Year-round schools had fewer days for studying before tests

Friday, July 23, 2004 | 9:46 a.m.

Schools operating on year-round schedules were at a distinct disadvantage when it came to proving they had made the "adequate yearly progress" the federal No Child Left Behind Act requires.

Last year the progress lists were released in October. By moving the testing schedule up to early spring, the district was able to get results back sooner and compile the progress lists before the start of the new school year Aug. 30.

The accelerated testing schedule gives parents of children at "needs improvement" Title I schools more time to consider their transfer option.

But the change in the schedule also meant year-round schools had even fewer days of instruction before their students were tested, said Karlene McCormick-Lee, assistant superintendent of researchand accountability for the district.

In the past the criterion-referenced test, which is based on a combination of state and national standards, was given at the end of May after 165 days of instruction for nine-month schools. The new schedule pushed the test dates up to the middle of March, after about 129 days of instruction.

Many students at year-round schools were tested this spring after as few as 96 days of instruction, McCormick-Lee said.

After hearing complaints from parents and educators about the disparity, the Nevada Department of Education began investigating whether year-round schools had significantly different test results than campuses on nine-month calendars.

As part of the appeals process a school that fails to show the required progress may claim "safe harbor" by demonstrating that the school reduced the number of non-proficient students by at least 10 percent. The state's study determined that based on the fewer number of instructional days it would be "nearly impossible" to meet the 10-percent threshold, Lee said.

All of the district's year-round schools that failed to show adequate progress appealed on the basis on the state's findings, Lee said. "The number of instructional days isn't a free pass -- and it shouldn't be," Superintendent Carlos Garcia said. "What we're looking for is a little more equity." State education officials are meeting with representatives of Nevada's 17 school districts to devise a new testing schedule. One proposal calls for testing all students at the 125th day of instruction. "The actual day doesn't matter, provided everyone is treated the same," Garcia said.