New student evaluation plan proposed

Terry Webster

Tuesday, Nov. 20, 2001 | 9:40 a.m.

Clark County School District officials have written a plan that could become the basis for evaluating student achievement throughout Nevada.

Nevada Department of Education Superintendent Jack McLaughlin said Monday he has reviewed the district's plan and would like to see it implemented statewide.

"We don't have anything like this in place, and we need it," McLaughlin said.

McLaughlin said he wants to bring it before the State Board of Education, and also would like to see the plan passed into law during the next legislative session.

But for now, Clark County School District Superintendent Carlos Garcia is content to say he believes the plan will become the backbone of his district.

"In my opinion, there is absolutely nothing more important than this," he said.

Garcia was talking about an accountability plan to boost student achievement over the next several years.

"We're going to evaluate everything we do that somehow has a bearing on student achievement," Garcia said. He also pledged that the district's funding crunch will not stop the plan from moving ahead.

A database of test scores, school relationships with parents, school improvement goals and student access to education programs will all be used to evaluate schools.

Then, a formula will be used to rate schools. Those falling short of the mark will have to write a plan for improvement. If schools continue to fail, they will be re-staffed, Garcia said.

"Everyone will have a job with the district, but they will be asked to reapply for their jobs at the school," he said.

The district has not seen this kind of intensive data-gathering, Garcia said.

"This whole district has been running quite a bit on assumptions rather than facts," he said. "This gives us an opportunity to run the district on facts."

Officials could not say at this point whether the plan will mean future changes in how the state uses test scores to rank school performance. The plan does not include any changes in the tests used by the state.

Nevada rates schools based on TerraNova test scores in the fourth, eighth and tenth grades. The TerraNova exam compares the performance of Nevada students to other students throughout the country. Additionally, students must pass the high school proficiency exam in math, reading and writing to earn a diploma.

Garcia's plan, designed with input from a wide range of staff members, includes a different approach to the use of test data.

Although testing data for all students would still be reported to the state, the district would evaluate itself by looking at test scores based on how long students have been in the district.

Specifically, students will have to be in the district a certain length of time to have their test scores used as part of a formula to evaluate the success of individual schools and the school district's five regional areas.

For example, in high school, students will have to be in the district a minimum of four years to have their test data used to rate schools. In grades fifth through eighth, it's three years. Fourth graders will have to be in the district two years. The minimum time limit for first through third graders is one year.

That plan has already drawn criticism from one School Board member.

Board member Shirley Barber said she is not comfortable with it because it gives the impression the district is manipulating test data. She called it "an unwise and very disturbing practice" that could create legal and ethical issues.

Garcia said that isn't the case.

He said both methods -- test scores that include all students plus those based on the number of years students have been in the district -- will still be reported to the public and the state.

"Our concern is not whether a school is going to be compared to another school," Garcia said. "Our concern is about what a school is going to do to improve itself."

A checkpoint list will be used to determine whether schools are meeting, approaching or below standards. One example is whether student enrollment in advanced classes reflects the diversity of a school's population.

Added to the accountability plan is a 14-page document that lists goals for raising student achievement.

In math, for example, at least one-half of all eighth grade students will be expected to take math by 2003.

By 2007 through 2011, all students will be required to take algebra.

"When I first came here it was about 12 percent, and now it's about 25 percent," Garcia said, referring to 8th graders taking algebra.

Finding teachers to teach algebra is another issue.

"I don't believe we're always going to have all of the teachers we need every year in every subject," Garcia said.

"If I can't get enough people to teach algebra, then we need to do it differently, such as setting up distance learning and using a top-notch teacher. We need to eliminate the excuses for why we can't do things and replace them with creative solutions for why we can do them."

The plan also calls for a full-year of science classes for middle school students, something the district does not presently offer. Other plans, all of them requiring additional money, include more technology -- a 15 percent increase in student web-based research by 2004 -- and a 5 percent expansion in the number of student arts programs offered by 2003.

Technology -- setting up a system to gather all of the data -- will be the first step to setting up the accountability system, Garcia said. He expects to use money from budget cuts to cover costs to increase staffing for research.

Another measure that will cost the district additional money is supplying textbooks for all students, something it currently is unable to do.

The district will continue to gather data for the overall accountability plan this year and expects to have the entire program up and running by next year.

"We're optimistic that during the next legislative session, we will look at the structure of the tax base here and that the legislators and the governor will follow through to bring us closer to the national (per pupil) funding average," Garcia said.

"If we had $1,000 more per student, imagine what we would be able to provide. To a large extent, currently, we kind of get what we pay for."