Fewer Illinois public schools will face tough federal sanctions this year for academic performance, in part because the state relaxed rules on judging school progress.
But for the first time, some typically high-performing suburban schools must offer free after-school tutoring to students, according to state test data released Wednesday.
This year, 641 schools face federal sanctions under No Child Left Behind reforms, compared with 660 last year, preliminary test data showed. Those sanctions include allowing students to transfer to better-performing schools.
And of those schools, more than 100, including Oak Park and River Forest, Niles North, Hinsdale South, Evanston, and Glenbard East High Schools, also will have to offer students free after-school math and reading tutoring because their schools failed to meet federal standards for three years in a row.
The state released the list of 641 schools Wednesday, along with statewide test scores for 2005, which help determine whether schools passed or failed under the No Child Left Behind law.
The math and reading results were mixed.
High school students posted the highest passing rate in reading–59.5 percent–since 2001. But only 52.8 percent of juniors passed the math exam–the worst showing in five years.
Overall, about 73 percent of schools met federal standards in 2005, up slightly from 2004.
But 959 schools failed to meet federal standards at least two years in a row, up from 939 in 2004. Of those 2005 schools, 387 were in Chicago. Two years of failure means state or federal sanctions will kick in, with the toughest federal sanctions reserved for the 641 schools that get federal dollars for poor students.
No Child Left Behind was enacted in 2002 to ensure that all students perform at grade level, regardless of their backgrounds. Schools are judged by students’ progress on state tests and other factors.
This year, educators expected the number of failing schools to rise in Illinois because the federal reforms required more students to pass–47.5 percent, up from 40 percent in prior years.
But Illinois, like three dozen other states, loosened requirements on how schools are measured, making it easier to meet the new passing rates.
Among the changes, the state used a new statistical approach that allowed schools to meet the standards even if some of their test results fell short. The state also relaxed rules on how some test scores for special-education, minority and low-income students would be counted.
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The changes are sure to cause confusion for parents and educators trying to assess the strength of their schools, because comparisons with prior years are virtually impossible.
Supt. Donald Hendricks, in DuPage’s Addison School District 4, said he hopes the state doesn’t make further changes, because “then we’ll never have a sense of growth or honest achievement.”
One school in his district offered student transfers last year, but it met federal standards this year, he said. But that school will have to improve one more year before it can stop offering transfers, he said.
Even state officials acknowledged that it is difficult to interpret this year’s scores.
“We are giving you informed best guesses as to why scores are going up or down,” said Becky McCabe, who oversees the state testing program. “But we have to be very cautionary because there are all kinds of reasons why scores go up or down.”
But McCabe also praised areas of progress in statewide testing in 2005. “The state as a whole is on the way up; we are going in the right direction and we should be proud of that,” she said. “Of course, every educator wishes we were going faster, that the improvement was faster. But it takes a long time to make changes.”
In DuPage County, Glenbard East High School is facing tough federal sanctions this year.
The Lombard school must offer free tutoring to students. Overall, the majority of Glenbard students performed well on state tests. But the school’s Hispanic, low-income and special-education students fell short on the math exam, said Principal Bob McBride.
He said he’s not so confident that the outside tutoring companies can provide the kind of help his students need.
“I’ll do anything I can to link my neediest kids up to extra services because reading and math is so critical to their future,” he said. “But there is a disconnect between what the state expects of the school and what the state expects of the private provider. How do I know that these private providers are selling a good and effective service?”
McBride said that two years ago, the school’s Hispanic, low-income and special-education students failed to meet state goals in reading and math. The school organized small group reading programs and providing more teacher training. As a result, Hispanic and low-income students met the mark in reading on the spring test.
McBride wants the chance to do the same with math.
“I won’t be able to do it this year because I have to set aside that money for outside tutoring,” he said. “I’m not sure that, in the end, the outside tutoring is going to provide as much help for our kids.”
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Illinois public school test scores show mixed results
Nearly half of the state’s 8th- and 11th-grade students failed to meet standards on state math exams.
Only 8th-grade reading scores showed significant improvement from the previous year.
Percent meeting or exceeding standards
ILLINOIS STANDARDS ACHIEVEMENT TEST (ISAT)
%% READING
Grade 3
2004 65.0%
2005 66.6%
Percentage point increase +1.6
Grade 5
2004 60.9%
2005 59.8%
Percentage point decrease -1.1
Grade 8
2004 67.1%
2005 72.7%
Percentage point increase +5.6
MATH
Grade 3
2004 79.1%
2005 79.2%
Percentage point increase +0.1
Grade 5
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2004 71.8%
2005 73.1%
Percentage point increase +1.3
Grade 8
2004 54.4%
2005 54.3%
Percentage point decrease -0.1
PRAIRIE STATE ACHIEVEMENT EXAMINATION (PSAE)
READING
Grade 11
2004 56.8%
2005 59.5%
Percentage point increase +2.7
MATH
Grade 11
2004 53.1%
2005 52.8%
Percentage point decrease -0.3
Source: Illinois State Board of Education
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