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71 °F Forecast | Road Cams Sunday, September 12, 2004 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Prime Times Wellness Connection Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Rogue Valley's Finest EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People MARKETPLACE Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Classifieds Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend August 16, 2004 Ashland superintendent not satisfied with results of annual progress report By ANITA BURKE Mail Tribune Although all Ashland schools met federal "adequate yearly progress" standards, Superintendent Juli Di Chiro is critical of the achievement measure. In fact, she spearheaded an effort by superintendents throughout Southern Oregon to bring perceived problems with the No Child Left Behind law to the attention of officials in Washington, D.C. "I have a lot of concerns about the system," she said. "I think it sets schools up to fail. It’s unfair and statistically invalid." After educators from Jackson, Josephine and Klamath counties met with Sen. Ron Wyden late last year, Di Chiro drafted a paper outlining their concerns. Every superintendent in all three counties signed it. To make adequate yearly progress, schools must get a set percentage of students in nine subgroups to meet state standards in math and reading. The subgroups include racial and ethnic categories, students learning English, disabled children and those who are poor. Schools also have attendance and graduation targets and must test nearly all students. Advertisement A miss in any category results in the school being labeled as having not made "adequate progress." Some students — such as those learning English and those with physical, emotional and learning disabilities — inherently have difficulties meeting classroom standards, school officials said. Soon after these students can perform at grade level, they are shifted out of the subgroup, leaving only struggling students in the category. "We have identified these kids who need special help, and then we are holding them to the same standards as everyone else," said Phil Long, Medford School District’s curriculum director. "We do want all kids to work at grade level, but we’ve known there was work to be done with English-language learners and disabled students." In March, Wyden and state Superintendent of Public Education Susan Castillo unveiled a plan to address concerns about the No Child Left Behind law. The plan called for states to have more flexibility to design a system that gives a composite score to reflect a school’s successes and problems. Although the plan resulted in reform of teacher requirements (another part of the federal law) no changes were made to student progress standards, Wyden’s office reported. The superintendents’ paper also criticized the progress standard for measuring one year’s third, fifth, eighth and 10th grades against the previous year’s group instead of tracking students’ performance over time. Comparing students’ progress against their previous test scores is a more valid measure of achievement, Di Chiro said. "We need a system that looks at one group of kids compared to themselves," she said. Educators also called for "a more robust assessment system" that would include classroom performance, student work and tests administered at several points during the year to see whether students are learning. A single test now forms the basis for progress designations. "We want to create a system that will help people see that we serve kids and that we can really see how kids do and step in to fix problems sooner," Di Chiro said. This month, Castillo called for educators to join her in creating a clear and consistent accountability system for schools. Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2004 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback ADVERTISERS A D V E R T I S E R S SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Opportunities