CHAPTER 19

STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT

the reason we serve

            The only reason an education program exists is to support student achievement. If it does not occur, there is no justification for spending taxpayers’ money on buildings, supplies, equipment and support services. The local board is to represent the community by making sure that achievement is occurring and by making sure that students, and the community in which they reside, are benefiting from tax dollars that are used effectively and efficiently on their behalf.

            While this chapter focuses on students’ ability to perform well on various academic assessments, student achievement can be more broadly defined to include a multitude of student outcomes. Among the outcomes, other than academic achievement, that a local board might consider important are: work ethic, volunteerism, job skills and preparation, respect, honesty, good judgment, and the desire to learn.   There are many more that a local board might believe to be important. Goals relating to these areas could become a part of a board’s definition of achievement and be incorporated into the district’s educational plan.  However, academic achievement is the core purpose of schooling.

Defining Student Achievement

            In the state of Kentucky, there are clearly defined achievement parameters for addressing student achievement.  Those defined by the state are:

Academic Expectations for students

The Program of Studies

Core Content for Assessment

Kentucky Education Reform Act                      

Comprehensive School Improvement Plans

Comprehensive District Improvement Plans

Senate Bill 168

            The parameters defined by the federal government, which must be honored in the state of Kentucky, are contained in the No Child Left Behind law.

Academic Expectations for Students

            State law defines the goals and academic expectations for public education in Kentucky. It says public schools should ensure that all students have the following:

1. Communication skills necessary to function in a complex and changing civilization.
2. Knowledge to make economic, social, and political choices
3. Core values and qualities of good character to make moral and ethical decisions throughout their life
4. Understanding of governmental processes as they affect the community, the state and the nation
5. Sufficient self-knowledge and knowledge of their mental and physical wellness
6. Sufficient grounding in the arts to enable them to appreciate their  individual cultural and historical heritage
7. Sufficient preparation to choose and pursue their life’s work intelligently
8. Skills to enable them to compete favorably with students in other states

Program of Studies

            The Program of Studies for Kentucky schools helps ensure that all students across the Commonwealth are provided with common content and have opportunities to learn at a high level. The purpose of the Program of Studies is to outline the minimum content required for all students before graduating from high school. The document specifies only the content for the required high school graduation credits, and the primary, intermediate, and middle level programs leading up to these requirements. 

Core Content for Assessment

            The Core Content for Assessment is the subject content that is essential for all students to know and will be included on the state assessment. The content is designed for use with, not instead of, Kentucky’s Academic Expectations and Program of Studies to provide the focus of the Kentucky Core Content Test (KCCT). 

Kentucky Education Reform Act (KERA)

            Kentucky’s current system of education is what educators term a standards-based education system. That means it sets high standards for all students, requires accountability for meeting those standards, calls for local school-based decision making, and defines the programs that help schools and students reach those goals. Some specific programs that support the schools and students include:  primary school program, family resource and youth services centers, technology, professional development, and extended school services.

COMPREHENSIVE Improvement Plans

            State law requires school councils (or the principal if there is no school council) to annually review data provided by the state education department on the school’s performance as shown on the Commonwealth Accountability Testing System (CATS).  The data must include, at a minimum, “information on performance levels of all students who were tested, and information on the performance of students disaggregated by race, gender, disability, and participation in the federal free and reduced price lunch program.” 

            After reviewing that data, each school council must adopt a Comprehensive School Improvement Plan to ensure that each student makes progress toward meeting the capacities and abilities the state requires. Local school boards may review these school improvement plans and discuss them with school councils. KSBA strongly recommends that local boards establish a process for regular discussion and review of school data with each school council, allowing boards to become more aware of progress and problems with student achievement at each school. These discussions also provide the board team with a strong foundation for considering the district budget and future programs.

            follow-up

            Boards and school councils should keep tabs on their Comprehensive Plans, checking to be sure the work outlined in those plans is on schedule and that student performance is improving. The Kentucky Department of Education can help a district track progress with sample forms called “Implementation and Impact Checks.” These checks will work, according to KDE, if:

• The board or school council received complete, accurate and specific information about the work that is being done.
• The board or council received good information on the results of the work on student performance, which requires schools to have a systematic approach to assessment, data collecting and analysis of that data.
• The board or council fully analyzes the information and decides where further improvements are needed.
• The entire process happens often enough to address problems before they become bigger.

            School district policy can require a format for documenting the checks so each school in the district uses that same format.  Otherwise, each school can develop its own format for sharing this information.  Many school districts post their checks on the district Web site along with the school and district improvement plans, so that the community can access the information.

Senate Bill 168

            In 2002, Kentucky’s legislature approved Senate Bill 168, which requires schools and districts to review student achievement data for subgroups of student populations within each school and the district. Schools and districts are then required to identify and address achievement gaps between different groups of students.  Specifically targeted are:

·        racial minorities

·        students with disabilities

·        gender disparities

·        low socioeconomic groups

·        students with Limited English Proficiency or who qualify for English as a Second   Language programs

            If schools and districts see that there are achievement gaps between these different subgroups, they are required to develop plans to address these gaps and eliminate them over time.

No Child Left Behind

            In January of  2001,  President George W. Bush signed the No Child Left Behind law that requires schools and districts to undertake the same sort of detailed review of student subgroup data that is required in Senate Bill 168.  NCLB was aimed at improving accountability for Title I dollars in public schools throughout the nation. All public schools must abide by the rules of NCLB, but only Title I schools face the consequences of missing their goals. NCLB adds some consequences that are not in SB168.  The key pieces of this 1,100- page law for which local school boards are responsible include:

• Parental notification requirements (general, school choice issues, privacy and protection of student rights)
• Highly qualified personnel requirements
• Public school choice for schools “needing improvement”
• Unsafe school choice options
• Supplemental educational services requirements
• Access to student information by military recruiters
• Student data collection requirements
• School prayer and equal access provisions

            Kentucky’s student achievement goals are similar to those called for in NCLB: high expectations for all students, rigorous student performance standards tied to annual assessments in grades 3-8 and one grade in high school, multiple assessments linked directly to the core content for Kentucky, school accountability, student and school performance shared with parents via school reports cards, and a goal of proficiency (as defined by the state) by the year 2014.  In addition, NCLB includes student participation goals and added objectives – increasing the graduation rate for high schools and increasing the CATS accountability index for elementary and middle schools.

            Many of the provisions required through NCLB are intended to strengthen the network that supports student achievement.  Further, the revisions call for a review of student achievement and progress for all subgroups of students in every state and every district.  It is critical that school boards be familiar with all data related to achievement for all students in the district, and for the board to have a plan to strengthen that achievement and close all gaps.

            NCLB sets targets for schools and districts, based upon student demographics. The largest number of targets that any district would have to meet is 25. The individual target areas are:

Reading – all students

Reading – white students

Reading – African-American students

Reading – Hispanic students

Reading – Asian students

Reading – limited English proficiency students

Reading – free/reduced lunch students

Reading – students with disabilities

Math – all students

Math – white students

Math – African-American students

Math – Hispanic students

Math – Asian students

Math – limited English proficiency students

Math – free/reduced lunch students

Math – students with disabilities

Participation Rate – all students

Participation Rate – white students

Participation Rate – African-American students

Participation Rate – Hispanic students

Participation Rate – Asian students

Participation Rate – limited English proficiency students

Participation Rate – free/reduced lunch students

Participation Rate – students with disabilities

One Other Indicator (defined differently for elementary, middle and high school)

            To be counted for NCLB measurements, students must be enrolled in a school for a “full academic year,” which is defined in Kentucky as any 100 days from the first day of school to the first day of testing.  If a student does not meet that parameter, that student is counted only in the district’s accountability, as long as he or she was enrolled in the district for a full academic year. 

            If a school and/or district misses any of the goals for achievement, participation in testing or other objectives, they are labeled as having “failed to make adequate yearly progress” in that area. 

            If schools fail to meet their goals, the district will have to provide tutoring services (aside from district programs), as well as allow students to transfer to other schools – and transport them – to name just a few of the consequences for which boards are responsible.  It is critical that school board members understand the full implications of the NCLB legislation, so that they can readily explain it to citizens, students, families, staff, and others. 

            NCLB measures academic success by using the percent of students who reach proficient (as defined by each state) in each subgroup. This gives districts and schools no credit for helping students move from novice to apprentice, for example. By way of contrast, Kentucky’s system of assessment (CATS) measures school academic progress by combining student scores and giving credit for student progress.

            More details about NCLB are contained in Chapter 20.

Other OPTIONS

            The local school board has the option of further defining what student achievement will “look like” within its district. Are there standards and goals that would further strengthen those required by state and national guidelines? Are there assessments that the local district feels are important, in addition to those required by state law? How much emphasis should be placed on any given assessment? What is the board’s responsibility for each of the mandated student achievement pieces that are listed above?

Planning for Student Achievement

            Discussion of student achievement at board meetings should not be left to chance.  The board should always focus on student achievement and organize its meetings to ensure that discussion of student achievement is foremost and ongoing.

Local boards should constantly:

• Have substantive discussion about student achievement with the superintendent and support staff, with school councils and with community groups.
• Review student achievement data regularly for progress.
• Make budget and policy decisions based on data review and student achievement discussions.
• Plan for future district actions and budgeting based on all the above.

            In carrying out its oversight responsibility for student achievement, the board member’s most powerful tool is a question. Board members should have a standard list of questions that they ask the superintendent each time a program and/or student achievement data is presented at board meetings. These questions will be based on board goals and mission, the annual superintendent’s evaluation, and review of school council plans for student achievement. All programs, plans, and budget requests that come before the board should be presented with the knowledge that those questions will be asked, and that the presentation will provide the appropriate answers. 

            When a school or district program is presented to the board, board members should always expect to hear how it contributes to, and will further improve, student achievement. Some programs will be presented in the form of progress reports or updates, as a regular part of the board calendar. Other programs will be presented for possible adoption. In both cases, there are questions that the board should be asking:

1. How does this program support student achievement?
2. How will this program move our student achievement closer to our district goals?
3. What data do we have on the effectiveness of existing programs? Does this data show that there has been a positive impact on achievement for all students?
4. Given the data, should changes be made to existing programs?
5. What does the community know about this program and its contribution to student achievement?
6. How does this program supplement other programs in our district? Does it duplicate something else?  Does it work at odds with another program?
7. Is the student achievement we are seeing as a result of this program enough to justify the ongoing use of resources to support it?
8. Are district and state standards incorporated into this program?
9. What data do we have to show that student progress continues after a student exits this program?
10. Are students and/or families satisfied with this program?

ASAP FOR SCHOOL BOARDS

            KSBA has developed a focused program, Advancing Student Achievement to Proficiency for School Boards, that will provide direction and purpose for all local board work. This includes student-centered board agendas, student-centered board calendars and student centered board resolutions.

            A brief description of ASAP’s tools and what board governance teams should do with them follows:

Board resolution: reflects the resolve of the board governance team to focus on advancing student achievement.

Board agenda calendar: lists monthly key agenda items to be covered to ensure that the focus is on student achievement.

Board agenda: developed so that the focus is on students and student achievement.

Board policies: reviewed regularly for their impact on, and accurate capture of, the focus on student achievement.

Multiple data indicators: used continuously for assessment of student achievement for every student.

Annual school council reports: are a regular part of the board’s agenda focused on improved achievement for every student.

Community discussions: play a critical part in the direction taken by board governance teams because it allows for regular and substantive community input.

Comprehensive District Improvement Plan: designed to address student achievement needs as identified by data indicators.

Displays of student achievement data: provide a constant reminder of what we are all about; posted in the board meeting room and schools.

Budgetary decisions: made based upon regular evaluation of student achievement data.

Removing Barriers to Learning

            The public schools have always been, and continue to be, the “melting pot” of American culture. It is the American public schools where young people of different ethnic backgrounds, races, religious beliefs, and socioeconomic status intermingle and interact. Unfortunately, there also are students whose backgrounds include poverty, abuse, crime, and neglect. These environmental factors/conditions represent barriers to learning that may be difficult for these students to overcome.

            Just as boards should be aware of the academic achievement and other student outcomes of the district, they also should be aware of the scope and impact of such factors as poverty, child abuse, and crime that deter positive student outcomes. Only through reducing or eliminating barriers to learning can the district provide an environment that allows children to take full advantage of their educational opportunities. Programs that have been designed to address these barriers include the family resource and youth service centers established by KERA, school counseling, mentoring by school and community members, and school-based health centers.

            Unsafe schools and disorderly students are also serious barriers to learning. School safety and student discipline are recognized as critical components of student achievement. Numerous studies have indicated that when students and teachers are unduly concerned about their personal safety, academic achievement is adversely effected.  For this reason, in establishing the Kentucky Center for School Safety, the General Assembly declared that: “every student should have access to a safe, secure, and orderly school that is conducive to learning.”  KSBA’s Risk Management Service has also created a Safe Schools Assessment program in partnership with KSBA’s Policy Service, the Center for School Safety and the Kentucky Department of Education, to examine school climate and safety in individual schools at the request of superintendents.

WHAT BOARDS CAN DO

            Boards are in an ideal and unique position to provide community leadership to reduce specific social and economic conditions that place some of their youth at risk of academic failure. Boards are also given the responsibility by the General Assembly for formulating a code of acceptable behavior and discipline to apply to the students in each school operated by the board. They can:

1. Review data that reflect the overall status of children and youth within the community, such as the non-cognitive data described above, as well as the district/county rates for such factors as teen births, births to single mothers, children living in poverty, and juvenile crime.  Several different agencies, including KSBA, provide consultation services to help districts reduce barriers to learning.

The board should also receive data from the schools on the number of suspensions per school including the status of suspended students (poverty, number of failed grades or subjects, race, gender, etc.).

Require school council reports to the board to include the school’s data as reported by the Center for School Safety.  Data should be disaggregated by gender, race,      grade level, at-risk, and special education when applicable. 

Boards can review the data book published annually by the Kentucky KIDS COUNT Consortium (data analysis by the Center for Urban and Economic Research, University of Louisville), which reports conditions of children and families in Kentucky counties. 

2. Identify community organizations that can assist the education system in accessing the necessary resources to reduce or alleviate problems.

3. Meet with community agencies to discuss how cooperation can occur between the district and the agencies.

4. Learn about effective strategies (including models of community partnerships) that reduce obstacles to student learning and support the efforts of family resource and youth service centers.

5. Develop a plan that identifies the district’s barriers to learning and specific strategies and time lines for reducing or eliminating the barriers.

QUESTIONS

v     What exactly is a barrier to learning?

A barrier to learning is any obstacle that a child must overcome to achieve at his/her fullest or any existing condition that presents an obstacle to learning. It could be physical, such as vision or hearing problems; it could be mental, such as emotional scars created by being abused; it could be the threat of violence; and it could be an attitude of hopelessness fostered by his/her environment outside schools (and unfortunately sometimes in school).

v     Wouldn’t pampering these students cause even greater deterioration of discipline in schools?

The absence of discipline in school is in itself a barrier to learning. Violence among the young continues to be a major concern of both the general public and parents of school-age children and boards must ensure that schools are safe places for children.  Any discussion on removing or reducing barriers to learning should include discussion and plans to make schools safe.

v     Schools are trying to do too much now. Wouldn’t this effort to remove barriers to learning be starting yet another “social program?”

No. Most teachers and administrators are not trained to do social work. That is why cooperation with community agencies to find solutions is so important. By working together with community agencies to remove barriers to learning, teachers can do what they are trained to do.

v     What is currently being done in districts across the state to remove barriers to learning?

The General Assembly addressed the removal of barriers to learning when it funded extended school services, family and youth service centers and preschool.  Programs in special education also deal with removing barriers to learning for children with disabilities. The free and reduced breakfast and lunch programs help reduce some of the negative impact of poverty.  However, the school system will have difficulty reducing many barriers without activating all resources available in the community.

Some controlling statutes and regulations for this chapter: KRS 158.645 (Academic Expectations); KRS 160.345; KRS 160.435 (2) (i); KRS 158.440

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© 2004 Kentucky School Boards Association.

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