District 204 Continues to Close Achievement Gap, Fails to Meet AYP

The academic report card is out and across the board at students continue to show high levels of achievement in core subject areas.

Officials are pleased with the level of student achievement reflected in reports. Even though students are achieving at levels well above their peers statewide, District 204 still gets a failing grade because it did not make Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP). 

AYP is part of the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, which requires that 100 percent of students meet progress standards by the 2013-2014 school year. Benchmarks in each state vary, but the act requires that all public school districts be tested annually. In Illinois, the percentage of students expected to meet or exceed state learning standards climbs by 7.5 percent each year.

The goal to meet this year was 85 percent meeting or exceeding state standards. Test results are divided into subgroups, including income, race, special education and students with limited English proficiency. Any subgroup's failure to meet a benchmark translates to a school not meeting AYP. The goal next year will be 92 percent. 

“Overall, 93.5 percent (of students) met or exceeded standards in reading, math and science,” said Patrick Nolten, director of assessment, research and evaluation. “Nineteen out of 20 kids are meeting or exceeding standards.” 

Superintendent Kathy Birkett said that the take away for parents is really how well their student is doing in school.

Parents have approached Birkett saying, “my school failed” and she has had to reassure them emphasizing that what is important is how their child is doing. And, most students in District 204 are achieving at levels far above their peers.

Because the percentage of students required to meet and exceed academically increases every year, it becomes a greater challenge for those schools already achieving at high levels.

Reading scores remained steady at the elementary level with about 90 percent of students meeting or exceeding standards at third, fourth and fifth grade, Nolten said. Students in sixth grade had considerable gains in reading, increasing from 92.1 percent in 2008 to 94.4 percent in 2011.

Birkett said the gains might be tied to intervention programs the district put in place, which seek to assist students who may be struggling, as well as professional learning communities, which allow teachers to meet and discuss data tied to student achievement and evaluate how a change in their classroom might positively impact students.

Another highlight from the report is that students are achieving at a high rate in math. According to the reports students at every grade level tested were achieving at 94 or 95 percent meeting or exceeding standards.

The district has its own assessment system that works to find students who are struggling throughout the year, Nolten said. The assessments are quick and are completed in September, January and May. If a student appears to be struggling interventions can be put in place to assist the student.

“We think we are seeing the fruits of our labors and are able to find where we need to shore up students,” he said. 

The district is also very pleased with the progress it is making closing the gap among students in subgroups, including those who have an individualized education program, are black, Hispanic, limited English proficient, or receiving free and reduced lunch.

For example, Hispanic students’ mathematics scores have increased from 79.1 percent in 2009 to 84.2 percent in 2011, according to the reports. Black students have increased from 73.1 percent in 2009 to 74.9 percent in 2011.

Officials are working to make sure the district is meeting all of its students needs regardless of the level of achievement, Birkett said. To do so it is taking steps to host bilingual meetings and encourage students to consider more challenging courses. 

“We saw growth in all subgroups, including an increase in Hispanic and limited English proficiency scores,” Birkett said. “However, due to the ever raising bar of No Child Left Behind, the district did not make Adequate Yearly Progress because 85 percent of all subgroups did not meet or exceed standards. The subgroups that failed to meet the benchmark were students with disabilities, economically disadvantaged and black.” 

This year, 17 of 21 elementary schools made AYP in reading and math, two of seven middle schools made AYP in reading and math. To show how a school can be high achieving yet fail to make AYP, Birkett said that didn’t make AYP yet it was recognized as a high achieving school in the federal Blue Ribbon Schools Program. 

All three high schools had areas where they did not make AYP including reading and math, according to the reports.

Improvements were made in reading scores at among black students and students with disabilities. Math scores improved among all students, white, black and students with disabilities.

also had improved reading and math scores. Black, Hispanic, Asian, economically disadvantaged and students with disabilities did better in reading. All students, white, black and students with disabilities showed improvement in math.

At the high school level, the district continues to celebrate the growth in scores on the ACT test. Junior tested achieved a record setting composite score of 24.5. The state’s average score is 20.6. While at District 204, there has been a 1.7 point increase on the ACT since 2005.

The district invites community members to view presentation slides of test results and a video explaining the results on its website.