10 Schools Run Out of Time to Catch Up
The federal No Child Left Behind education law gave schools seven years to meet achievement goals, laying out increasingly dire consequences -- including the removal of school staff -- for those that fell short.
But now, 10 schools have exceeded that seven-year timetable, leaving them in undefined territory and spawning renewed criticism by education officials about the fairness of the law.
The California Department of Education on Tuesday identified those schools and hundreds of others that have failed to meet testing targets and are at varying stages of the federal timeline for improvement.
In all, 1,772 California public schools -- or about 20% of the state's 9,000 campuses -- were declared in need of improvement.
Many of the schools fell short of their performance goals because too few of their students reached the proficient level in English or math on standardized tests last year.
But it was the nine Los Angeles schools and one in Visalia that found themselves navigating uncertain terrain.
"We're beyond the law. In a way, it's laughable and sad at the same time," said science teacher Kevin Bryan of Wilson High School, one of the nine Los Angeles campuses. "We've been on this list for a long time. We've done so much to get off it, but we can't."
Federal education department officials said they were not concerned about the schools entering their eighth year of needing improvement, saying campus reforms take time.
In an effort to boost achievement at schools serving low-income children, No Child Left Behind established a system of prods and punishments.
These so-called Title I schools are required to meet annual testing targets in English and math for their campuses overall as well as for subgroups that include races, special education students and children from poor families.
The schools also have to test at least 95% of their students each year.
Campuses that fall short of the goals are placed on a watch list for two years.
Those that continue to miss their targets enter a five-year period during which they face "corrective actions" and increasingly severe sanctions.
Initially, the schools have to offer their students transfers to higher-performing campuses and free tutoring.
In cases where schools still falter, their districts are required to develop "restructuring" plans that can include state takeovers or the removal of staff.
