Thirteen North Olympic Peninsula schools made a federal watch list for the first time this year, according to preliminary results from testing in the 2008-09 year, while three others slide into harsher categories.
That means hundreds of students will be eligible to transfer from their schools because they fell short of targets set for “adequate yearly progress” — or AYP — in the federal No Child Left Behind Act, even though relatively small shifts in Washington Assessment of Student Learning tests scores were seen from 2007-08 to this year.
Statewide, the number of schools on the federal watch list nearly doubled from last year, to 1,073, the state Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction announced on Friday.
“That’s because the bar keeps getting raised,” said Bill Bentley, Sequim superintendent.
“Ultimately, because of the way this is set up, every school in the country will eventually not make adequate yearly progress,” he added.
Each school’s success on the WASL determines its AYP. A certain minimum percentage of students must pass the tests, otherwise schools and districts are subject to being listed as having failed to meet progress expectations.
Two years
Schools that fail to make AYP in the same category two years in a row are listed as “in improvement.”
And every three years, the minimum percentage that must pass the tests rises because the federal law’s goal is to have 100 percent of students meet state standards by 2014.
All Peninsula schools districts but Quilcene School District — Brinnon is not rated — were said not to have met adequate yearly progress, even though 17 schools or programs within those district did meet the federal requirements.
That’s because if any school within a district does not meet the standard in any of 37 categories, the district is said not to have met the federal standard.
Of those, three districts are listed as being on the watch list of “in improvement:” Port Angeles, Quillayute Valley in Forks and Sequim.
But it isn’t the district rating that counts, it’s the school rating that leads to sanctions for that particular school.
Two years below the AYP standard means that a school is at “step one.”
Parent notification
The school must notify parents, offer them the opportunity to transfer students to another public school within the district that has not been identified as needing improvement — if one exists — and must pay for transportation if a transfer is requested.
The schools are eligible for technical assistance to improve performance and may be eligible to receive federal funds for school improvement activities.
The schools also must develop or revise a two-year school improvement plan within three months of the designation.
Schools is this category, listed by district, are:
• Chimacum — Chimacum elementary, high and middle school.
• Port Angeles — Port Angeles High School, Stevens Middle School.
• Port Townsend district — Port Townsend High School.
• Quillayute Valley — Forks Alternative School, Forks High School, Forks Middle School, and Insight School of Washington, a statewide online high school, based in the district.
• Sequim — Greywolf Elementary, Sequim Community School and Sequim High School.
Harsher sanctions are in store for Sequim Middle School and Forks Elementary School, which are listed at “step two,” meaning they have not met AYP for three years, and for Neah Bay Junior/Senior High School, which is listed at “step 3,” meaning it has not met the standard for four years.
In addition to continuing to offer transfers, “step 2” schools must give parents the opportunity to request supplemental educational services, such as tutoring, to low-achieving students.
Neah Bay Junior/Senior High School, as a “step 3” school, must continue to offer transfers and supplemental educational services and choose options from a list that includes implementing a new curriculum, appointing an outside expert to give advice on the school improvement plan, extending the school year or school day or restructuring the internal organization of the school.
WASL scores
Yet, several districts officials are pleased, overall, with their WASL scores.
Port Angeles Superintendent Jane Pryne said scores remained generally stable for Port Angeles students.
“We’re especially pleased that at the district level all students, elementary through high school, scored above the state average in every content area, even as some state scores dropped or stayed the same,” she said in a prepared statement.
“This is a testament to the hard work of our staff and teachers. It’s clear we have continued work to bring all of our students up to standard, and I’m excited about the prospect of the beginning of a new year, and continued improvement at all grade levels.”
In the Port Townsend School District, where the percentage of sophomores passing the writing test broke 90 percent this year, compared to 82.4 percent passing in 2007-2008, Port Townsend Superintendent Tom Opstad said, “Overall for our district, we are showing improvements and look forward to continuing that trend over the next couple of years as we continue to look at the WASL and also a change in assessments.”
Bentley noted that the scores showed that, “Reading has leveled off. . . . We’d like to see an upward trend,” while the tests showed “encouraging trends in the middle grades in math.
“Overall, in the math and science areas, we see a bit of a positive swing.”
Other superintendents did not respond to a request for comment on Friday after scores were released. Some were on vacation, and others in day-long meetings.
For this year’s scores, see http://tinyurl.com/n76v2u.
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Managing Editor/News Leah Leach can be reached at 360-417-3531 or leah.leach@peninsuladailynews.com.
