Before the Rain: NCLB and Kellogg Middle School Before the Closure Announcement

Half of Portland's neighborhood middle schools miss No Child Left Behind targets
Monday, July 18, 2005
By Steven Carter and Paige Parker
Four more Portland middle schools are about to go on the federal watch list for schools failing to make adequate yearly progress, meaning half the district's neighborhood middle schools face sanctions under the law.

Parents of the 2,097 students at Binnsmead, Gregory Heights, Kellogg and Portsmouth middle schools were sent letters Friday by the school district, notifying them of the schools' status.

The letters say if space is available at middle schools not on the watch list -- not all have space -- their children are eligible for free transportation to them. They can take a district school bus if the route is handy or get a free TriMet pass. The letters included school transfer applications.

Under the federal No Child Left Behind Act, schools must show adequate yearly progress for all students, including those with disabilities, those who speak limited English and those from poor families.

For the 2004-05 school year, 50 percent of students in a school had to pass the state test in English, and 49 percent had to pass the math test, to make overall adequate yearly progress. Groups within a school, such as disabled students, also are subject to the standards, but their scores can be lower in some cases.

The four middle schools new to the list fell short last year for certain groups of students.

Sanctions under No Child Left Behind are progressive and apply to schools that receive federal anti-poverty money. Two years on the list triggers the transfers and free transportation requirement. Schools on the list for three years are subject to staff or curriculum replacement. By the fifth year, schools face replacement of the entire staff, conversion to a charter school or takeover by a private company.

Students from schools failing to meet federal progress standards make up an increasing majority of all transfers in Portland. This fall, 71 percent of transfers -- 773 students -- will come from schools receiving anti-poverty funds and that failed to make adequately yearly progress.

Sarah Carlin Ames, a district spokeswoman, said the status of the schools could change after test score data are rechecked this summer and fall. It's likely that the percentage of limited-English and disabled students passing state achievement tests will change in the final tally, she said.

The Oregon Department of Education will release a preliminary list of all schools failing to make adequate yearly progress Aug. 5. The state also will release test scores for all Oregon schools in mid-August.