About those ‘failing’ schools

Bring forth the letters, nondescript and government-issued, like a jury summons or an IRS audit.

Dear (supposedly loving) parent: A majority of Washington’s public schools are “failing,” as defined by the federal No Child Left Behind Act. Your goes-to-a-failing school child may transfer to a (technically) non-failing elementary or secondary school, presupposing such non failures exist in your district (with regrets to students in Mukilteo.)

As The Herald reports, there have been 62 transfer requests for students attending one of the Everett School District’s six Title I schools not meeting what’s known as “Adequate Yearly Progress” targets.

Rule one, straight from the “Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy,” is don’t panic.

“There is a fair amount of confusion,” said Cynthia Jones, director of categorical programs for Everett School District who received parents’ calls about the letters. “There is confusion about what does it mean for my child’s school and what does it mean for my child.”

That confusion subsides when parents get in the weeds. If 100 percent of students don’t meet state-drafted standards, the entire school flunks, triggering the failure letters and other steps.

Parents caught off guard — and they are legion — tuned out the Olympia noise. Earlier this year, Washington became the first state in the nation to have its conditional waiver of No Child Left Behind denied. The bugaboo was that Olympia wouldn’t hitch teacher evaluations to student testing.

It’s more nuanced than a teachers-union uprising against a culture of standardized testing. The required use of poorly vetted tests to measure student achievement and linking those results to teacher performance is unworkable over the short term, however much it creates the illusion of accountability.

“There is widespread acknowledgment that NCLB isn’t working,” Superintendent of Public Instruction Randy Dorn said at the time. “Congress has failed to change the law at the federal level, so states are forced to come up with workarounds.”

Because of the waiver denial, $40 million the state receives from the feds will be freighted with restrictions. The Everett School District, for example, will be forced to set aside 20 percent of its Title I budget to bus students in failing schools to non failing ones and to provide private tutors for struggling students.

Money falls away just as disadvantaged children get slammed the hardest. After all the shouting, there’s a simple, two-part remedy: Fully fund education as the McCleary decision requires and repeal NCLB.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Opinion

Washington state senators and representatives along with Governor Inslee and FTA Administrator Nuria Fernandez break ground at the Swift Orange Line on Tuesday, April 19, 2022 in Lynnwood, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Editorial: Community Transit making most of Link’s arrival

The Lynnwood light rail station will allow the transit agency to improve routes and frequency of buses.

toon
Editorial cartoons for Wednesday, March 27

A sketchy look at the news of the day.… Continue reading

An image of Everett Mayor Cassie Franklin is reflected in a storefront window during the State of the City Address on Thursday, March 21, 2024, at thee Everett Mall in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Editorial: State of city address makes case for Everett’s future

Mayor Franklin outlines challenges and responses as the city approaches significant decisions.

FILE - The massive mudslide that killed 43 people in the community of Oso, Wash., is viewed from the air on March 24, 2014. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File)
Editorial: Mapping landslide risks honors those lost in Oso

Efforts continue in the state to map areas prone to landslides and prevent losses of life and property.

Burke: ‘Why not write about Biden, for once?’ Don’t mind if I do.

They asked; I’ll oblige. Let’s consider what the president has accomplished since the 2020 election.

Comment: Catherine missed chance to dispel shame of cancer

She wasn’t obligated to do so, but she might have used her diagnosis to educate a sympathetic public.

Comment: Why more Americans are ending up in ‘potter’s fields’

Just as more seniors are living alone, a million ‘kinless seniors’ are likely to die alone, mourned by no one.

Comment: AI making disinformation even harder to fight

AI makes it especially easy to target communities of color and others reliant on cell phone apps.

toon
Editorial cartoons for Tuesday, March 26

A sketchy look at the news of the day.… Continue reading

We need ‘We Are the World’ effort for today’s crises

Thank you for publishing Washington Post columnist Kathleen Parker’s “For one brief… Continue reading

Is Ferguson who voters want to elect as govenor?

When I realized how damaging Gov. Jay Inslee and Attorney General Bob… Continue reading

Saunders: Hearings catch Hunter benefiting from ‘Biden lift’

Republicans have failed to connect the president to his son’s crimes, but there’s no denying those.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.