Dist. 301 test results reveal program's flaws

Word this week that Central Community Unit School District 301 aced its state tests serves two different advertisements very well.

The first would be a selling point for realtors doing business within the district's attendance zones.

The second is the need for No Child Left Behind reform.

Four of the Burlington-based district's elementary schools and one middle school met federal No Child Left Behind bench marks with 70 percent or more of students meeting standards in both reading and math, up from 62.5 percent in 2008. One middle school, despite scores in the 90th percentile, missed the mark because of the failure of one subgroup.

Every single elementary and middle school had more than 80 percent of students meet standards in reading, and more than 90 percent meet them in math. Even though one of them is considered "failing" by NCLB standards.

According to the federal No Child Left Behind Law, specific subgroups within a school, including low-income students, learning-disabled students and English-language learners, must meet the rising standards on both the reading and math portions of state tests. Otherwise, the entire school fails to make Adequate Yearly Progress.

While 93.1 percent of Prairie Knolls Middle School students met standards in reading and 95.3 percent in math, the school did not meet state standards because of the scores of its students with disabilities. Bilingual students across the district didn't either.

The group failed to make AYP, with 41.1 percent of students meeting bench marks in reading; 62.3 percent in math.

For the second year in a row, English language learners were required to take the same test as kids who grow up in English-speaking households. All third- through eighth-grade students are now required to take the Illinois Standards Achievement Test, and high school juniors must take the Prairie State Achievement Examination.

No one wants to see subgroups left behind. But fail an entire school, despite scores more than 20 points above bench marks?

Not logical in the least.

Join campaign to stop bullying: State Education Superintendent Chris Koch in his weekly newsletter asked educators to join the "Stop Bullying Now!" campaign by U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

The campaign features a Web site and DVD to help teach children about bullying, along with tips for prevention and intervention. Want more? Visit stopbullyingnow.hrsa.gov/adults/.