Ask Mr. School Answer Person: "Is the "School In Need of Assistance" designation for Decorah Schools really a big deal?"

Mr. Answer Person is not really wishy-washy, but the answer here is an emphatic NO and YES. Let me share some reasoning.

Recognizing that Decorah is at the very top of K to 12 graduation rates in Iowa, and that the exit Iowa Assessments of combined reading, math and science scores are in the top 1 percent, it would be hard to say that Decorah parents should be concerned about Decorah Schools getting a SINA (School in Need of Assistance) label.

And let's dig a little deeper on the specific defined problem area - special education. Except for a small subgroup of special education students who would be defined as having profound disabilities, special education students are taking the same reading test as the rest of the student population. Is it any surprise that these students do not meet state defined standards in terms of reading proficiency? NCLB (No Child Left Behind) has done a great job of labeling these students who have learning disabilities (most likely to include reading) as failures. Following the same train of thought - the schools are getting labeled as Schools in Need of Assistance.

In addition to John Cline, both Carrie Lee and Decorah Middle School have SINA labels. But they are not Title I SINA schools so they avoid sanctions and attention.  Do you really believe that the Decorah High School graduation rate and stellar testing results are the result of the High School playing catch up to cope with insufficient elementary preparation?  I doubt it. It seems much more like the NCLB legislation has created a perverse system that works to label virtually any school as failing to meet educational objectives. This is a serious problem because lawmakers frequently don't understand and can easily fall prey to denigrating the public school system without critical analysis.

That is not to say that an emphasis on setting standards is bad. It gives schools something to shoot for, and helps focus objectives. Mr. Answer Person recently witnessed some wonderful examples of math teachers establishing programs to help students learn specified learning objectives, while incorporating individual student progress into the plan. That is how it is supposed to work. Additionally the data collected via NCLB can be incredibly informative.  For example it shows the significant correlation of underachievement and poverty. The data allows us to examine how ethnic status might relate to success.

That having been said, it appears like the NCLB sanctions for SINA labeled schools are quicker to blame teachers and the schools (their sanctions include removing staff and shifting education to private enterprise) rather than push us as a society to address the root causes (e.g., poverty) of why students do not succeed. There are plenty of people who would like to cut school funding, and NCLB has created lots of fodder by the proliferation of lists that label schools as failing. And there are also those who would like to have private enterprise replace public schools. Don't bet on success with that venture unless success is measured by profit.

Yes, there may be some examples of failing schools that need to be fixed (fortunately that is not here in Decorah). And some of that failure is related to poor teaching and administration.  But  NCLB has created a system that readily labels schools as failing without the critical analysis that parents, students and their teachers deserve.