Kaneland schools vow improvement after receiving failing grade

The Kaneland school district has received a failing grade on its annual report card from the state board of education.

The District 302 school board will discuss the report card at its meeting at 7 p.m. Monday in the Milnamow Administrative Center at Kaneland High School, Meredith and Keslinger roads, in Maple Park.

"We would like to emphasize that we take these results very seriously, and we look forward to the opportunity to discuss the 'next steps' we will be taking as a district to continue improving in all areas," wrote Sarah Mumm and Erika Schlichter, directors of the district's educational services department, in a memo to the board.

Under the federal No Child Left Behind Law, schools are supposed to aim to have a certain number of students receive passing scores on standardized tests in mathematics and reading. This year, the passing mark is 77.5 percent. Last year it was 70 percent, and next year it is 85 percent.

The district failed to make "adequate yearly progress" because three subgroups of its students did not score well enough in standardized reading and math tests. A subgroup is 45 or more students who fall into special categories that the federal government considers to have needs or challenges distinct from the general student population. Three subgroups districtwide - Hispanic, students with disabilities and the economically disadvantaged - did not make enough progress in reading. Those groups scored 69.2, 54.9 and 69.8 percent, respectively, on the test.

The subgroups of Hispanic and economically disadvantaged students passed the mathematics portion. The disabled students did not, with a score of 53.7.

Harter Middle School is the only school that had its own measurable subgroups. The school and its subgroups passed.

All the elementary schools passed. Kaneland High School failed, with a mathematics score of 54 percent and a reading score of 61 percent. For the second year in a row, it will be placed on the state's early-warning list. The reading scores were up 3 percentage points compared to the 2008 report card, and math was down 2 percentage points.

The report compares the 2010 scores to 2008 scores because the 2009 scores were skewed. A box of 2009 Prairie State Achievement Examination answer sheets was returned too late to be scored. The PSAE is given to high school juniors.