With No Child, common sense must prevail

By Barbara Nemko

While the boards of trustees of Napa Valley Unified School District and the Napa County Office of Education have sent resolutions to Washington suggesting changes to the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act, it is the powerful voice of parents and community members that Congress needs to hear.

Now is the time for you to take action to ensure that some of the more egregious provisions of the act are corrected. But before we look at No Child Left Behind, let’s examine the gains that have been made locally in the last two years.

The percent of children who are proficient or advanced has risen across the board. In grade four English language arts, for example, 53 percent of students are proficient or advanced, compared with 43 percent two years ago. In grade two, 61 percent of students are proficient or advanced in math, compared with 47 percent two years ago. Other gains are slightly more modest, but the trend is there, in all grades and both subject areas.

Are we acknowledged for this progress? No. Did you know that by 2013-2014, the law expects that 100 percent of students will be proficient in language arts and mathematics? This applies equally to schools with students from highly educated, wealthy parents and to schools whose students are largely newcomers to this country and enter school speaking no English.

Did you know that each state is judged by the percentage of students who are proficient in their own state’s content standards? Standards vary widely in difficulty from state to state, with California’s being among the most challenging. If you have any question about this, please feel free to call my office and I will be happy to administer a sample test.

Did you know that English learners have a three-year window in which to take assessments in their native language, after which they must demonstrate proficiency on an English language assessment that uses highly specific, academic vocabulary? If you went to Germany or France tomorrow, would you be “proficient” in three years?

Did you know that, in California, a parent may “opt” a child out of taking the annual state test for reasons the parent deems in the best interest of the child? The participation rate of the school is affected by this decision, and if the school, or any subgroup, does not have a 95 percent participation rate, the school becomes a candidate for Program Improvement.

Did you know that an elementary school teacher who teaches many subjects is deemed “highly qualified” for all subjects by virtue of a single test or college degree while teachers of special education and alternative programs who teach in self-contained middle and/or high school programs must meet the “highly qualified” criteria separately for English, mathematics, social studies and science? This is the equivalent of taking a college major in four areas.

If you want improvement, there are several people in Washington who need to hear from you. In addition to the president, Sens. Feinstein and Boxer and Rep. Mike Thompson, you should send letters to Sen. Ted Kennedy and Rep. George Miller, as they are the major proponents of the current version of NCLB. Let them know that:

• You want high standards and realistic targets for improvement.

• It is unrealistic to expect 100 percent of students to be proficient in English language arts and math. It will unfairly demoralize the hardest-working teachers in the most challenging schools.

• Rather than one bar for all schools, reform should focus on how much growth students in a school make from year to year.

• Focusing reform on only math and language arts has narrowed the curriculum in order to raise test scores in these areas.

• It is counterproductive to expect that special education and alternative school teachers who teach self-contained classes in middle and/or high school should meet the “highly qualified” criteria in four subject areas. The unintended consequence is to reduce the pool of teachers interested and willing to teach these challenging populations.

• When a parent opts a child out of testing for a valid reason, the school or district should not be penalized.

• Putting 100 percent of schools into Program Improvement in 2014 will kill public education.

We are at the cusp of an opportunity, not to skirt accountability, but to notify Congress that common sense must prevail as this legislation is reauthorized. While no one wants any child left behind, Program Improvement imposes on schools, and even districts, a number of constraints and sanctions that have negative consequences for everyone. Please support our students and teachers by letting Washington know this legislation must be fixed. I would be happy to e-mail you a sample letter to help get you started.

(Nemko is Napa County Superintendent of Schools and lives in Napa.)

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