By Staff Reporter |
Over 100 out of about 400 schools in Arizona have advanced out of federal school improvement status, per the Arizona Department of Education.
There are over 2,800 schools in the state. That means approximately 14 percent (after this latest update) of all schools statewide remain on the Arizona Department of Education (ADE) list.
Schools on the federal list consist of those with low graduation rates and test scores per the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), a federal law passed by the Obama administration in 2015 that, essentially, reauthorized the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965.
ESSA was responsible for every state and district publishing a report card for public review, as well as publishing how much is spent per student at every school, broken down by federal, state, and local monies.
ESSA’s predecessor was the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), enacted in 2002. NCLB received criticisms for its heavily federal approach to education, where many thought the states could yield student outcomes better.
ADE identifies these schools — classified as Comprehensive Support and Improvement – Low Achievement (CSI-LA) schools — every three years. Schools have four years upon identification to exit this status.
CSI-LA schools are those that don’t meet the 60 percent proficiency, 20 percent growth or graduation rate, 10 percent English Learners achievement and growth, and 10 chronic absenteeism (K-8) or 10 percent drop out rate (high school).
The Arizona Department of Education monitors these schools through its Office of School Improvement.
Superintendent Tom Horne said in a statement that these schools’ advancements prove that dedication to the basics — namely through Project Momentum Arizona (PMA) — does work.
“The schools we are honoring today have proven that when students are challenged academically and class time is devoted to teaching core subjects like reading and math, test scores will go up, and students will succeed,” said Horne. “It is a highly effective program that emphasizes academic knowledge and helps educators do the right work to ensure that all students succeed.”
Horne hosted a press conference on Wednesday to praise these schools, including Roosevelt School District, which had four schools leaving the list. Horne also issued a similar announcement on Thursday.
PMA has schools select one or more from a list of guiding questions around which to frame their improvement plans. These questions focus on recognizing the specifics of desired student outcomes, evidence of student comprehension, highest-yielding instructional practices, responses to lack of student learning, planned responses to student mastery of materials, and goals for improving, cataloging, and saving work.
Spring state assessment results showed that an average of 33 percent were passing math, and 40 percent were passing English. These results aligned with those from the previous year.
COVID-19 caused student proficiency to drop significantly. They were on an upward trend, achieving 42 percent in math and English.
Oversight of failing schools may soon become more of a state problem, with ongoing efforts to dismantle the Department of Education.
Horne told The Center Square that he’s “pleased” with the Trump administration’s decision.
“[I am] pleased with the administration’s work to move the work of education back to the states and addressing the needless bureaucracy of the federal department,” said Horne.
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