Inside the Board of Education basic no child left behind wriiten by Frances Foley

INSIDE The BOARD Of EDUCATION

Basic No Child Left Behind

The Basics of No Child Left Behind
By Frances C. Foley, May 2006.

The Federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act mandates that all students will be proficient in math, reading and Language art by the year 2014. NCLB holds states and local districts accountable for meeting rising AYP (Average Yearly Progress) goals yearly until the 2014 goal is attained. The AYP for Connecticut is defined by the state using the lowest performing school or demographic group as the baseline. To measure how close schools are to reaching the AYP goal the state requires local districts to conduct yearly testing using the CMT and CAPT tests.

In previous school years the CMT (Connecticut Mastery Test), was given to grades four, six and eight. Starting in 2006, grades three through eight will be given the CMT, doubling the numbers of students taking the test. At the high school level the CAPT (Connecticut Academic Performance Test), is given to students in grade ten. Starting in 2006 local districts have added passing the CAPT as a requirement for graduation from high school. If a student does not pass in grade ten they will be given other opportunities to retake and pass the test.

What Happens if a School Fails?

If a school fails to meet the AYP for two or more years the school is categorized as "in need of improvement". Once a school is put in this category the school must meet additional requirements including:

Inform parents in the district.
Develop a district improvement plan within 90 days.
Use ten percent of district Title I funds for teacher development.
Students in these schools are eligible for school choice programs and additional services like tutoring.

Predictions for Connecticut Schools.

In 2014, when the twelve years of NCLB ends, all students are supposed to be at proficient levels in reading, math and language arts. Will Connecticut schools be able to achieve this lofty goal? A study conducted by Edward Moscovitch of Cape Ann Economics and published in March 2004 for the Connecticut Education Association (CEA), entitled "Projecting AYP in CT Schools", revealed some dire predictions. In 2006 when the number of students taking the CMT doubles and the AYP is raised the number of schools failing to meet AYP will more than double. The overall assumption within these predictions is that schools will fail to keep up with the yearly rise of the AYP goals especially in reading.

The Highlights of the CEA Study:

Fact: In 2002 nineteen percent or 155 of the 802 schools failed to meet AYP.
Prediction: In 2006 forty-seven percent or 373 of 802 schools will fail.
Prediction: In 2009 fifty-six percent or 450 of 802 schools will fail.
Prediction: In 2012 seventy percent or 559 of 802 schools will fail.
Prediction: By 2014 ninety-three percent or 744 of 802 schools will fail.

Link to the CEA Study.

The CMT and CAPT test results will be evaluated by the state in relation to the current AYP goal. Then in the fall of 2006, results from the CMT and CAPT testing along with each school’s AYP categorization will be published. It will be interesting to see how close the 2006 AYP failure prediction is to the actual results.