District 65 School Board Examines Percentage Of Eighth-Graders Exceeding Standards on ISATs

By Larry Gavin

At the April 23 District 65 School Board meeting, Board members explored possible reasons for a decrease in the percentage of students exceeding standards on the Illinois Standard Achievement Tests, ISATs, between third and eighth grades.

ISAT standards measurement
A report presented by Paul Brinson, director of information services, showed the percentage of students who exceeded standards in reading decreased from 44 percent at the third grade level to 19 percent at the eighth grade level on the 2006 ISATs, which were given in March 2006. On a statewide basis the percentage of students who exceeded standards in reading decreased from 23 percent at third grade to 9 percent at eighth grade. See accompanying table.

The decrease at the eighth grade level has become more pronounced over time. On the 2000 ISATs, 32 percent of the District's eighth graders exceeded standards in reading, compared to 19 percent last year. Similar decreases also occurred at the State level.

Superintendent Hardy Murphy said the administrative staff called the State Board of Education to get its insight. He said the State's staff attributed the decreases at the eighth-grade level to a number of things, including the introduction of questions requiring extended responses (narrative answers) on the ISATs.

National percentile measurement
Dr. Murphy pointed to other data which he said suggested the declines were not due to the District's instructional program. He said the 2006 ISATs included standardized questions from the "Stanford Ten," which allow school districts to determine a percentile rank of their students against a national norm. According to data presented by the administration, in 2006, 59 percent of the District's students ranked in the nation's top quartile in reading at the third-grade level and 48 percent ranked in the top quartile at the eighth-grade level. In 2000, 43 percent of the District's third graders and 48 percent of the District's eighth graders were in the nation's top quartile. See accompanying table.

Possible explanations
Dr. Murphy said, "If in fact we were seeing a diminution of the percentage of students who were at the upper 25th percentile when compared with the national norm, I think we would be looking at something about the instructional program that we would have some concerns about.

"The fact of the matter is we still have a strong performance when compared against the national norm and it does follow the same pattern as we've seen across the State.

"It seems to us what we're really looking at as we focus on this study of ‘meeting' and ‘exceeding' standards is that we really need to sharpen instructional focus in a way, but it doesn't appear that we're looking at something that is characteristic of ineffective instruction. It may be tied up in how the State is measuring who is exceeding standards and who is not at this point."

Ellen Fogelberg, director of literacy, said, "It's difficult to draw conclusions from this, because it mirrors the State. You know something's going on. It's not as if District 65 isn't doing a good job of teaching."

Ms. Fogelberg added that school districts were given for the first time this year the actual questions and answers on the ISATs. "I think we can finally start to look at what kind of questions are being asked and what kind of questions our kids are maybe struggling with at the higher end." She said the administration will be analyzing the questions and answers and bring back findings to the Board.

In response to a question how the District was able to use the ISATs in the past to help inform instruction, Mr. Brinson said, "That has been one of the problems. You could use the data in only the most general sense." He added, that an analysis of the questions and answers "will help determine where students are struggling and help teachers to focus instruction."

Ms. Fogelberg said the administration speculated that one of the reasons for the decline in scores at the eighth grade level is that students are spending less of their own free time reading and are spending more time in front of the computer and playing video games. She said the District has attempted to address this issue by making sure there is time in the middle school schedule for students to read two or three times a week .

One of the goals adopted by the Board for the 2007-08 school year is to conduct a comprehensive study of the District's differentiation and enrichment activities and to implement recommendations in the following year to ensure that all students are challenged to the maximum extent of their academic potential. The administration plans to retain an independent consultant to facilitate the process.

D65 Board Discontinues Pre-K Childcare Program

By Larry Gavin

The District 65 School Board decided, by a four to two vote, to discontinue the District's pre-k childcare program at the end of the 2006-07 school year and to seek funding to serve increased numbers of low-income, high-risk students through Head Start or State Pre-K at Risk or the addition of Pre-School for All. Jonathan Baum, Julie Chernoff, Marianne Kountoures, and Mary Rita Luecke voted in favor of the motion. Sharon Sheehan and Jerome Summers voted against it.

The rationale for the discontinuing the childcare program is that low-income families have been priced out of the program and the District may be able to offer their children early childhood education opportunities in an alternate program that is more heavily subsidized by State or federal funds.

Currently the District's childcare program operates one classroom at the Joseph E. Hill Education Center and serves a total of 15 students, nine of whom will enter kindergarten in the fall. Fewer than 25 percent of the students qualify for the free or reduced-fee lunch program.

Enrollment in the childcare program is down from 78 children in 2003-04, when the District increased the fee to participate in the program in an effort to make the program self-sufficient. While the number of children in the childcare program has declined, the number of children served in both the Head Start and Pre-K at Risk programs has increased from 181 in the 2003-04 school year to 321 this year (including children served through subcontracts).

Ms. Sheehan said she struggled over her vote. She said, "There's really been no discussion at the Board level about what role do we want as a District for early childhood education to play in the education of our pre-k and k-8 students.

"Some of our low-income families must need full-day care in a quality educational environment, and that's something we're going to lose." She added that she recognized the program only served about [15] students, many of whom are not low-income, "but losing that program loses a way of delivering pre-school education to children that may be more effective for parents and families."

Superintendent Hardy Murphy said, "I understand the reluctance to eliminate the program but we're not talking about a reduction of the number of students served, we're actually trying to serve more. It may be that we're just looking at a different vehicle."

Assistant Superintendent Susan Shultz said, "We're committed to pre-school education. We're looking at another option to reach more students…We really want to focus on that educational component and what we can provide in pre-school education."

Mr. Summers voted against cutting the program saying, "All the logic points to a yes vote, but nothing else fills this need, and there's no assurance that another program will be implemented.

D65 Board Adopts Goals for 2007-08

On April 23, the District 65 School Board unanimously adopted the goals recommended by the Board's Program/Policy Committee for 2007-08. The goals address: 1) compliance with the No Child Left Behind Act; 2) continued implementation of the Unified Delivery of Instruction; 3) studying differentiated instruction and enrichment; and 4) technology. The goals are discussed in the April 18 issue of the RoundTable.

In addition to these goals, the Board adopted a statement that the District is committed to continuing efforts to improve middle school education, implementing strategies to meet the requirements of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, and developing and balancing budgets to maintain and strengthen the District's financial health.