Sixty-three percent of San Benito County schools did not meet
its new federal academic goal for the year.
Only nine of 24 schools in the county met its 2003 Adequate
Yearly Progress mark set forth by the federal No Child Left Behind
Act. Schools that fail to meet the target for two consecutive years
must notify parents the school has been deemed a Program
Improvement school.
Sixty-three percent of San Benito County schools did not meet its new federal academic goal for the year.
Only nine of 24 schools in the county met its 2003 Adequate Yearly Progress mark set forth by the federal No Child Left Behind Act. Schools that fail to meet the target for two consecutive years must notify parents the school has been deemed a Program Improvement school. County schools that now have to mail out the notifications include San Juan School, Calaveras School, Gabilan School, Ladd Lane School, R.O. Hardin School and Sunnyslope School.
In addition to the six schools sending notifications, Spring Grove School, Santa Ana Opportunity School, San Andreas Continuation High School, Pinnacles Community School, SBC Juvenile Court School, San Benito High School, Maze Middle School and Rancho San Justo Middle School failed to meet their AYP for 2003. Cienega School had no information available.
“Because No Child Left Behind is so new, we’re still learning,” said Jackie Munoz, superintendent of the Aromas-San Juan Unified School District.
Not meeting the AYP mark carries some lofty consequences for states and schools, causing worry among local educators.
“Even the Palo Altos of the world will have trouble,” said Jean Burns Slater, superintendent of the San Benito High School District.
Using each state’s “annual measurable objectives” in English-language arts and math, the school and each of its subgroups must meet a proficiency level to reach the AYP. For elementary and middle schools, 13.6 percent of those tested have to be proficient or above in English-language arts, with 16 percent needed for math. For high schools, the proficiency level is 11.2 for English-language arts and 9.6 percent for math. California’s “annual measurable objective” is the STAR test.
Also, all schools and its subgroups must have a participation rate of 95 percent. Some schools may have met the proficiency level, but failed to have enough students take the test. SBHS is one such school.
It did not meet its AYP for this year because of low participation numbers, not low proficiency numbers. SBHS did make its AYP last year, so administrators are not worried – yet. Slater said the district will focus on Hispanic students and socio-economically disadvantaged students – those groups that had low participation numbers. Slater attributed the low numbers to the students having a hard time getting to school and making up work.
A subgroup that schools in California have to improve on is English-Language Learners, since the state has more than any other state, local educators said.
Possible consequences for schools that repeatedly fail to meet their AYP include losing students and having the state take control of the school from administrators and the school board.
Administrators from the Hollister School District and the county office of education could not be reached for comment.
For more information or to view AYP results, visit www.cde.ca.gov.
