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Of 507 public school districts in Minnesota, 296, including many in the area, did not meet No Child Left Behind-mandated adequate yearly progress standards for the 2007-08 school year, compared with 233 of 503 districts the year before.

Area Minn. school districts and AYP

“It means we need to initiate an improvement plan,” Crookston Public Schools Superintendent Wayne Gilman said.

The Crookston district did not make AYP this year or last year and has been identified as “in need of improvement” for the 2008-09 year, along with 162 other districts.

The increase in districts missing the mark is a result of slight improvements in proficiency and expected increases in the reading and math AYP targets. The federal government requires 100 percent proficiency in the two subjects by 2014. AYP in Minnesota is measured through standardized testing in grades three through eight, 10 and 11.

But the number of schools and districts missing AYP this year is not an accurate portrayal of the success of public schools, Gilman said, because results can be hindered by the scores of a small number of students.

The only subgroup in his district that missed proficiency in reading was special education, and only narrowly.

“That’s because of one child,” he said. “We missed it by 1/10.”

Gilman appealed to the Minnesota Department of Education on the grounds that students have personal situations and circumstances that may keep them from meeting the standards, he said, and that the target was missed by such a small margin. The Hispanic population at Highland Elementary School missed reading proficiency by less than 1 percent. Gilman’s appeal was denied.

Some students also are in more than one subgroup, he added, so low scores from one student can bring proficiency down in more than one area.

“But that doesn’t excuse us from the responsibility,” he said. “You establish an improvement plan. You identify tangible solutions.”

Gilman’s improvement plan will reach all students, not just target the areas that need improvement.

“That’s the benefit — it improves for everyone,” he said. “If I increase reading time, I’d do it district-wide. We do things that are best for the children. That’s the main goal.”

Another way to look at the statewide results is that 937 of 1,920 schools in the state did not make AYP, leaving 983 that did. In 2007, only 727 of 1,918 schools missed the mark and 483 of 1,888 the year before.

If a school in a district does not make AYP, that doesn’t necessarily mean the district overall missed it. Schools receiving Title 1 funds — low-income schools — that miss AYP two years consecutively are identified as needing improvement. Those schools provide school choice with transportation to students who advance in the stages of “in need of improvement” status. Schools also may provide supplemental educational services such as tutoring.

North Dakota’s public schools also struggled with AYP in the 2007-08 year. Of 470 schools, 169 did not meet the standards, compared with 41 of 478 the year before and numbers down in the 40s for at least four years before that. The change in North Dakota also was attributed to the expected increase in the target number of students required to meet the standards.

East Grand Forks Public School District made AYP this year, after two years of missing it.

“District-wide there’s been an improvement,” said Superintendent David Pace.

In 2007, two subgroups at South Point Elementary missed AYP in both math and reading. This year, just one of those subgroups missed AYP in reading.

“We went from four cells missing it down to only one,” Pace said.

East Grand Forks Public Schools now will focus its Title 1 funds to only one school, New Heights Elementary. Because of the district’s “in need of improvement” status for the past two years, it was required to spend a certain amount of those funds on staff development.

“That takes money out of the classroom,” Pace said. “This allows more money to stay in the classroom.”

The other schools still will maintain some Title 1 services and the district will not be on the needing improvement list for the 2008-09 year, Pace said.

“We’re looking at the areas in which we have needs to continue,” he said of improvement. “It’s going to be a continuous process.”

Pace agreed with Gilman in that improvements are made district-wide.

“We look at the high achievers and learners and also the ones who need remediation,” he said. “We’re targeting early intervention and improvement.”

Gibson covers education. Reach her at (701) 787-6754; (800) 477-6572, ext. 754; or send e-mail to lgibson@gfherald.com.

http://www.grandforksherald.com/articles/index.cfm?id=83583