Twice as many local schools make federal watch list
Published 9:52 am Thursday, August 28, 2008
As expected, more schools than ever before in Snohomish County and statewide have been added to a federal watch list for uneven academic achievement.
The number of schools failing to make the grade more than doubled in 2008 — locally and across Washington.
This morning, the state released an annual list of schools that didn’t make “adequate yearly progress,” meaning there were groups of students within those schools who didn’t earn high enough scores on the WASL based on targets set under the federal No Child Left Behind law.
In 2008, 628 schools and 57 school districts statewide have been placed on improvement status under the federal law. That’s up from last year, when 280 schools and 30 districts were in improvement status.
In Snohomish County, there are about 60 schools that are now on the federal list, more than double the number from a year ago. Six school districts in Snohomish County are on the list. They are Edmonds, Everett, Lake Stevens, Marysville, Monroe and Sultan.
Under the law, schools and districts are judged not just on their overall reading and math test scores from the Washington Assessment of Student Learning, but on how students in individual categories perform as well.
A percentage of students classified as low-income, English-language learners, special education and those from five different races or ethnicities must pass the WASL in order for schools to make adequate yearly progress.
A change in the way the students in those categories are counted has lengthened the list, according to local school district leaders.
About 15 percent more students in each elementary, middle and high school must pass the reading and math WASL than in the year prior in order to make adequate yearly progress under the law. The passing rate goal is increased every three years in the state of Washington and 2008 was designated as a year for raising the bar.
Historically, a majority of schools have ended up on the list because not enough special education and recent immigrants are able to pass the WASL.
Two years ago, Kamiak High School was placed on the list, despite some of the highest overall test scores in the state. It is still on the list, although it reached its test score targets in 2008.
“There is no question that every single one of our schools has room for improvement,” said Terry Bergeson, Washington state Superintendent of Public Instruction. “However, this year the fatal flaws of No Child Left Behind have become abundantly clear. The law has gone too far.”
Four schools statewide are coming off the list in 2008, after meeting all their federal achievement targets for the second straight year. Those schools include Scriber Lake High School in Edmonds.
