Castillo proposes report card changes

When her department issued this year's school report cards last week (see story), State Superintendent of Public Instruction Susan Castillo said "...it does not make sense for Oregon to have two completely different rating systems -- one from Oregon and one from Washington, D.C.

"I am proposing that we make major changes to both the school report card and the federal AYP report to come up with a single measure of school progress."

She was referring to the annual report, required by the federal No Child Left Behind Act, to determine whether each school has made Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP).

Her suggestion has received scattered applause across the state. It received mild support from the principals of Sisters' three schools. The schools received varying marks on the state report card but all were judged to have made AYP under the federal standard.

Statewide, 97 percent of the schools were ranked "Satisfactory" or better on the state report card while only 71 percent were judged to have made adequate yearly progress by the federal government.

Both yardsticks rely heavily on the results of standardized tests. But the federal system is harsher -- some say unfair -- in requiring that all of several identifiable student groups meet testing goals. The failure of any group to meet its standard causes the whole school to be rated unsatisfactory.

Asked about Castillo's idea, Sisters Elementary Principal Tim Comfort said that since both the state and federal government have several years' worth of experience trying to rate schools now, "there should be some good data about which measurements are better than others. Let's figure out if there is a better way."

Middle School Principal Lora Nordquist endorsed the concept while criticizing both current methods of school evaluation: "Given that I don't like either report card (federal or state), it (Castillo's suggestion) totally makes sense. The report cards are confusing enough to the general public, and then to have two that measure very different things is beyond confusing. So I absolutely agree. I think we should operate under a single report card system."

But she added another thought with which Castillo might not be so happy: "I don't know why the state doesn't just use the federal report, the No Child Left Behind standard, because that's mandated by the federal government."

Nordquist said she would prefer a single report card that considered a number of factors in addition to standardized test scores.

High School Principal Bob Macauley agreed that "we need a better yardstick" and generally indicated a preference for the federal system under No Child Left Behind.

Although silent on the issue of how state and federal measuring systems could be merged, Castillo said the new report card she envisions would "include student performance on tests, report on majority and minority student populations, evaluate school and district financial performance, and report student behavior indicators.

"It would also require that students and schools make progress each year. Finally, it would give a school an overall rating that makes sense to parents and community members.

"I have directed my staff to work with our partners to design a new report card that would be ready for the 2006-07 school year."