School falls shy of federal goals
Marisa O’Neil
Of 15 Newport-Mesa schools presenting student performance data last
week, all but one met standards set by the federal No Child Left
Behind Act.
To meet the standard, 13.6% of the school’s students must test at
the proficient or above level in English. Whittier Elementary in
Costa Mesa did not meet that federal goal, according to the reports
presented by principals to the district’s board of trustees on
Tuesday.
Whittier and 10 other schools also fell below the state’s Academic
Performance Index goal.
Peggy Anatol, director of assessment for the district’s schools,
said that Pomona and Wilson elementary schools -- which will present
their data on Oct. 14 -- also performed below federal goals in No
Child Left Behind’s annual yearly progress evaluations. She said that
the district is trying to appeal the schools’ status.
To avoid losing funding, schools that do not meet goals in math or
English for two consecutive years must revise the school plan, use
funds for staff development and allow parents to send their children
to schools that are meeting the standards.
In the first group of presentations, five schools -- Mariners,
Eastbluff, Harbor View, Newport and Newport Coast elementary --
exceeded the Academic Performance Index goal of 800 out of a possible
1,000. Harbor View, with a score of 899, topped the list.
On the other end of the scale, Whittier received a 602. TeWinkle,
Killybrooke and Davis elementary also scored below 700 in the
statewide assessment, which is based on testing data.
College Park, Kaiser and California elementary schools, Ensign
Middle School and Newport Harbor High School all received scores
between 700 and 800.
For Academic Performance Index assessments, schools must also
provide data for any subgroups that make up more than 15% of the
student population. Neither Eastbluff, Harbor View, Mariners or
Newport, with a predominantly Caucasian population, reported any
subgroups. Newport Coast recorded an Asian subgroup, which scored a
902 in the Academic Performance Index.
All the other schools reported data for a Hispanic subgroup and
some for a socio-economically disadvantaged subgroup. Both groups
scored consistently lower than the schools’ overall populations.
English language proficiency appears to play a major role in the
testing data. Most schools show a larger discrepancy between native
speakers and English learners in language arts than in math.
Whittier’s principal, Sharon Blakely, reported that the school has
a 79% English learner population. Whittier exceeded the federal
standard of 16% math proficiency, reporting that 39% of its students
met or exceeded the standard.
Whittier has set up a plan to improve English learners’ growth,
and meet or exceed federal standards by next year, according to
Blakely’s report. Each principal outlined basic strategies for
improvement at their schools, including implementation of the
district’s new Houghton Mifflin reading program.
District schools that did not present their performance and
testing data reports this week will do so Tuesday at a study session
from 2 to 5 p.m. and during the board of trustees’ regular meeting at
6:30 p.m.
The study session and meeting are open to the public. They will be
held in the Roderick H. MacMillian Board Meeting Room at the District
Education Center, 2985-A Bear St. in Costa Mesa. For a full schedule
of presentations, go to https://www.nmusd.k12.ca.us/depts/boe/am/.
* MARISA O’NEIL covers education. She may be reached at (949)
574-4268 or by e-mail at marisa.oneil@latimes.com.
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