Editorial: Use tests to help, not hinder, schools

Wednesday, March 5, 2003 | 9:06 a.m.

It's important to view the latest statistics regarding schools in Clark County from the proper perspective. The latest standardized test scores show, at first blush, an alarming increase in the number of schools earning the formal label of "needing improvement." Last year only four schools earned that label. This year the number soared to 30.

But this year students were given the Iowa Test of Basic Skills, as opposed to the Terra Nova exam used in previous years. A new test usually generates lower scores, as schools have not had a chance to develop a curriculum to match it. More importantly, however, the scores of all students were evaluated in determining a school's status. In the past, the scores of special education students were evaluated separately. Also included were math scores of students in the English Language Learners program, regardless of how long they had been in the district, and the reading, writing and science scores of ELL students who have been in the district three or more years. In the past, these scores, too, had been evaluated separately.

From this perspective, the surge in schools needing improvement is more understandable. We just hope the Bush administration properly interprets the statistics, particularly in counties such as Clark that have growing student populations of non-English speaking students. Clark County is near the top nationally when it comes to the number of ELL students. Under Bush's proposed guidelines, any school deemed "needing improvement" for two years running could face sanctions, including loss of federal funding. It would be far better to use the results to help schools rather than to sanction and stigmatize them.