N.C. Schools Risk Failing Standards

If one subgroup, such as minority students or students from low-income families, does not meet target test scores, then the entire school fails.

The legislation, titled the Federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act, measures improvement while the old program, ABCs of Public Education, shows overall accountability.

The passing of the law Jan. 8 surprised schools, giving them insufficient time to prepare, said Allen Strickland, superintendent of Hoke County Schools.

Now schools want to establish baselines for next year.

"There's a lot of details to work out in this county," he said.

The federal act also changed standards for teacher qualifications.

Schools now must have a fully licensed and certified teacher in every classroom, Strickland said.

To meet this demand, North Carolina needs to produce 10,000 teachers per year -- as opposed to the current 3,000 graduates, he said.

To ease the transition, he said, the state can use lateral entry for those who are working to get teaching licenses.

But schools are not increasing salaries to help pay for the mandatory schooling, Strickland said. As a result, these schools could lose teaching assistants.

The State Board of Education does not have the final draft of the standards, so it cannot tell whether the new rules are harsh, said Kay Williams, director of communication for the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction.

"The state has shown ... steady progress for a decade and (has) the largest (measurable) education progress of a state," Strickland said.

As one of five fast-track states, North Carolina's previous actions to improve education makes following the new law easier, said John Dornan, executive director of the Public School Forum.

School officials said the new standards will help schools target low-performing individuals.

"This ... will make us focus on students who have not done historically well," Dornan said.

He said if this proposal were put into effect, all students would be above grade level within 12 years, he said.

Williams said schools welcome the new act.

"It should have a positive impact, especially as it relates to closure of gaps between student performance," she said.

But even the best N.C. schools, which are about 90 percent above grade level, could fail by the new federal standards, Dornan said.

"If one group does not meet standards, that school will (have failed) even though the school does well overall," he said.

Poorer counties may find it harder to meet the new standards.

"(Since they are more diverse,) many of our poorest counties will be responsible for all subgroups," Dornan said.

Strickland said if the federal government refuses to measure progress with baselines, as many as 70 percent of N.C. schools could add to the 76 percent of the nation's public schools expected to fail.

"I'm not sure that's the message we want to send."

The State & National Editor can be reached at stntdesk@unc.edu.