U-46 elementary schools see academic improvement

Elgin Area School District U-46 saw academic growth last year across many of its 40 elementary schools, but not enough to meet rapidly rising state standards, according to data released Monday.

In the 2009-10 school year, 18 elementary schools made adequate yearly progress the minimum level required to be considered a successful school under state and federal No Child Left Behind standards. The other 22 elementary schools in the district, which also includes all or part of South Elgin, Bartlett, Streamwood and Hanover Park, did not meet state standards.

Last year's tally was a slight improvement from the year before, when 23 elementary schools did not meet state benchmarks. But it still was worse than two years ago, when only 19 schools fell short.

The reason for the high rate of failing to meet state standards last year, even as many schools saw academic growth, is that those standards are rising faster than even improving schools can keep up.

In 2009, 70 percent of students had to meet or exceed state standards for a school to get a passing grade. Last year, that cutoff rose to 77.5 percent.

By 2014 if current No Child Left Behind standards remain in place 100 percent of students will have to score at or above grade level, spelling failure for even the highest performing schools.

"We have a greater percentage of our students who are at or above average," Director of Assessment and Accountability Ed DeYoung said in a presentation to the U-46 school board Monday night. "We're improving in all these benchmarks."

However, DeYoung added, "That progress... is not sufficient to meet (No Child Left Behind) standards. More and more groups are not making (adequate yearly progress)."

Despite the disappointing results when compared to state standards, U-46's elementary school test scores reflected a number of positive trends last year:

• The percentage of vulnerable students, those below the 20th percentile, has declined across grade levels for the past four years, according to U-46 officials.

• The percentage of students scoring at or above average the 50th percentile has increased since 2007, officials said.

• Seventeen elementary schools improved scores in both reading and math last year; four and 10 declined in those subjects, respectively.

U-46 is hammering out details for a 2015 plan that will set ambitious goals for student achievement separate from those mandated by the state and federal governments. The district plans to present its middle and high school test results later this month.