Election 2011: District 68 Election Candidates on Increasing No Child Left Behind Benchmarks

April 5 is coming up fast. To help you get to know the candidates for the contested Woodridge elections, we asked the candidates for the and the a set of questions. We'll be posting the answers to those questions throughout the week.

As always, check out all of our election coverage at Election Central 2011.

As No Child Left Behind benchmarks continue to rise, what do you think the district can do to raise scores?

Woodridge District 68 made adequate yearly progress (AYP) in 2010, according to
benchmarks given by the No Child Left Behind Act. 86.7% of the approximate 3,000 students in the district met or exceeded expectations in reading, and 88.1% of students met or exceeded expectations in math. The goal was 77.5% in both areas.

All Illinois students take the ISAT, the state-administered, standardized test designed to measure academic achievement. Based on ISAT scores, it is determined if a district has made AYP.

Additionally the district made the AYP-equivalent for its bilingual students in 2010.
Students who are English Language Learners are tested for their English language
proficiency on the ACCESS test. Based on a district's ACCESS scores, it is determined if a district has made annual measurable achievement objectives (AMAO). The district was notified in January that it had made AMAO in 2010.

Both of these are great achievements for the students and staff of Woodridge 68!
Naturally, there is always room for improvement. As a district we can keep this
success and momentum going in many ways:

• Continue to train and support our teachers
• Continue to use research-based strategies and 'best practices'
• Continue to employ administrators and principals who are supportive and understanding of the instructional programs and support teachers with student discipline issues as they arise
• Continually assess the staffing levels required to meet the children’s needs
• Continue to hire and retain high-quality teachers
• Continue early invention for kindergarten and first grade students
• Continue to effectively communicate with parents and increase parental involvement

Currently our students meet or exceed the benchmarks set by No Child Left Behind. As these benchmarks continue to rise, the administration and staff adjust resources and programs to maximize the effectiveness of each student’s learning. This methodology, realignment of resources and programs, has proven to be successful
as evident by our students continuously meeting and exceeding these benchmarks on state and national tests. Because we have programs that are working, we should continue to fine-tune our efforts and remain open to exploring new methods that may become available without negatively impacting the proven success we have in place. 

The district only needs to support the hiring and continued employment of great teachers who are capable of stimulating the minds of our varied student body.

Illinois set high standards for making AYP at the beginning of the process leading to the mandates 100% success standard for 2014. Woodridge has been modifying and/or adding programs since the bill's inception. The district will continue to do so.  The NCLB mandate to have all subgroups attain a 100% success rate will need to be modified as it places an impossible standard on school districts.

There is no question that the higher the benchmarks, the more difficult it will be to meet them. However, I do not agree with those that believe that the standards cannot be met. Schools need to identify those students that are failing to meet state standards and implement programs specifically geared towards helping those students.