No Child Left Behind Targets Chestnut Hill

A record number of schools were added to this year's list of those "in need of improvement," including Chestnut Hill Elementary in the Half Hollow Hills School District.

There are 106 Long Island public schools listed on the state’s list, a figure that has more than tripled since last year. The state's needs-improvement list is based on a formula, which includes results from English and math Regents exams in high schools, along with graduation rates, and results from state tests in English, math and science for elementary schools.

Why does it appear that so many schools, even very good ones such as those in Half Hollow Hills, are doing poorly? Much of it has to do with the federal No Child Left Behind legislation.

The expectation of the legislation is that by year 2012-2014, all students will be proficient on statewide examinations, but experts say that the language of the law forces schools onto the “in need of improvement” list, even if the majority of students are scoring and even surpassing state expectations.

Part of the huge increase in the number of schools on the list is that New York State has raised the pass score. Another factor is that students with special needs are now rated on the same level as students without learning disabilities, which may not give all students a fair chance to succeed on the tests.

“It’s important to understand that more and more schools will be listed because of a requirement of No Child Left Behind,” said Mary Rettaliata, assistant superintendent of 
elementary education. “While it’s a worthy goal, not all children progress at the same rate.”

This year, made the annual progress qualification, but was identified as needing improvement in the basic elementary-middle level English language arts category. The designation however, may be misleading when judging the school’s academics.

In testing, children are separated into sub groups of 30 students or more. The sub groups are categories that reflect students who are more at risk for falling behind such as language learners, economically disadvantaged, learning disabled and others. Out of 36 Chestnut Hill students who were identified in a subgroup, 18 of them did not make the yearly progress point.

For the 18 students who did not meet the yearly progress goal, the district is offering access to supplemental education services including after-school programs and family services for economically disadvantaged students.

 As drastic education cuts become a reality, it is likely that more schools will turn up on the list, Rettaliata said.

When it comes to bringing all of Chestnut Hill’s students up to standard, the district is “ready for the challenge,” she said.