Our Schools Are Not Failing!

By Norberto P. Salazar

What is failing? The Federal unfunded NCLB mandate that requires all schools to be Proficient/Advanced by the year 2014! What can you do to help?

What you can do to help is become familiar with the unreasonable expectations that are set forth in the Federal unfunded NCLB mandate. NCLB, the No Child Left Behind Act that was put into place by President Bush in 2001, in its first 3 years of existence (2001-2004), required 13.6% of the total school poopulation, in order to receive Federal funding, to achieve a success level of Proficient/Advanced in the academic area of English/Lanugage Arts. In the academic area of Math, NCLB required 16.0% of the total school population to achieve a success level of Proficient/Advanced in order to receive Federal funding.

In the next 3 years of the NCLB Act's existence (2004-2007), it required 24.4% of the total school population, in order to receive Federal funding, to achieve a success level of Proficient/Advanced in the academic area of English/Language Arts. In the academic area of Math, NCLB required 26.5% of the total school population, to achieve a success level of Proficient/Advanced, in order to receive Federal funding.

Schools that didn't achieve these benchmarks, along with other testing measures, were subsequently placed on a program, called Program Improvement, to help them bring up their test scores and meet their benchmarks. If these schools still could not bring up their test scores and meet their benchmarks, they could lose their Federal funding.

If you read the information that I've included in my Position Paper #2, you will read there, that more than a few of our schools in the CVESD are not meeting these benchmarks.

In the 7th year of the NCLB Act's existence (2007-2008), it will require 35.2% of the total school population, in order to receive Federal funding, to achieve a success level of Proficient/Advanced in the academic area of English/Language Arts. In the acadmeic area of Math, it will require that 37.0% of the total school population, to achieve a success level of Proficient/Advanced, in order to receive Federal funding.

Going back to the district test scores in my Position Paper #2, if the current trends in testing continue for the CVESD, for the school year 2007-2008, more schools will be placed in Program Improvement and suffer the possible loss of their Federal funding. Upon closer inspection of these test scores, you will see that many of the CVESD schools are achieving their benchmarks. But what will happen in the school year 2008-2009, when the school population benchmark for English/Language Arts will be 46.0% and the school population benchmark for Math will be 47.5%? Upon closer inspection of those test scores (in my Position Paper #2), you will see that almost one-third of our CVESD schools will not be able to meet their benchmarks.

The Dilemma of the Unfunded Mandate

Here is the critical moment. If the Federal NCLB mandate would have been fully funded, providing enough financial resources for books and materials and highly trained teachers and administrators, then it would be conceivable that by the school year 2008-2009, at least half of our CVESD schools, would be achieving the total school population benchmark of nearly 50% testing out at the Proficient/Advanced level in both English/Language Arts and Math.

But because the Federal NCLB mandate is unfunded, its unreasonable expectations turn into a school district with two kinds of schools. The ones with enough financial resources to achieve academic excellence, and the ones without enough financial resources which prevent them from achieving academic excellence. In the case of our very own CVESD, as per the test scores in my Position Paper #2, the newer schools in the east of Chula Vista are achieving higher levels of academic excellence than the older schools in the west of Chula Vista.

Our Schools Are Not Failing

But if you visit our schools, as I have in both the west side and the east side, you will find school plants and facilities that look just fine. You will find administrators and staff that are very competent and who truly care about their parents and students as exemplified by the administrations emphasis on including the community in all of its activities. You will find professional teachers who meet and collaborate at least weekly to meet the special needs of every child in their school. You will also find families, parents and students who are deeply involved in every aspect of their son or daughters education, taking advantage of all the opportunities that our schools offer them.

Federal Government Outsourcing, Privatizing Education

The big disconnect is that the NCLB unfunded mandate was never meant to help our schools, it was neant to fail them, through it pejorative and punitive testing emasures. And it is succeeding! (see Position Paper #2)

In the early and late 90's, two initiatives were placed on the ballot, that if the electorate wouldn't have defeated them (70% to 30%), would have Privatized education. Through this current veil of failure (through the pejorative and punitive testing measures of the NCLB Act), the Federal Government wants our schools to look so bad that if another Privatization initiative was placed on the ballot today, it may very well pass! I am against the privatization of our education!

What You Can Do To Help

Investigate for yourself the thoughts and ideas that I'm writing to you, here today. Talk to your school administrators about the NCLB Act. Create a dialogue in your community about what you think our schools should be doing with reference to testing and what learning should be taking place in our classrooms. Have a discussion with your friends and neighbors about the role of schooling in your community and what role the Federal Government should have in our schools and communities.

Through our conscientious efforts, we will be better able to help all of the children in our schools, those that come both from the west side and the east side.