Ask Mr. School Answer Person: How does Decorah, one of the highest ranked school districts in the state, get John Cline School labeled as a SINA (School in Need of Assistance)?

Last week the Decorah Community School Board heard about Decorah (specifically John Cline) being named a SINA (School in Need of Assistance). Mr. Answer Person did a lot of research via the Iowa Department of Education and interviewed Superintendent Mike Haluska to help understand this classification and what it means.. Mr. Answer Person will attempt to explain, but admits that making sense of it all is more of a challenge.

First, some necessary background and definitions.

This starts with  The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB). It is the most recent  form  of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), the major federal law authorizing spending on programs to support K-12 schooling via Title I (funding mostly related to improving education for low income students). Under NCLB, public school districts and public schools must report the academic progress of all students in grades 3 to 8 and 11 and students by subgroups, and their test participation rates in the subject areas of reading and mathematics.

NCLB requires all public schools receiving federal funding to administer a state-wide standardized test annually to all students.  Schools that receive Title I funding must meet  established proficiency goals.  If a school does not meet the state Annual Measurable Objectives (AMO) in reading or mathematics assessment in either the "all students" group or any one of the subgroups for two consecutive years, it is designated as a school in need of assistance, which is also referred to as SINA. SINA schools that receive Title I funds are required to comply with NCLB sanctions, which includes writing a corrective plan. The sanction list expands depending on the number of years not meeting objectives. Ultimately a district school could be taken over by the state, or by a private school, under the assumption that they could do a better job.

Being listed a SINA school can be confusing. There are really two SINA lists - one for Title I eligible schools (such as John Cline), and another list that includes the schools that have not met objectives but are not Title I schools (including Carrie Lee, Middle School). The second list can be very informative, but with those schools failing to meet goals does not result in NCLB sanctions. So most of the  focus is on the SINA Title I list.

Now, for some questions.

WHY IS JOHN CLINE THE ONLY DECORAH SCHOOL THAT IS A TITLE I SCHOOL? Title I eligibility is tied to the number of students on the "free and reduced student lunch program." John Cline is the only school in the district with qualifying numbers. For whatever reason, the number of applicants for that program declines as students progress in grade level. Checking the list of Title I schools in the state that are listed as SINA schools reveals that virtually the entire list is comprised of elementary schools.

WHAT STANDARDIZED TEST DID THE JOHN CLINE STUDENTS TAKE TO INDICATE THEIR FAILURE TO MEET THE ANNUAL MEASUREABLE OBJECTIVES IN READING? Actually they didn't take any test! Decorah Schools does not begin standardized testing until 3rd grade.  Because of that the state uses a process called "backmapping," based on tests of 3rd graders and predicts that the K-2 would not meet the standards. Hence, John Cline became a SINA school without any direct school data.

WHERE DO THE "STANDARDS" COME FROM? Each state sets its own standards of what proficiency is in reading and math. Iowa uses the Iowa Assessments and MAPS testing to evaluate students.

WHY DID DECORAH NOT MEET THE STANDARDS IN READING? Superintendent Haluska attributes it to students testing in the subgroup of special education. But also, the difficulty in meeting the standard has been increasing each year since NCLB began, so don't expect that the issue will end there. The NCLB "bar" for the percentage of students meeting standards has been rising since the act was passed in 2001. Now, according to NCLB, in 2014 every child is expected to be proficient at their grade level. That means 100 percent of students (hence, no child left behind). Many educators say that it is unrealistic to expect that every student can test to be proficient. Schools that do not meet that will become a SINA school if they miss standard two years in a row.

HOW ABOUT AN EXAMPLE?  Since the math and reading examples would be complex, let's just pretend that NCLB also pertained to physical education. The state then would decide what proficiency in physical education means. They decide that all students should be able to make 4 out of 10 free throws.  Not a high bar and one that, with practice, most students should be able to do.  Will everyone will make it? Some are not very athletic. Susie runs well but has poor upper body strength. Fred has a bad day when he is tested. Alex's parents never gave him access to a basketball. It is pretty likely that our make believe school is not going to have 100 percent of students meeting standards.

HOW MANY SCHOOLS HAVE NOT MET STANDARDS? According to the most recent Iowa Department of Education report - "of the 1,356 Iowa public schools that provided services to students in grades K to 12 for which AYP (Annual Yearly Progress) decisions were made, a total of 737 public schools (54.4 percent) were identified as a school in need of assistance (SINA). This is an increase of 7.2 percent from the 47.2 percent of public schools identified as a school in need of assistance for the 2012-2013 school year."  In 2011 it was 37 percent.  Note that as the bar is climbing toward 100 percent student proficiency, the SINA numbers are increasing. Next year will likely have even more SINA schools with the 100 percent expectation going into a second year.

WHY ARE SOME SCHOOLS NOTABLY ABSENT FROM THE SINA TITLE I LIST?  It is an issue of numbers. Small districts may not be subject to the SINA and NCLB rules because either their total numbers or subgroup numbers are low. Also private schools are not subject to the laws.

WHAT IS THE IMPACT OF THIS SINA DESIGNATION?  John Cline receives $140K in Title I  funding. It is used for Title I reading teachers. Now 10% of that will be need to be utilized in professional development and the administration of a corrective plan. The school has sent a letter to parents, noting plans to engage in curriculum review, appropriate adjustments and professional development. The impact could increase if goals are not met next year.

*** Tomorrow Mr. Answer Person ventures into some opinions as he addresses the question - is  being a SINA school a big deal or not? ***