Schools’ test scores may puzzle parents

By Emily Richmond (contact)

Friday, July 27, 2007 | 7:27 a.m.

There ought to be a law about making school test scores easier for moms and dads to understand.

They could call it No Parent Left Behind.

It would come in handy today, as the news gets out on which schools in Clark County have passed muster in the eyes of the state and federal government.

The results aren't official until the state gives its stamp of approval and releases the final list next week.

The tests are required by the federal No Child Left Behind Act, the education initiative by the Bush administration to close the achievement gap between the nation's poor and minority students and their more affluent white peers.

Some of the descriptions of the test results make sense: "needs improvement," "high achieving" and "exemplary." And you'll hear teachers and administrators talk about proficiency, participation, growth and status.

But the answer to your most pressing question - whether your child's school is the among the best in the district - probably won't be found in the jumble of edu-speak.

First, the good news. For the second consecutive year, the number of schools making adequate progress has increased, while the number of schools not making adequate progress has decreased.

This year 44 campuses - including a charter school - are identified as "high achieving," up from 34 last year. (That means there's been a significant reduction at those schools in the number of students in the lowest test score bracket, or that a high percentage of students scored at the top of the scale.)

At the same time there was an increase in the number of exemplary schools - campuses that achieved both of those of those goals. Thirteen campuses - including two charter schools - made the exemplary list, up from six last year.

That doesn't necessarily mean those 57 schools are the best in the district, because the results are based on a single set of tests rather than a combination of criteria to define excellence.

But no matter how you slice it, educators are pleased.

"You can call this a banner year," Clark County Schools Superintendent Walt Rulffes said Thursday. "We fully intend to go from one of the biggest schools districts in the country to one of the biggest and best school districts in the country."

Although the overall statistics are encouraging, Clark County educators know significant challenges persist. One of the most daunting will come next year, when Nevada raises the bar and a higher percentage of students at each school will have to perform well on tests to meet federal goals.

So what do the results and rankings really mean? Is a school that is labeled "needs improvement" really failing its students? Does "high achieving" mean that all students are receiving the best quality of instruction, resources and opportunities?

The short answer is yes. And no.

When it comes to evaluating a school, data rarely can be read in black and white. Mitigating factors also must be taken into account, and those almost always come in shades of gray.

Schools must hit achievement and participation targets in a staggering number of categories. Fail to hit the mark in even a single area, and the entire school is identified as not having made annual progress in the government's eyes.

That's a high bar. Take Kirk Adams Elementary School, which was singled out for praise by the district last month as one of the shining stars of the empowerment pilot program. Although improvement over last year's numbers were marked, it wasn't enough to satisfy the law's requirements. Adams fell short for the second consecutive year solely because of low reading and writing scores for special-education students.

Although some principals chafe at the requirements, other s admit it's forced them to pay more attention to students who might otherwise go unnoticed.

"While there is much to be said about refining No Child Left Behind, there is certainly much to be said about the concept of focusing on every child," Rulffes said.

If your child's school did not make the required progress this year based on the test results, here are a few questions to ask:

C.P. Squires Elementary School is one of the campuses that made the high-achieving list, after reducing the number of low-scoring students by at least 10 percent. Assistant Principal Rose Ballard said the credit goes to the students, the staff - and a renewed level of involvement by families.

"We're high-achieving because of the parents," Ballard said. "They are teaching their children to value education."