Washington – Falling short of requirements under President Bush’s education law, about 1,750 U.S. schools have been ordered into radical “restructuring,” subject to mass firings, closure, state takeover or other moves aimed at wiping their slates clean.
Many are finding resolutions short of such drastic measures. But there is growing concern that the number of schools in serious trouble under the No Child Left Behind law is rising sharply – up 44 percent over the past year alone – and is expected to swell by thousands in the next few years.
Schools make the list by falling short in math or reading for at least five consecutive years.
The total amounts to 3 percent of roughly 53,000 schools that get federal poverty aid and face penalties under the No Child Left Behind law.
“It’s just a matter of time before we see upwards of 10,000 schools in restructuring,” said Michael Petrilli, a former enforcement official at the Education Department.
“Unless all of these schools suddenly turn themselves around, or the states continue to find ways to finagle the system, you’re going to see the numbers accelerate,” said Petrilli, now vice president for policy at the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation, a school-change advocate.
The Associated Press reported last month that schools were deliberately not counting the test scores of nearly 2 million students, mostly minorities, when they measure progress by racial groups. Those exclusions have made it easier for schools to meet their yearly goals.
Still, more than a quarter of the nation’s schools have failed to make adequate yearly progress for at least one year. Many will keep moving along the law’s penalty timeline. A district must choose an overhaul plan for a school by year five, then act on it in year six.
For example, in Tucson, the Lawrence Intermediate School for five years has failed to show enough reading progress among its students. So the district has ordered a total overhaul. All employees, from the teachers to the janitors, must reapply for their jobs.
The school’s plan also calls for a longer school day, expanded tutoring, and bonus pay for master teachers.
Assistant Education Secretary Henry Johnson said he’s not encouraged by the growing number of schools ordered to make a drastic change. But the trend also shows the law is working, he said, by identifying schools that have underserved their poor and minority kids.
Seven states – California, Georgia, Illinois, Michigan, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania – account for almost 70 percent of all schools ordered to restructure.
