October 13, 2004
O'Connell Releases LIst of Schols and School
Districts Identified for Federal Program Improvement
SACRAMENTO — State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell today released the list of California schools and school districts entering, remaining in, or exiting Program Improvement (PI) under the federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act.
For the 2004-05 school year, 505 California schools were newly designated as being in PI, bringing the total of schools in that category to 1,626. Of those schools, 668 are in Year 1, 506 are in Year 2, 174 are in Year 3, 268 are in Year 4, and 10 are in Year 5. Sixty-five schools exited PI based on 2003-04 data. About 1,200 schools were in PI during the 2003-04 school year.
Only schools receiving federal Title I funds are designated for PI. They are subject to a range of requirements, interventions, or sanctions if they fail to meet strict improvement benchmarks under the federal school accountability act.
Overall, 28 percent of California Title I schools are in PI this year as compared to 21 percent in 2003. There are 5,714 Title I schools in the state. In addition, 71 percent of the PI schools actually showed improvement under the state accountability system.
"I continue to believe that California's own accountability system — the Academic Performance Index — is a fairer and more accurate measurement of school performance," said O'Connell. "It makes more sense to measure schools on their academic growth from year to year, and target resources to schools showing the least improvement, rather than designating schools 'passed or failed' based on whether they reached an arbitrary status bar.
"This process, however, allows schools needing improvement to take part in our intervention programs that are designed to improve student achievement. We will continue to work hard to assist these schools by getting them the help they need. No matter what standard is used, we need to ensure all students are successful academically."
Under the NCLB model, all schools must show that 100 percent of their students are proficient in English-language arts and math by 2014, a determination that will certainly result in a vast majority of schools, not only in California but nationwide, being designated as inadequate.
"Once this federal measurement identifies all schools as failing, it ceases to be a meaningful accountability system," O'Connell said.
Schools entering PI for the first time in 2004-05 did not make Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) for two consecutive years in the same content area or on the same indicator. Once identified as being in PI, a school advances for each year it does not make AYP. Schools exit PI by making AYP for two consecutive years.
All schools in PI must offer choice and transportation for their students to attend another school in the district that is not designated as being in PI.
More information about PI interventions required in each year may be found at Program Improvement (PI) - Title I, Part A - Accountability.
NCLB also requires each state to identify school districts in need of improvement. A Title I funded local educational agency (LEA) that, for each of two consecutive years, does not make AYP and has an LEA-wide Academic Performance Index (API) of less than 560 for the socioeconomically disadvantaged subgroup will be identified for PI.
This is the first year that school districts are being identified for PI. Fifteen districts are identified as entering PI in 2004-05. Requirements for PI districts can be found at the Web site listed above.
The 2004 AYP results were released on August 31, 2004. NCLB regulations mandate that schools be notified of their AYP standing prior to the start of the traditional school year so that those in PI may begin implementing the required services as early as possible.
The complete list of schools designated as being in PI for 2004-05 can be found at: Title I Program Improvement Status Reports - Adequate Yearly Progress. The list of school districts in PI can be found at Title I Program Improvement Status Data Files - Adequate Yearly Progress.# # # #
Attachment
Schools Not in Program Improvement
Type |
Total |
|---|---|
Title I Schools Exiting From Program Improvement in 2004 |
65 |
Title I Schools Not in Program Improvement in 2003 or 2004 |
4,023 |
Total: |
4,088 |
Schools In Program Improvement
Year |
Advance in PI |
Remain in Same Year PI |
Total in PI |
|---|---|---|---|
Year 1 |
505 |
163 |
668 |
Year 2 |
436 |
70 |
506 |
Year 3 |
116 |
58 |
174 |
Year 4 |
267 |
1 |
268 |
Year 5 |
10 |
0 |
10 |
Total: |
1,334 |
292 |
1,686 |
Total Schools: 5,714
