08/04/08

State Schools Superintendent Susan Castillo today released the 2007-08 preliminary federal ratings under No Child Left Behind for Oregon’s public elementary, middle, and high schools. The report lists schools that are making Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) and those identified for improvement under state and federal requirements. This is the sixth year states have issued AYP ratings under No Child Left Behind.

Under Oregon’s NCLB plan for this year, 60% of all students in public schools must reach state standards in English/language arts (up from 50% last year) and 59% of students must meet state standards in mathematics (up from 49% last year). The 2007-08 academic targets are ten points higher than last year and will increase another ten points in 2010-11. Schools must also meet an attendance or graduation requirement to meet overall AYP.

Oregon’s 2007-08 Preliminary AYP Report shows:
· 61.3% (758 of 1237 Oregon schools) met AYP standards; last year, 74% met.
· 35.1% (434 of 1237 Oregon schools) did not meet; last year, 21% did not meet.
· 69.4% (651 of 938) of elementary and middle schools met AYP compared to 85% in 2006-07.
· 35.8% (107 of 299) of high schools met AYP compared to 43% in 2006-07.
· 45 schools still have a PENDING Rating (school report is not complete).

“This information highlights the urgent work we need to do to make sure students are meeting standards at every grade,” Castillo said. “As Oregon implements the new diploma standards, we are creating more tools to help us move forward faster. At every grade, educators will need to check progress to make sure students get the targeted support they need to stay on course to graduation.”

“The Department continues to work to develop Oregon’s growth model, so we can track the progress of each student and provide even better information for teachers,” Castillo said.

“We have raised our expectations for students and schools, now we must provide the funding needed to meet the challenge. I will work with the Governor, Legislative leadership and our partners to see that our schools have the funds they need to ensure that students succeed at every grade,” Castillo said.

One of the purposes of the Preliminary AYP Report is to identify schools needing improvement, especially those serving a high percentage of children in poverty and receiving federal funds under Title I. School districts must inform parents and communities about schools identified as needing improvement.

This year, 36 Title I schools were designated as being in need of school improvement – that is, they did not meet for at least two consecutive years in the same subject. Schools that receive Title I funds and do not make AYP are required to provide parents with the opportunity to transfer to another school in the district that meets AYP. Title I schools that do not make AYP for a third consecutive year must provide students with supplemental services, such as tutoring or after-school assistance. Schools that do not meet AYP targets beyond three years are required to take additional corrective actions.
 
 

On a bright note, three Oregon schools previously in school improvement met AYP for two consecutive years and moved off the list. They are: East Gresham Elementary in the Gresham-Barlow School District, Grant Community School in the Salem Keizer School District, and Astoria Middle School in Astoria School District.

No Child Left Behind requires all students to meet state standards by 2014 and requires schools to meet growth targets each year in order to meet the Adequate Yearly Progress definition of the law. As part of AYP, students have their progress measured and reported by the following population groups: economically disadvantaged, students with disabilities, English language learners, and racial and/or ethnic groups. For more information on AYP, go to http://www.ode.state.or.us/search/page/?=1193

"One area of our work that I am especially proud of is supporting academic achievement of students with disabilities," Castillo said. "We are in the third year of two very important statewide initiatives to improve the performance of those students: Response to Intervention and Positive Behavior Supports."

Response to Intervention (RTI) provides high-quality instruction and interventions matched to student needs, frequent monitoring of progress to see if students respond to instruction and interventions, necessary changes in instruction based on student response, and application of this information to important educational decisions, such as the need for special education. RTI has the potential to limit the amount of academic failure that any student experiences and to increase the accuracy of special education evaluations. Its use could also reduce the number of children mistakenly identified as having learning disabilities when their learning problems are actually due to cultural differences or lack of adequate instruction. For detailed information on Oregon’s RTI initiative, go to http://www.ode.state.or.us/search/page/?id=315

The second statewide initiative is Positive Behavior Supports (PBS). The initiative provides districts with necessary skills to develop, implement, and sustain practices that create safe and effective learning environments for all students. PBS is an approach to discipline that emphasizes prevention of problem behaviors through proactive instruction of desired behavior, regular reinforcement of appropriate behavior, and monitoring and correction of problem behavior. PBS also allows for more intensive and individualized behavior support for students who do not respond to prevention efforts. For detailed information on Oregon’s PBS initiative, go to http://www.ode.state.or.us/search/page/?id=553

More than 72,000 students with disabilities attended Oregon public schools last year (about 13% of all students). The majority of these students were diagnosed with specific learning disabilities, speech/language impairments, or autism.
 
To see where you child's school ranks, go to: http://www.ode.state.or.us/data/reportcard/reports.aspx