Two schools fail to meet federal test standards By MATT KAPKO Half Moon Bay Review October 20, 2004 Two public schools on the coast are failing to meet federal test-score standards required under the No Child Left Behind Act and local school administrators say they will have company in the years to come. The federal law, which was signed by President George Bush in January of 2002, puts strict accountability on students test-score improvements and offers parents more flexibility in choosing schools that meet those standards. But parents here wishing to take advantage of that government-mandated flexibility will find roadblocks at the local level. Coastside administrators have either failed to inform parents of their rights under the law as required by the federal legislation or found the requirements so daunting that they haven't done much to articulate the choices available at underachieving schools. This is the first year Pescadero Elementary and Cunha Intermediate schools have found themselves in the Program Improvement category. Each district is required to notify parents of the schools' lackluster testing performance and inform them of options available for their students. The law requires schools to provide "school choice" to parents before the subsequent school year, offering them the option of enrollment in another district school that is meeting the testing standards. The law also requires that federal Title I funds given to the school be used to provide transportation for students seeking education elsewhere. "It really is more of a big district strategy," said Tim Beard, superintendent of the La Honda-Pescadero Unified School District. Pescadero Elementary School was required to offer parents the option of busing their students to La Honda Elementary School before the school year began, but administrators have yet to notify parents of the failing test results. The district has also neglected to offer parents the option of "school choice" so far this year. The schools are separated by at least 13 miles of winding, rural roads. When contacted for this story, district officials said they will be mailing letters to parents later this week. The Cabrillo Unified School District mailed letters to parents in September. "We haven't had a lot of requests" for school choice, said Pat Talbot, principal of Pescadero Elementary School. But the school has transferred some students to La Honda Elementary for a variety of reasons, she said. Administrators said Cunha Intermediate School is somewhat different because it is the only middle school in CUSD. In cases such as this, the No Child Left Behind Act stipulates that the district should "to the extent possible" enter into an agreement with neighboring school districts. But other school districts aren't required to accept such an agreement, said Maria Reyes, a consultant in Title I policies in the California Department of Education. Regardless, districts are required to set aside 20 percent of their Title I funds for such options, she said. If alternative school options aren't required, as is the case with Cunha Intermediate School, the district is required to use those funds for extended curriculum programs. "Overall, districts aren't spending the full amount that they can set aside to pay for this," Reyes said. "Statewide these services are undersubscribed." Generally, the practice is more frequently used in urban districts, she said. "Parents don't appear to want to send their kids on long bus rides," she said. "We want parents to know when we're a Program Improvement school," Beard said. "We don't have options to offer parents in this district other than busing students up to (La Honda Elementary School)." To be placed in Program Improvement, a school must first fail to meet the federal-testing standards for two consecutive years. After being placed in the first year category, schools have to improve two years in a row to be taken off the list. One of the goals of the federal act is for all students to meet the federal-testing standards by 2014. Both Pescadero Elementary and Cunha Intermediate schools are hovering around the 50 percentile overall, but "sub-groups" such as English-language learners and socio-economically disadvantaged students are struggling to meet the requirement. Pescadero Elementary School met the standards in all categories last year, including the sub-groups, but it must continue that progress for an additional year to be taken off the Program Improvement list. Cunha Intermediate School however, failed to meet the standards in the two sub-group categories that apply to the local districts. Both districts have the option of denying the federal Title I funds, thereby releasing themselves from the federal-testing standards, but administrators say they have no plans to do so. CUSD receives approximately $170,000 in Title I funds, said Madaline Shearer, CUSD assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction. It's hard to reconcile the students' difficult language-learning curve with the federal-testing standards, she said. Because of that, she expects Hatch Elementary School and El Granada Elementary School to be in Program Improvement at the end of this school year. "The schools that have the same demographics as we do ... will be a Program Improvement school," said Mike Andrews, principal of Cunha Intermediate School. "It's pretty tough to get around those demographics," he said. "The ramifications are pretty serious." All of the school officials are critical of the stringent federal-testing standards. They all refer to the act's goal of full proficiency as an effort in futility. Currently, Pescadero Elementary and Cunha Intermediate sub-groups are failing to meet minimum standards in Math and English. Last year, the law required 13.6 percent of sub-group students to meet English and language arts standards. It required 16 percent of students, including each sub-group, to meet mathematics standards. "Eventually, every school in the nation is going to be on the list," said John Bayless, superintendent of CUSD. "That's the fallacy with the system." He said the federal system "doesn't address the real needs of the students," and it will only lead toward full-time employment of consultants at school districts. "Quite frankly, the federal government is using it as a stick," he said. "I wonder what the motivation is." Home