Proposed rankings system casts favorable light on more Cedar Rapids schools

Judging a school's performance is simple under the federal No Child Left Behind law.

The 2001 education act sets annual student proficiency targets, as measured by standardizes tests. Schools that fail meet those targets for two consecutive years, either for their entire student body or a single subgroup, are labeled a “School in Need of Assistance.”

That yes or no attitude could get more complicated under a system proposed by the Iowa Department of Education.

The proposed evaluation system, part of Iowa's request to waive the requirements of No Child Left Behind, uses a formula to assign all public schools one of six performance rankings.

The department tested its new six-tier rubric with Cedar Rapids schools, the results of which paint the district in favorable light compared with how it is measured under No Child Left Behind.

According to records requested by The Gazette, the proposed system places 16 Cedar Rapids schools in the “exceptional” or “high-performing” levels, the top two tiers. Six of those are schools that have a School In Need of Assistance designation under No Child Left Behind.

The results are preliminary, as the system is still being developed, but Iowa Department of Education Director Jason Glass said he felt Cedar Rapids was an example of what Iowans could expect if the new rankings are approved.

“What you see here is what I had hoped we'd see out of hard-working schools that serve students in tough demographic areas,” he said.

No school received a third tier ranking of “commendable,” while five are listed in the fourth tier as “acceptable.” Ten schools fit into the second-lowest category of “needs improvement.”

Metro High School was the only school to receive the lowest ranking of “priority,” the new system's equivalent to a SINA designation.

In comparison, 19 schools in the district are on the SINA list.

The news was received cautiously by Mary Ellen Maske, executive administrator for pre-kindergarten through eighth grade education in the Cedar Rapids school district.

“I'm a little bit guarded because the formula that is included in the waiver that they're going to use for looking at the rankings of schools is so complex,” she said.

But Maske did say the rankings seemed in line with the district's belief that many Cedar Rapids schools are improving academically despite what No Child Left Behind results might indicate.

“What we're seeing is that some of those schools are exceptional and high performing because their students are making expected and greater progress,” she said.

The reason for the differences can be found in the formula used by the proposed system. The base calculation weighs student growth and improvement equally with academic proficiency, and schools that achieve both get double credit. A school making progress still can receive a favorable ranking, even if it has students not yet achieving proficiency.

“The schools that stand to gain the most are those with high achievement and high growth,” said Glass. “The ones that lose are those getting high achievement but not much growth.”

Attendance, test participation and graduation rates also are factored into the score. Each school also receives an “achievement gap score” based on how many of its subgroups, such as minorities, English language learners or special education students, are making progress.

“Exceptional” schools would be rewarded for the achievement under the new system. Benefits of a top ranking include awards, pairing with a low-performing school for professional development and a more hands-off approach to monitoring by the Department of Education.

Schools in the bottom two categories could expect a process similar to the current SINA experience. They would receive Title 1 funding that is given to schools serving low-income areas, support from the state and targeted responses to the school's problem areas.

If a school repeatedly does not improve, Glass said the state could revoke a district's accreditation.

“Once we're talking about equally weighing growth and achievement, then there should be no excuse for why a school should remain in those bottom categories, even with high poverty or tough backgrounds,” he said.

While the results appear to put Cedar Rapids on favorable footing, Maske is concerned that they will be misinterpreted by the public, particularly for the 11 schools on the “needs improvement” and “priority” list, something she has seen people do for years with No Child Left Behind.

“I think people jump to conclusions and don't have all the information they need,” she said.

The department used a simple one-year growth calculation to reach its test results with Cedar Rapids, but Glass hopes the Legislature will pass education reform legislation that will allow the department to use more data over multiple years for a more accurate and stable projection.

The federal Department of Education has given Iowa favorable feedback on its waiver application, but Glass said its approval hinges on what education reform bill comes out of the Legislature.

“Once the session's over, we'll look at what passed, and then revise and negotiate with the feds to see what changes we need to get this waiver through,” he said.