June 2008

Dear Parent/Guardian,

Like most of you, I am looking forward to the summer and the relaxed days spent with family and friends.  However, this year I am approaching the summer with a deep concern for public schools in Connecticut.  My concern is related to the release of results of statewide tests taken this spring.  Many parents and community members may be alarmed to learn that dozens of schools, perhaps even some in Ledyard, will be added to the list designated as “in need of improvement.”  That announcement will certainly shock many people and may even undermine confidence in public education in our state.  The federal No Child Left Behind law requires that test results be used to identify entire schools, as well as sub-groups of children within a school, which do not score sufficiently well on statewide tests.   This letter offers some explanation about what is happening and suggestions on how to put statewide testing in its proper perspective.

A brief overview of the law may be helpful to put the test results in context.  In 2002, the federal government passed the No Child Left Behind legislation, which contains a number of well-intentioned measures to reform education.  The heart of the law is a strong accountability system based on student testing which mandates annual tests in reading and math for all students in grades 3 - 8 and in grade 10.  States must define a minimum standard for success on each test; this standard is called the proficiency level.  If specified percents of students fail to meet the minimum proficiency level, the school is designated as “in need of improvement”, and a series of accountability measures must be initiated.

The first thing that must be noted about this year’s results that will be published this summer is that the minimum proficiency standard will be raised significantly.  For the past several years, 68% of the children had to score proficiently on the reading tests, and now the minimum will be 79%; in math, the standard will go from 74% to 82%.  In 2011, the minimum percents rise to 90% and then in 2014 the law mandates that 100% of all students be proficient, including disabled students and those with limited English.
 
The second point that needs clarification is that the law also requires children’s scores to be broken into various sub groups: one separate group for children with disabilities, one for those who are not native speakers of English, and groups separated by racial and socio-economic background.  If any one of these groups fails to meet the minimum standard, the law mandates that the entire school be designated as not making adequate progress.  As you can imagine, schools with large populations of non-native English speakers and significant numbers of disabled children face enormous challenges.

The law clearly represents a commitment to raise the academic standards in America’s classrooms.  While the law has led to numerous school improvements, it has also had several unintended effects.  Perhaps the most significant negative effect is that it limits the measure of educational progress to the results of only one assessment.   As a result, the law tends to
narrow the focus of education to only those areas that are tested.  Schools certainly exist to facilitate the learning of academic skills, but they also have other hugely important goals that we would be foolish to diminish in importance.

A quick glance at our schools reveals a wide range of activities designed to develop children in social and civic areas.  Schools strive to offer opportunities to play and engage in both formal and informal activities where children learn valuable life-long lessons about themselves, their interests, and abilities.  Competition in sports and other activities allows young people to develop discipline, self awareness, and learn the meaning of winning and losing.  Perhaps, more importantly, students observe how doing their best has tangible results.  It is often said that the most accurate predictor of success after graduation is the student’s level of extracurricular activities.  I have often thought that is true because these activities help students develop the ability to focus efforts in a disciplined manner and make good choices about priorities.

In addition to social development, schools also teach civic values that are the bedrock of our society.  Children are taught lessons about the value of democracy, equality under the law, and human rights.  These lessons are presented in history class, but also modeled in school and classroom rules about treating others with respect and fairness.  All of those lessons are critically important to a child’s development.  Losing our focus on those goals would be truly disastrous to our community, state, and nation.

At a recent conference, I heard a speaker warn educators not to “lose your souls to the testing”.  By this he meant avoiding the temptation to focus exclusively on standardized testing to be sure a school meets the testing requirements.  We have to work as a learning community to keep our balance.  We need to work hard on academics but also remain committed to the social and civic goals we embrace.  We must put those scores in a proper perspective; they are certainly valuable indicators of the student’s performance, but they clearly tell only a part of the story.

Parents and community members would be wise to look closely at the published results and realize that schools are multi-faceted organizations.  Oversimplified test results can paint an incomplete picture of our children and underestimate the excellent learning that occurs every day in our schools.  We all have a great interest in the academic development of our children, and the statewide test results will be an important indicator of the children’s progress; however, as an educator, grandparent, and citizen, I also see the immense importance of the other functions of our schools.  I would suggest that not “losing our souls to the testing” means putting the scores in perspective and valuing the other important learning accomplished by our children each day.

As we prepare for what I hope will be a great summer, I cling to my determination that schools will work hard to maintain their focus on our core mission: helping children develop intellectual capabilities, a moral compass to guide them, and compassion to treat others with respect.

                                                                        Sincerely,

                                                                        Michael H. Graner, Ph.D.
                                                                        Superintendent of Schools