87% of N.M.’s Schools Get Failing Grade
Only 13 percent of schools across the state and about 4 percent of APS schools made Adequate Yearly Progress under the No Child Left Behind Act this year, in a sharp decrease from last year.
But officials were quick to point out Friday the decline was a predicted consequence of the act’s ever-increasing achievement goals. The federal law raises the goals annually, with the target of all districts reaching 100 percent proficiency in 2014.
Here’s the link to the list of schools that made and failed AYP on http://ped.state.nm.us/ayp2011/School%20Listing%202011.pdf
Last year, 23.3 percent of schools statewide and about 12 percent of APS schools made AYP.
Also in APS, 50.7 percent of students scored proficient or above in reading, 43.9 percent were proficient in math, and 44.8 percent were proficient in science.
But don’t try comparing this year’s scores to last year’s.
New Mexico has updated the way it scores the Standards-Based Assessment test. That means the percentage of students who are proficient in math or reading is not comparable to past years, and superintendents are warning parents not to try a comparison.
Secretary of Education-designate Hanna Skandera said regardless of nuances in the data, the scores are unacceptable and are “a call-out for reform.”
“We can get stuck on comparisons right now or we can ask ourselves, do we fundamentally want something different for our kids?” Skandera said. “And hands down, I would challenge anyone to raise their hand and say, ‘No, this is good for me and this is good for our state.’”
The combined scores of all students statewide showed 41.8 percent of students proficient or above in math, 42 percent proficient in science and 49.8 percent proficient in reading.
As for AYP, middle schools struggled most, with only 6.3 percent statewide making AYP. Among elementary schools, 8.2 percent made AYP, along with 17.8 percent of high schools.
The results show the state is still facing a yawning achievement gap. In math, 59 percent of all Anglo students scored proficient, compared with 36 percent of Hispanic students. In reading, 67 percent of Anglo students were proficient, compared to 44 percent of Hispanic students. And in science, the comparison was 63 percent of Anglo students vs. 35 percent of Hispanic students.
Superintendents expressed concern that the scores, which dropped or remained flat statewide in math, science and reading, would give parents the wrong idea or lead to invalid comparisons with last year’s scores.
APS Superintendent Winston Brooks sets annual district goals for growth on the standardized tests. The district met only five of its 14 performance targets, down from 10 targets met last year. Brooks said he will have to treat 2011 scores as a new baseline, since they cannot be compared with the previous year. He sent out an email to the APS board and leadership Friday morning warning them — in red type and capital letters — that the new scores are not comparable to the 2010 results.
The changes in the scoring stem from an occasional process of recalibrating the test and changing the “cut scores” — or the scores that students must achieve to be labeled “nearing proficient,” “proficient,” and so on. So the same raw score could land a student in a different level of proficiency.
The scoring adjustment was done in part to correct historical scoring inequities. In past years, sixth-graders have had to reach a disproportionately high bar on the SBA, resulting in scores that were too low compared to other grade levels. There was also concern that the 11th-grade bar was too low, resulting in “proficient” students who needed college remediation. The testing company Measured Progress adjusted the scores for sixth and eleventh grades, resulting in a ripple of changes to the scoring of every grade level.
Las Cruces Public Schools Superintendent Stan Rounds said he understands why the test had to be adjusted but is disappointed that he can’t make valid comparisons.
“I know as I walk through the classrooms and look at the professional development we’ve done, that we’ve improved education in Las Cruces. I know that to be a fact,” Rounds said. He cited an increase in graduation rates, ACT and PSAT scores and other assessments as proof his district is making strides.
“When you look at the outcomes, I think we have good momentum,” Rounds said. “The problem is as I look at the AYP results today, you don’t see that.”
He said as the new school year approaches, his challenge will be to keep teachers optimistic in the face of the discouraging data.
Rep. Rick Miera, D-Albuquerque, chairman the Legislative Education Study Committee, said Friday he was concerned about the process of changing the cut scores. He said he understood it was necessary, but that districts should have been included in the process.
“They should have worked with the school districts so they could act instead of react,” Miera said. “Instead it was, ‘Oh, by the way, we changed the scoring.’”
Some superintendents reported they had not learned about the change in cut scores until earlier this week.
PED spokesman Larry Behrens countered that the department did alert districts to the changes, and said the process has been ongoing since last fall — before Skandera ever took the reins.
“Every step was taken to work with superintendents to make sure these numbers were presented in a fair and accurate way,” Behrens said.
Skandera said she does not agree with the pass-fail nature of No Child Left Behind, which labels schools as failing if they miss even one of several criteria.
“According to this, 87 percent of our schools are not making AYP. They’re, quote, failing. I actually don’t believe that,” Skandera said. She said she looks forward to introducing her A-through-F grading system for schools, which will indicate the growth schools have made instead of just their raw scores.
The PED is still deciding how those grades will be awarded, but some potential models would control for demographics such as income level. Baseline school grades are set to be released sometime later this summer or in the fall, and the first official grades will be released next summer, based on 2012 test data.
As more states move toward their own school accountability systems, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan has signaled that he may give out waivers within the next year, exempting states from the requirements and penalties of NCLB as long as they have other systems in place. Skandera has indicated she intends to apply for such a waiver.
Read more: ABQJournal Online » 87% of N.M.’s Schools Get Failing Grade http://www.abqjournal.com/main/2011/07/23/news/87-of-n-m-%e2%80%99s-schools-get-failing-grade.html#ixzz1T07hNkkg
Subscribe Now Albuquerque Journal
Only 13 percent of schools across the state and about 4 percent of APS schools made Adequate Yearly Progress under the No Child Left Behind Act this year, in a sharp decrease from last year.
But officials were quick to point out Friday the decline was a predicted consequence of the act’s ever-increasing achievement goals. The federal law raises the goals annually, with the target of all districts reaching 100 percent proficiency in 2014.
Here’s the link to the list of schools that made and failed AYP on http://ped.state.nm.us/ayp2011/School%20Listing%202011.pdf
Last year, 23.3 percent of schools statewide and about 12 percent of APS schools made AYP.
Also in APS, 50.7 percent of students scored proficient or above in reading, 43.9 percent were proficient in math, and 44.8 percent were proficient in science.
But don’t try comparing this year’s scores to last year’s.
New Mexico has updated the way it scores the Standards-Based Assessment test. That means the percentage of students who are proficient in math or reading is not comparable to past years, and superintendents are warning parents not to try a comparison.
Secretary of Education-designate Hanna Skandera said regardless of nuances in the data, the scores are unacceptable and are “a call-out for reform.”
“We can get stuck on comparisons right now or we can ask ourselves, do we fundamentally want something different for our kids?” Skandera said. “And hands down, I would challenge anyone to raise their hand and say, ‘No, this is good for me and this is good for our state.’”
The combined scores of all students statewide showed 41.8 percent of students proficient or above in math, 42 percent proficient in science and 49.8 percent proficient in reading.
As for AYP, middle schools struggled most, with only 6.3 percent statewide making AYP. Among elementary schools, 8.2 percent made AYP, along with 17.8 percent of high schools.
The results show the state is still facing a yawning achievement gap. In math, 59 percent of all Anglo students scored proficient, compared with 36 percent of Hispanic students. In reading, 67 percent of Anglo students were proficient, compared to 44 percent of Hispanic students. And in science, the comparison was 63 percent of Anglo students vs. 35 percent of Hispanic students.
Superintendents expressed concern that the scores, which dropped or remained flat statewide in math, science and reading, would give parents the wrong idea or lead to invalid comparisons with last year’s scores.
APS Superintendent Winston Brooks sets annual district goals for growth on the standardized tests. The district met only five of its 14 performance targets, down from 10 targets met last year. Brooks said he will have to treat 2011 scores as a new baseline, since they cannot be compared with the previous year. He sent out an email to the APS board and leadership Friday morning warning them — in red type and capital letters — that the new scores are not comparable to the 2010 results.
The changes in the scoring stem from an occasional process of recalibrating the test and changing the “cut scores” — or the scores that students must achieve to be labeled “nearing proficient,” “proficient,” and so on. So the same raw score could land a student in a different level of proficiency.
The scoring adjustment was done in part to correct historical scoring inequities. In past years, sixth-graders have had to reach a disproportionately high bar on the SBA, resulting in scores that were too low compared to other grade levels. There was also concern that the 11th-grade bar was too low, resulting in “proficient” students who needed college remediation. The testing company Measured Progress adjusted the scores for sixth and eleventh grades, resulting in a ripple of changes to the scoring of every grade level.
Las Cruces Public Schools Superintendent Stan Rounds said he understands why the test had to be adjusted but is disappointed that he can’t make valid comparisons.
“I know as I walk through the classrooms and look at the professional development we’ve done, that we’ve improved education in Las Cruces. I know that to be a fact,” Rounds said. He cited an increase in graduation rates, ACT and PSAT scores and other assessments as proof his district is making strides.
“When you look at the outcomes, I think we have good momentum,” Rounds said. “The problem is as I look at the AYP results today, you don’t see that.”
He said as the new school year approaches, his challenge will be to keep teachers optimistic in the face of the discouraging data.
Rep. Rick Miera, D-Albuquerque, chairman the Legislative Education Study Committee, said Friday he was concerned about the process of changing the cut scores. He said he understood it was necessary, but that districts should have been included in the process.
“They should have worked with the school districts so they could act instead of react,” Miera said. “Instead it was, ‘Oh, by the way, we changed the scoring.’”
Some superintendents reported they had not learned about the change in cut scores until earlier this week.
PED spokesman Larry Behrens countered that the department did alert districts to the changes, and said the process has been ongoing since last fall — before Skandera ever took the reins.
“Every step was taken to work with superintendents to make sure these numbers were presented in a fair and accurate way,” Behrens said.
Skandera said she does not agree with the pass-fail nature of No Child Left Behind, which labels schools as failing if they miss even one of several criteria.
“According to this, 87 percent of our schools are not making AYP. They’re, quote, failing. I actually don’t believe that,” Skandera said. She said she looks forward to introducing her A-through-F grading system for schools, which will indicate the growth schools have made instead of just their raw scores.
The PED is still deciding how those grades will be awarded, but some potential models would control for demographics such as income level. Baseline school grades are set to be released sometime later this summer or in the fall, and the first official grades will be released next summer, based on 2012 test data.
As more states move toward their own school accountability systems, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan has signaled that he may give out waivers within the next year, exempting states from the requirements and penalties of NCLB as long as they have other systems in place. Skandera has indicated she intends to apply for such a waiver.
Read more: ABQJournal Online » 87% of N.M.’s Schools Get Failing Grade http://www.abqjournal.com/main/2011/07/23/news/87-of-n-m-%e2%80%99s-schools-get-failing-grade.html#ixzz1T07hNkkg
Subscribe Now Albuquerque Journal
Comments