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Report cards get low grades Mail Tribune / Bob Pennell McLoughlin Middle School students bone up on state testing skills in the school�s computer lab to prepare for the annual tests that are taken by all students in third, fifth, eighth and 10th grades. Educators say the tests� value is diminished by the many variables among schools, including the numbers of students exempted from testing. Educators say many variables reduce value of school ratings By Damian Mann Oregon�s "report card" on education gets a failing grade from some Jackson County administrators for its omission of information and for its inaccurate description of schools. The second annual report card was released in January. It is the product of a 1999 law passed by the state Legislature that was intended to give the public a means to measure the performance of their schools. But educators say the grading system is so riddled with variables as to make the grades � and particularly school-to-school comparisons � almost meaningless. Chief among those variables is the number of students exempted from taking standardized tests, according to figures released by the Oregon Department of Education. Exempting students In Jackson County, some schools that received high ratings from the state also had a large number of students who were exempted from taking the certificate of initial mastery (CIM) tests, a major component of the report card. Jefferson Elementary School, named "exceptional" in the report card, is among those that have struggled to include all of its students in the tests. School administrators say factors outside of their control have resulted in as few as 72 percent of students participating in some tests. "Our population has a much higher poverty rate and a high number of transient students," said Principal Pamela Jones. Out of 754 schools in the state ranked from lowest to highest socio-economically, Jefferson slipped from a ranking of 327 in 1999 to 196 in 2000. The highest ranking a school could receive is 754; the lowest ranking is 1. Teachers, counselors, administrators and parents worked as a team to determine which of Jefferson�s students shouldn�t take the test. "We are not going to be able to test a student with an IQ of 50," Jones said. An accurate reflection? In the CIM tests, Jefferson tested 82 percent of its third-graders in both reading and math. In fifth grade, 72 percent were tested in reading and 76 percent in math. The percentage tested is well below the state averages. But of the students tested, most met or exceeded the state�s benchmarks, giving the school the "exceptional" rating. In comparison, Patrick Elementary School in Central Point tested 96 to 99 percent of its students in the third and fifth grades, but received only a satisfactory rating, two notches below Jefferson�s marks on the state report card. Jones said that for three years, Jefferson has tested between 72 to 84 percent in the various tests. The state average is 90 to 95 percent. "The number of students we test hasn�t varied significantly from year to year," she said. She did agree that the 72 percent of fifth-graders tested last year in reading was lower than normal, primarily because of a high number of special education students. Washington Elementary School, with one of the lowest socio-economic ratings in the state (37), tested between 66 and 71 percent of its students. Jackson Elementary School, which has the 12th-worst socio-economic ratings in the state, tested 83 to 86 percent of its students. In contrast, Jacksonville Elementary School, with a high socio-economic ranking of 654, ranged from 88 percent to 95 percent of students tested. Jacksonville and Jefferson were the only schools in Jackson County to receive exceptional ratings from the state. Aaron Munter, data manager for the Oregon Department of Education, said the issue of exempting students from state tests is a hot topic throughout Oregon. "It is not an easy practice to exempt a student," she said. "You have parents, administrators, counselors and teachers involved in that decision." Schools throughout the state recently received five possible scores on the report card: exceptional, strong, satisfactory, low or unacceptable, based mostly on CIM scores. A majority of the 54 schools in Jackson County showed improvement in performance this year. Room for improvement Even the state Department of Education admits its report card system has room for improvement, particularly in dealing with special education students and Spanish-speakers. "Part of the problem is that you are not able to measure accurately the entire student population," said Steve Slater, assessment coordinator for the state. Slater said the state is working on ways to include more special education and Spanish speakers in the testing program. Currently, modified tests are given to some of these students, but the results are not calculated in the report card. That, educators say, is just another example of the deficiencies in the report card system. Often the state refers to the report cards as a "snapshot" of how a school is doing. But school administrators say they provide the state with much more information than is released. Tim Mobley, director of curriculum at Phoenix-Talent School District, said, "The state asks for 10 times the data that you see on the report card." The data collection has been frustrating for districts like Mobley�s, which have had to invest in computers, software and manpower to collect the information required by the state. "The state wants the data but they don�t want to give us the funding for it," Mobley said. Failing grade for the state Schools have also questioned the state�s decision to list attendance figures under the heading of "student behavior." That�s one of the reasons why North Medford High School Principal Don Lacey recently said, "The state Department of Education gets an F." Lacey noted that schools are penalized for encouraging dropouts to re-enroll, because those dropouts are more apt to leave school again and be counted as dropping out twice or more. Many educators also question the overall scores that schools are given. An "exceptional" rating doesn�t necessarily mean a school is better than one deemed "strong." The state score is a measurement of progress over time, but the better a school does, the more difficult it becomes to improve. For instance, under the state plan, a school that consistently received high CIM scores could get a worse rating than a school that had lower scores one year, but improved the next. For schools like Jefferson, determining why they received an exceptional score is elusive because of the complexity of the state�s formula and the way it uses the data. "I couldn�t go in and calculate the data and determine why we got our score," Jones said. "It�s too complicated for me. "There are all kinds of flaws in the way the state assessment works," said Jones. "There are people who say we should be testing every year." Currently, the state tests students only in grades three, five, eight and 10. The report card doesn�t take into account the breadth of a school�s offerings, such as arts programs. Nor does it measure discipline and safety at schools. Most educators agree that the report card is not the best way to judge a school. "A report card, like a report card for a student, is only a piece of what a school offers," Jones said. Reach reporter Damian Mann at 776-4476, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.