Meeting standards an effort

Marisa O’Neil

To some, the federal No Child Left Behind Act represents educational

reforms badly needed to help get under-performing schools up to par

by setting high standards. To others, the standards are too high and

the help too little.

The federal act, signed into law two years ago this week, aims to

make every student proficient in math and English by 2014. Schools

that miss performance goals risk sanctions.

“Ideally, in a perfect world, kids would all match the universal

tenets of No Child Left Behind,” Wilson Elementary School Principal

Candy Sperling said. “But kids have individual needs. Standards can’t

always be universally applied.”

Under No Child Left Behind, at least 13.6% of students at each

school must test proficient in English, and 16% must test proficient

in math. If the entire population or any significant subgroup -- such

as English learners -- tests below that level two years in a row,

they are labeled as Program Improvement schools.

Three campuses in the Newport-Mesa Unified School District --

Whittier, Wilson and Pomona elementary schools -- are listed as

Program Improvement schools and so must revise their educational

plan, use funds for staff development and offer parents the choice to

send their children to other schools. Adams, College Park, Kaiser,

Killybrooke, Paularino, Pomona and Rea elementary schools, Ensign and

TeWinkle middle schools and Estancia High School did not make

performance targets last year and will become Program Improvement

schools if they miss target again this year.

In the 2004-05 school year, the goals jump to 24.4% for English

and 26.5% for math. Each year after that, they continue increase,

until 2014 when 100% of students are expected to be proficient.

But even if 100% students are proficient in math and English by

then, new students moving to that district could potentially throw

off the scale.

“The achievement targets set for test scores over the span of

eight to 10 years creates an impossible graph,” said Judi Conroy,

director of the single-subject credential program in UC Irvine’s

education department. “Even elite schools will have to meet

impossible achievement goals.”

Schools such as Whittier, Wilson and Pomona, which all have large

Latino populations, face the added challenge of teaching students to

take a test in a non-native language. On average, Sperling said, it

takes three to five years for students to learn to speak academic

English well enough to understand and take a standardized test.

Pomona and Whittier, which have only a few grades, test just

second- and third-graders. Yet those schools must stick to the same

standards with No Child Left Behind.

“With schools like Pomona and Whittier, that’s difficult,” said

Peggy Anatol, director of curriculum and assessment for the

Newport-Mesa Unified School District. “They don’t have long to

develop students’ language abilities before they’ve gone on to

another school. [No Child Left Behind] is a one size fits all measure

that might not fit all.”

Some people worry that constant testing creates a strain on

students and teachers.

“It’s piling more responsibility on teachers and kids,” said Wendy

Jawor, a first-grade teacher at Harbor View Elementary. “It’s got to

give somewhere. These are little kids. Their brains aren’t ready for

some of the concepts yet.”

This week, President Bush is marking the anniversary of No Child

Left Behind by visiting schools and touting its successes -- higher

test scores for fourth-graders nationwide and more money promised to

help struggling schools. At the same time, democratic presidential

hopeful Howard Dean, a former governor of Vermont, is criticizing the

president, accusing him of spending money on his campaign instead of

on promised educational programs.

Despite any drawback of No Child Left Behind, Newport-Mesa

officials are confident in the long run.

Though the law is 2 years old, it is still a work in progress,

Sperling said. It sets the bar high, but she’s glad that she at least

knows what the expectations are.

“I think Newport-Mesa can meet the mark,” Anatol said. “I think

we’re all working very diligently to teach to the standards. And I

think it’s reasonable to think we can continue our excellent

performance. It just will be a concerted effort every year.”

* MARISA O’NEIL covers education. She may be reached at (949)

574-4268 or by e-mail at marisa.oneil@latimes.com.