jersey's required performance levels rise this year.
Sixty-two percent of fourth-graders will be required to pass
in math and 75 percent in language arts this year, up from
last year's 53 percent and 68 percent,
respectively.
Passed in 2002, the law
eventually will mandate 100 percent proficiency in both
reading and math by 2013.
Schools falling short face
escalating sanctions the longer they fail to reach the mark,
including the option for students to transfer or receive
free outside tutoring.
Nearly 120 schools in the
state -- including 21 schools in Newark alone -- have fallen
short for four straight years and will be required to
undergo "corrective action," which officials said would
include reviews and assistance by state-led teams of
experts.
Yet another year of
falling short and these schools will be revamped altogether,
although Librera said those options have yet to be
determined.
Even some of the districts
that made it this year admitted the rising requirements will
likely snare them as well in future years. After falling
short in its special education scores in 2003, Livingston
High School met the requirements this year and will be
removed from the list if they do so again next year. But the
district's superintendent said it would be just a matter of
time.
"At some point, unless
there are modifications to the law or we have a miraculous
change in the drinking water, we will not make adequate
yearly progress," said Livingston School Superintendent Mark
Mongon.
"Will it mean the district
has failed?" he said. "According to the law yes, but
according to the population that lives here, they will not
think it is failure."
State officials,
nevertheless, applauded the improvements this year, citing
the 299 schools that met all of the requirements for the
first time and more than 30 schools that were taken off the
lists altogether.
Included were Watsessing
School in Bloomfield, Johnnie Cochran Jr. Academy in East
Orange and Harriet Tubman and Mt. Vernon schools in
Newark.
Statewide, less than half
the high schools failed to meet the required levels, down
from 72 percent last year. Thirty-eight percent of middle
schools and 17 percent of elementary schools fell short,
both also sizable improvements, they said.
"There is a lot more we
can do, but we are proud of our accomplishments," Librera
said.
Yet the gains may have
been a product of both the schools' own improvements and the
state easing the requirements for them to pass. The state
over the winter received permission from the federal
government to ease the special education requirements on
schools that have fewer than 35 special education students
taking the tests.
The previous minimum was
20 students, and the move was criticized by some advocates
as shielding New Jersey's many small schools and districts
from the law's consequences.
State officials said they
had yet to determine how many schools were spared under the
changes but said it was not intended to protect districts
from the sanctions.
"We felt it would give us
a fairer picture of who was making progress," said Assistant
Commissioner Isaac Bryant, whose office oversees the law's
implementation.
Several schools in
Middlesex County reflect the difficulty and, in some cases,
illogic of the law and its quest to hold all students to the
same requirements.
This is South Amboy High
School's second year on the list. The school is now required
to offer students a chance to transfer -- even though there
is no other high school in the district to
attend.
But South Amboy School
Superintendent Patrick Martin said the law's standards have
focused the school on helping all students.
"We feel we're doing all
of the appropriate things. We're pinpointing our weaknesses,
and we have a back-to-the-basics approach," he
said.
Perth Amboy has several
schools at various stages of sanctions, including one middle
school in "corrective action." But the superintendent said
the district faces particular challenges with 70 percent of
its students just learning English.
"It's unreasonable to
expect a student who is new to this country to pass a
language test within a year," said Perth Amboy School
Superintendent John M. Rodecker. "I couldn't imagine having
to take a language test in the first year that I was in a
new country."
Staff reporters Chandra Hayslett and Bev McCarron
contributed to this article.John Mooney covers education. He
can be reached at jmooney@starledger.com, or (973) 392-1548.
Copyright 2004 The Star-Ledger. Used by NJ.com with
permission.
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