Six schools in county below state standard

Terry Webster

Friday, March 2, 2001 | 2:30 a.m.

Grading the schools

One Clark County school achieved a top grade and six received poor grades in the schools performance report released by the Nevada Department of Education. The rankings were based on scores from the fall 2000 TerraNova exam. Grading the schools

EXEMPLARY

Percentage of students in top quarter:

District/School Reading Language Math Science

Adv Tech Academy (ATA) 62.6 58.4 67.8 65.1 District/School Reading Language Math Science

NEEDING IMPROVEMENT

Percentage of students in bottom quarter:

School Reading Language Math Science

Fitzgerald Elementary 61.7 66.3 50.6 72.8 Lynch Elementary 53.5 47.7 44.5 47.4 Martinez Elementary 54.2 44.4 44.6 64.2 Odyssey Charter 53.8 40.7 53.8 44.4 Martin Middle 49.6 40.2 41.7 50.9 West Middle 50.1 44.1 49.1 52.0

In its annual statewide performance review of schools, the Nevada Department of Education named one in Clark County as exemplary and six as in need of improvement.

Advanced Technologies Academy in Las Vegas posted its fourth consecutive year on the state's exemplary achievement category.

Fitzgerald, Lynch and Martinez elementary schools, and Martin and West middle schools are on the list of schools needing improvement, along with the Odyssey Charter School.

Gateways to Success Charter School in Churchill County was the only other Nevada school designated as needing improvement.

Schools that have more than 40 percent of students scoring below the 26th percentile on the TerraNova exam in all four subject areas -- reading, language, math and science -- receive the designation from the state.

The TerraNova exam, given in grades 4, 8 and 10, compares the performance of Nevada students to how other students performed nationally.

Fitzgerald Elementary, now in its fourth consecutive year on the list, will remain on academic probation, state officials said. Additionally, the state will be working with a panel to oversee the academic probation and design a new plan for improvement.

"We need to start fresh," said Terry Owens, evaluation consultant for the Nevada Department of Education.

The Clark County School District has been discussing a contract with Edison Schools, a for-profit organization out of New York state that specializes in taking over at-risk schools and improving their performances. The School Board has researched Edison and met with its representatives but has not yet reached a decision about whether to go that route. The School Board will next discuss this possible recourse at a special board meeting March 15.

Fitzgerald's former plan for improvement centered around the "Success For All" reading program. And while that program has been successful in other schools, it hasn't shown the results Fitzgerald had hoped for, Owens said.

The state also determined that Fitzgerald needs to tighten up on student discipline, Owens said.

"There have been some severe discipline problems, and with that, not a lot of teaching can go on," she said, adding that part of it can be traced to a relatively inexperienced teaching staff and high teacher turnover at the school. "But these kids are capable, and we believe they can get it done."

Martin Middle School is now in its second consecutive year as being designated as needing improvement and will be placed on academic probation and a nine-member panel will be appointed to oversee the school.

The five remaining schools on the state's list for needing improvement will be required to submit a plan to the Department of Education.

Schools that are designated as needing improvement can protest the state's determination by proving there were "extenuating circumstances" that led to low test scores.

So far, said Owens, no one has requested that.

The seven schools named as needing improvement are now eligible for state remediation funds. Twelve additional schools with more than 40 percent of students scoring in the bottom quarter of the national percentile rankings in three of the TerraNova's four subject areas also are eligible for remediation funding.

Las Vegas schools that qualified for remediation funding are Madison Elementary School, Fremont and Von Tobel middle schools and Mojave High School.

Jack McLaughlin, Nevada superintendent of public instruction, said the funding is used for state-approved programs designed to raise student performance.

Schools are provided with a listing of programs they can chose from.

Meanwhile, state officials praised other schools for posting high scores on the TerraNova exam.

"These schools can serve as models of achievement that other Nevada schools can strive to emulate," said McLaughlin.

Other state schools earning that honor this year were Eureka High School in Eureka, and Huffaker, Lenz and Winnemucca elementary schools in Reno.

Schools in the exemplary category had more than 50 percent of their students scoring above the 75th percentile in all areas on the test. Additionally, the schools posted student attendance rates of at least 95 percent. And at least 95 percent of all eligible students to take the test were tested.

In another category, seven schools attained high achievement. Two of them were in Clark County: Vanderburg Elementary School and Hyde Park Middle School.