Students Leave Low-Scoring School

The parents of 22 students at Johnson Elementary School opted to move their children to different elementary schools in District 200 after the school failed to meet Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) in 2011.

Adequately Yearly Progress is the measurement for reading and math performances for the federal educational reform initiative No Child Left Behind. In Illinois, AYP is measured by the Illinois Student Achievement Tests. NCLB requires that every child meet standards in reading and math by 2014.

This was the second year Johnson Elementary failed to meet AYP, according to district officials. Because the school receives federal Title I funds—monies allotted to assist public schools with high numbers of low income students—parents at Johnson Elementary have been given the option to send their children to another elementary school. Under NCLB rules, schools that receive Title I funds must offer parents that choice if the school fails to meet academic standards two years in a row in the same subject. 

The No Child Left Behind Act regulations called for 85 percent of each subgroup at Johnson to meet AYP goals. The subgroups at Johnson that failed to meet AYP included special education, low income, Hispanic and limited English proficient, according Faith Dahlquist, assistant superintendent of educational services at District 200. If any subgroup fails to meet AYP, then the whole school does not meet AYP.

The subgroups defined by NCLB are: Racial/Ethnic: Whites, Blacks, Hispanics, Native American, Asian/Pacific Islander, and multi-ethnic; Economically Disadvantaged: Students on free or reduced lunch; Students with Disabilities: Students with IEPs; and Limited English Proficient students.

Dahlquist said the students at Johnson met the requirements for math, but fell short in reading.

“We have a lot of students at Johnson who are limited in their English skills and it can be difficult for them to take a reading test in English. But in math, those same students are passing,” Dahlquist said.

In July the district sent letters to Johnson parents informing them of the AYP scores and the option to change schools. Dahlquist said school officials hosted a forum earlier this month to explain the AYP situation as well as the intricacies of NCLB to school parents.

Overall, 10 District 200 schools failed to meet federal academic standards in math or reading for 2011.

One subgroup that consistently failed to meet AYP standards in the district is special education subgroup, Dahlquist said. She said special education students are academically behind their peers and need additional assistance. She added that if they were on the same level as other students academically they would not be placed in a special education subgroup.

Dahlquist said the school district is responding to the latest AYPs by pursuing several educational programs, including use of additional reading support for first- and second-grade classes and additional work in vocabulary. Additionally, Dahlquist said the districts new all-day kindergarten program will benefit many students, especially those with little to no proficiency in English.

“A full day of kindergarten will be able to greatly benefit those students,” she said.

For the coming academic year, 92.5 percent of students in each subgroup must meet the federal NCLB standard. NCLB states that the percentage of students meeting standards increases every year until 2013-2014, when 100 percent of students must meet standards. Dahlquist said early reports indicate that 80 percent of Illinois’ public schools did not make AYP for 2011.

Harvey Smith, director of Illinois Interactive Report Card at Northern Illinois University, said schools are typically notified of AYP results in late June. The districts then have 90 days to notify parents of their options.

District 200 Superintendent Dr. Brian Harris said in the Aug. 10 board meeting that he thinks the high NCLB standards have "raised the bar in the importance of paying attention" to students' test scores, but that consequences and penalties have also risen. 

The number of District 200 schools that did not make AYP almost doubled from 2010 to 2011, with four schools failing to make NCLB standards in 2010.