August 31, 2010

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Redmond, Wash. – By most measures, Inglewood Junior High is a high-performing school. Over 83 percent of students meet or exceed the state standard in reading and over 84 percent in math at the seventh grade level. When the inaugural Washington Achievement Awards were given out last year, Inglewood was recognized for overall excellence.

Yet according to the federal government’s Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) benchmark, Inglewood Junior High is not a success. In fact, Lake Washington School District (LWSD), Inglewood Junior High and 18 other LWSD schools out of 50 schools total are not up to the AYP standard.

LWSD did meet the standard for Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) in 49 of 59 areas under the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). In most of the areas, which include subject areas (math and reading), three grade-spans (3-5, 6-8 and 10) and student subgroups such as race or income groups, students scored significantly above their targets.

LWSD did not make the standard as a district. However, the district has not entered “improvement” status. That would be the case if the district did not make AYP for two consecutive years in all three grade-spans in any subgroup for the same subject area. Of the ten largest school districts in the state, Lake Washington is the only one that has not entered “improvement status.”

AYP is an all or nothing designation: it takes only one subgroup not making enough progress in one subject area for a school or district to be labeled as not making AYP, even if the rest of the students score significantly higher than standard. Two of those subgroups, English Language Learners (ELL) and special education, are by definition students who have difficulty reaching standard in the same timeframe as mainstream students.

“Our vision statement is ‘Every Student Future Ready’,” noted Dr. Chip Kimball, superintendent. “I am committed to the importance of working to get every student to standard. But it’s confusing to parents and the community to hear that a school is worthy of a Washington Achievement Award for overall excellence, has generally high test scores and yet is labeled as not making AYP, which happened to two of our schools this year. The label unfairly characterizes schools that are succeeding admirably for most students as ‘failing’ if one small subgroup just misses its target. That’s not a true characterization of the whole school.”

Because NCLB requires that 100 percent of students meet standard by 2014, inevitably, no schools will meet standard.

“Rather than applying arbitrary labels, what does make sense,” notes Dr. Kimball, “is a focus on using data in a school, a classroom and down to the individual student level to understand what is working and where we need to make changes. We have put targeted programs in place using test results to ensure that the students who need real help are getting it. We have data initiatives that will ensure teachers and parents alike know when students are struggling so they can get support as soon as they need it.”

School Improvement Status

Schools that do not meet AYP targets for any subgroup in a specific area two years in a row go into “improvement” status. Only those schools that receive federal Title I funds, however, face specific consequences each year they are “in improvement.” Title I funds are targeted at schools with higher percentages of low -income students.

Redmond Elementary, Einstein Elementary and Muir Elementary Schools are the three Lake Washington Schools that receive federal Title I funds and are in “improvement.” Parents of students at these three schools have the choice to send their student(s) to another school in the district that has met AYP. Redmond Elementary did meet AYP this year: if they meet the standard again next year, the school will exit “improvement” status.

The list of schools that are “in improvement” and the categories where AYP was not met includes:

• Dickinson Elementary, Step 1, special education math
• Eastlake High School, Step 1, special education math
• Einstein Elementary, Step 2, special education reading; special education, Hispanic and low income math
• Evergreen Junior High, Step 2, Hispanic math
• Family Learning Center, Step 2, All students and white students math 
• Inglewood Junior High, Step 2, special education math
• Kamiakin Junior High, Step 3, special education reading; special education, Hispanic and low income math
• Kirkland Junior High, Step 3, special education reading and math
• Lake Washington High School, special education reading; special education and low income math
• Muir Elementary, Step 1, special education reading; special education and low income math
• Redmond High School, Step 2, Hispanic, special education and low income math
• Redmond Junior High, Step 1, Hispanic, special education and low income math
• Rose Hill Junior High, Step 2, special education and low income math
• Twain Elementary, Step 2, special education reading and math

In addition, Community School is in Step 4 of Improvement. Parents at this choice school have expressed disapproval of standardized testing and do not allow their students to take the test. Community does not receive federal Title I funds, and does not face consequences as a result.

BEST High School is in improvement Step 2 but did make AYP this year. In the past, it did not meet the graduation rate requirement.

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About Lake Washington: Lake Washington School District is a high-performing public school district serving Kirkland, Redmond, and Sammamish, Washington. It is the sixth largest district in the state of Washington, with over 24,000 students in 50 schools.