Hundreds of schools fall short 'Left Behind' law increasingly snared suburban as well as urban districts in 2005-06 Wednesday, August 23, 2006 • BY JOHN MOONEY • Star-Ledger Staff One in four New Jersey public schools failed last year to reach student test results required under the federal No Child Left Behind Act, with more than 50 schools now facing the law's toughest sanctions yet, according to the state. Released yesterday by the state Department of Education, the 643 schools falling short in 2005-06 are an improvement from the previous year's total of more than 800 schools missing the mark. But officials stressed any comparison is difficult, due to technical changes in how the state identifies schools. Either way, the law's sometimes-perplexing rules require schools to have two successful years to get off the lists, and that leaves more than 1,000 New Jersey schools opening next month with the unflattering label of either being in "early warning" or "in need of improvement." Many sit in urban and working class districts that fare the worst under the law, which requires students reach certain proficiency levels each year. For instance, all but five of Paterson's schools were tagged with one sanction or another. Newark has 60 schools either on the list of early warning or needing improvement, including eight that must make major organizational changes after six years of falling short, the law's penultimate penalty. At least four of those are getting new principals, and others will see new grade structures or other reorganizations, district officials said. The district's teachers union has proposed taking one school under its own wing. "In the last week, we've had lots of conversations around these eight schools," said superintendent Marion Bolden. "All of this is new to everybody." Yet suburban districts are increasingly dealing with the controversial law's consequences as well, and those are sure to continue as the law's requirements ramp higher in coming years. Piscataway has three middle schools at various junctures in the law's sanctions, two on the "early warning" list after falling short one year and one deemed in "need of improvement" after four years of missing the mark. In most cases, superintendent Robert Copeland said that raising special education scores continues to be the greatest challenge under a law that demands students with disabilities do just as well as those without. Copeland said he applauds that aim, but hopes the public looks beyond just the lists to see the progress being made in the district. "We don't shy from the numbers," he said. "We just say there is more to the numbers, and a broader context to consider." Spearheaded by President Bush and enacted in 2002, the sweeping federal law has drastically changed how public schools are measured and judged, with the testing requirements its most far-reaching impact. The law requires that schools show all of their students -- including low-income, special education and all racial groups -- reach set proficiency levels in reading and math each year, building up to 100 percent proficiency in 2013-14. Each state is permitted to set the annual increments. Last year, for example, the requirement for New Jersey's elementary schools was 75 percent proficient in language arts and 62 percent in math. That meant not only the school's overall average needed to reach that level, but so did the average of its special education students, its Asian students, and any other subgroup. Schools falling short in any one of them are placed in "early warning" the first year. In the second year, they are moved to "in need of improvement," where sanctions start to set in. Those range from letting students transfer or get free tutoring, to schools being restructured altogether. To get off any of the lists, schools must reach the required results for two consecutive years. So far in New Jersey, the sanctions have been mostly the bad publicity for schools. The state has yet to compile last year's numbers of students transferring within a district or accepting free outside tutoring. But local districts say only a handful, at most, opt to transfer, and a fraction of those eligible take advantage of the outside tutoring. Stakes rise considerably this year for 52 schools now in their sixth year of falling short; each is now required under the law to take steps to "restructure." At least half are middle schools or schools that teach those grades. Jersey City has three schools on the restructuring list, all close to each other in the city's Lafayette neighborhood near its southern border. The district is reconfiguring all three into a revamped "mini-district" that will also include a higher performing school, officials said. "They will be working as their own district, with a highly skilled professional at the top and specific people responsible for budgets, others on curriculum," said associate superintendent Jenaro Rivas. "We made a decision of changing everything there." But if the reorganization doesn't immediately succeed, Rivas wasn't sure what would come next under the law. Next year, the state's testing requirements will rise significantly, and there is further uncertainty with the law itself coming up for reauthorization in 2007. "We don't know what will be in store for year seven," Rivas said. "We just hope we don't get there." The state's full report and information on every school can be found on-line at: http://www.state.nj.us/njded/news/2006/0822ayp.htm John Mooney covers education. He may be reached at jmooney@starledger.com, or (973) 392-1548. © 2006 The Star-Ledger. Used by NJ.com with permission.