Clarkston school administrators and officials are saying, “Oh, no” to new legislation Education Yes and No Child Left Behind.
Director of Curriculum Geri Moore and Executive Director for Secondary Education John Diliegghio, with help from Consultant Ernie Bauer from Oakland Schools, discussed these state and federal mandates at the Jan. 27 Board of Education meeting.
Superintendent Dr. Al Roberts said he welcomes the new legislation, is not trying to hide from it and hopes schools across the state grow to be better because of it.
“I don’t think anyone would argue, we want our youngsters to be the best they can be.”
However, he said he is concerned with the potential impact the legislation has on curriculum and the way the schools present their curriculum as well as how it impacts policies as a board.
The No Child Left Behind Act became a federal law in January 2002, and the Education Yes School Performance Indicators were revised by the State Board of Education also in 2002.
The schools are quite troubled by one of the main aspects of Education Yes; the evaluation system for individual schools within the district.
The State Board of Education approved tables that will give schools varying percentages of grades for each grade and each subject area.
Schools will be given a score on a scale from 0 to 100, and common letter grades — A, B, C, D, F — will be used to report a school’s level of scoring to the public.
The main problem with this system, Bauer said, is because of the complicated evaluation system, which relies heavily on Michigan Education Assessment Program (MEAP) tests, many schools, like within the Clarkston district who have in the past been considered exemplary, could look like failing schools if their percentage score declines even one point from the previous year.
And just the opposite, a failing school may be assigned an A, because they showed a minor increase in their percentage from the year before.
Bauer said these adopted percentages suggest a pattern of strengths and weaknesses that seem more related to the lack of differences between school averages than to student achievement levels.
The consequences for being graded as a failing school vary, but are tough. In a worst case scenario, failing to meet the state’s adequate yearly progress for five years in a row will mean a school must either reopen as a charter school, replace all or most of the relevant staff, allow for state takeover, or go into private management.
The first set of grades will be released to the public April 1, at which time the Board of Education will schedule a workshop to discuss the results.
President Kurt Shanks said, “We’re a solid district, a good district. To see this (legislation) can drive us downhill is malicious and deserving of lawsuits.”
“If we try to explain why we have an F and not an A, we sound like we’re apologizing for a grade that’s not there,” Treasurer Janet Thomas said. “This whole thing is very discouraging.”
Roberts said what students are doing every day in the classroom is the best indicator of how a student is learning, but acknowledged there is good that can come out of this legislation. “We need to have our kids perform at higher levels.”
Trustee Steve Hyer added, “Clarkston will do our best regardless of the legislation.”