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Ap: States Omit Minorities' School Scores=20

No Child Left Behind Leaves Kids Behind

Laquanya Agnew and Victoria Duncan share a desk, a love of reading and a=20
passion for learning. But because of a loophole in the No Child Left Behind=20=
Act,=20
one second-grader's score in Tennessee counts more than the other's. That is=
=20
because Laquanya is black, and Victoria is white.

An Associated Press computer analysis has found Laquanya is among nearly 2=20
million children whose scores aren't counted when it comes to meeting the la=
w's=20
requirement that schools track how students of different races perform on=20
standardized tests.

The AP found that states are helping public schools escape potential=20
penalties by skirting that requirement. And minorities - who historically ha=
ven't=20
fared as well as whites in testing - make up the vast majority of students w=
hose=20
scores are excluded.

The Education Department said that while it is pleased that nearly 25 millio=
n=20
students nationwide are now being tested regularly under the law, it is=20
concerned that the AP found so many students aren't being counted by schools=
in the=20
required racial categories.
=20

"Is it too many? You bet," Education Secretary Margaret Spellings said in an=
=20
interview. "Are there things we need to do to look at that, batten down the=20
hatches, make sure those kids are part of the system? You bet."

The plight of the two second-graders shows how a loophole in the law is=20
allowing schools to count fewer minorities in required racial categories.

There are about 220 students at West View Elementary School in Knoxville,=20
Tenn., where President Bush marked the second anniversary of the law's enact=
ment=20
in 2004. Tennessee schools have federal permission to exclude students' scor=
es=20
in required racial categories if there are fewer than 45 students in a group=
.

There are more than 45 white students. Victoria counts.

There are fewer than 45 black students. Laquanya does not.

One of the consequences is that educators are creating a false picture of=20
academic progress.

"We're forcing districts and states to play games because the system is so=20
broken, and that's not going to help at all," said Kathy Escamilla, a Univer=
sity=20
of Colorado education professor. "Those are little games to prevent showing=20
what's going on."

Under the law signed by Bush in 2002, all public school students must be=20
proficient in reading and math by 2014, although only children above second=20=
grade=20
are required to be tested.

Schools receiving federal poverty aid also must demonstrate annually that=20
students in all racial categories are progressing or risk penalties that inc=
lude=20
extending the school year, changing curriculum or firing administrators and=20
teachers.

The law requires public schools to test more than 25 million students=20
periodically in reading and math. No scores can be excluded from a school's=20=
overall=20
measure.

But the schools also must report scores by categories, such as race, poverty=
,=20
migrant status, English proficiency and special education. Failure in any=20
category means the whole school fails.

States are helping schools get around that second requirement by using a=20
loophole in the law that allows them to ignore scores of racial groups that=20=
are=20
too small to be statistically significant.

Suppose, for example, that a school has 2,000 white students and nine=20
Hispanics. In nearly every state, the Hispanic scores wouldn't be counted be=
cause=20
there aren't enough to provide meaningful information and because officials=20=
want=20
to protect students' privacy.

State educators decide when a group is too small to count. And they've been=20
asking the government for exemptions to exclude larger numbers of students i=
n=20
racial categories. Nearly two dozen states have successfully petitioned the=20
government for such changes in the past two years. As a result, schools can=20=
now=20
ignore racial breakdowns even when they have 30, 40 or even 50 students of a=
=20
given race in the testing population.

Students must be tested annually in grades 3 through 8 and at least once in=20
high school, usually in 10th grade. This is the first school year that stude=
nts=20
in all those grades must be tested, though schools have been reporting score=
s=20
by race for the tests they have been administering since the law was=20
approved.

To calculate a nationwide estimate, the AP analyzed the 2003-04 enrollment=20
figures the government collected - the latest on record - and applied the=20
current racial category exemptions the states use.

Overall, the AP found that about 1.9 million students - or about 1 in every=20
14 test scores - aren't being counted under the law's racial categories.=20
Minorities are seven times as likely to have their scores excluded as whites=
, the=20
analysis showed.

Less than 2 percent of white children's scores aren't being counted as a=20
separate category. In contrast, Hispanics and blacks have roughly 10 percent=
of=20
their scores excluded. More than one-third of Asian scores and nearly half o=
f=20
American Indian scores aren't broken out, AP found.

Bush's home state of Texas - once cited as a model for the federal law -=20
excludes scores for two entire groups. No test scores from Texas' 65,000 Asi=
an=20
students or from several thousand American Indian students are broken out by=
=20
race. The same is true in Arkansas.

Students whose tests aren't being counted in required categories also includ=
e=20
Hispanics in California who don't speak English well, blacks in the Chicago=20
suburbs, American Indians in the Northwest and special education students in=
=20
Virginia.

State educators defend the exemptions, saying minority students' performance=
=20
is still being included in their schools' overall statistics even when they=20
aren't being counted in racial categories. Excluded minority students' score=
s=20
may be counted at the district or state level.

Spellings said she believes educators are making a good-faith effort. "Are=20
there people out there who will find ways to game the system?" she asked. "O=
f=20
course. But on the whole ... I fully believe in my heart, mind and soul that=
=20
educators are people of good will who care about kids and want them to find=20
opportunity in schools."

Bush has hailed the separate accounting of minority students as a vital=20
feature of the law. "It's really essential we do that. It's really important=
," Bush=20
said in a May 2004 speech. "If you don't do that, you're likely to leave=20
people behind. And that's not right."

Nonetheless, Bush's Education Department continues to give widely varying=20
exemptions to states:

-Oklahoma lets schools exclude the test scores from any racial category with=
=20
52 or fewer members in the testing population, one of the largest=20
across-the-board exemptions. That means 1 in 5 children in the state don't h=
ave scores=20
broken out by race.

-Maryland, which tests about 150,000 students more than Oklahoma, has an=20
exempt group size of just five. That means fewer than 1 in 100 don't have sc=
ores=20
counted.

-Washington state has made 18 changes to its testing plan, according to a=20
February report by the Harvard Civil Rights Project. Vermont has made none.=20=
On=20
average, states have made eight changes at either the state or federal level=
to=20
their plans in the past five years, usually changing the size or=20
accountability of subgroups whose scores were supposed to be counted.

Toia Jones, a black teacher whose daughters attend school in a mostly white=20
Chicago suburb, said the loophole is enabling states and schools to avoid=20
taking concrete measures to eliminate an "achievement gap" between white and=
=20
minority students.

"With this loophole, it's almost like giving someone a trick bag to get out=20
of a hole," she said. "Now people, instead of figuring out how do we really=20
solve it, some districts, in order to save face or in order to not be faced=20=
with=20
the sanctions, they're doing what they can to manipulate the data."

Some students feel left behind, too.

"It's terrible," said Michael Oshinaya, a senior at Eleanor Roosevelt High=20
School in New York City who was among a group of black students whose scores=
=20
weren't broken out as a racial category. "We're part of America. We make up=20
America, too. We should be counted as part of America."

Spellings' department is caught between two forces. Schools and states are=20
eager to avoid the stigma of failure under the law, especially as the 2014=20
deadline draws closer. But Congress has shown little political will to modif=
y the=20
law to address their concerns. That leaves the racial category exemptions as=
a=20
stopgap solution.

"She's inherited a disaster," said David Shreve, an education policy analyst=
=20
for the National Conference of State Legislatures. "The 'Let's Make a Deal'=20
policy is to save the law from fundamental changes, with Margaret Spellings=20=
as=20
Monty Hall."

The solution may be to set a single federal standard for when minority=20
students' scores don't have to be counted separately, said Ross Wiener, poli=
cy=20
director for the Washington-based Education Trust.

While the exemptions were created for good reasons, there's little doubt now=
=20
that group sizes have become political, said Wiener, whose group supports th=
e=20
law.

"They're asking the question, not how do we generate statistically reliable=20
results, but how do we generate politically palatable results," he said.
---
Associated Press Writers Laura Wides-Munoz in Miami, Nahal Toosi in New York=
,=20
Duncan Mansfield in Knoxville and Garance Burke in Kansas City contributed t=
o=20
this report.
=20
=A9 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be=
=20
published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Learn more about our Priva=
cy=20
Policy.

=A9 2006, Media General, Inc. All Rights Reserved

=A0

--part1_32c.30bada6.31764eb4_boundary
Content-Type: text/html; charset="ISO-8859-1"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable

<HTML><HTML>From the Apr. 18 (today's) Richmond Time=
s Disgrace, y'all (My laptop clock is messed up - it's 10:15 a.m., 
not p.m.) 
Roxie 
*** 
AP: States Omit Minorities' School Scores 
By NICOLE ZIEGLER DIZON, BEN FELLER and FRANK BASS 
Associated Press Writers 
 
No Child Left Behind Leaves Kids Behind 
 
Laquanya Agnew and Victoria Duncan share a desk, a love of reading and a pas=
sion for learning. But because of a loophole in the No Child Left Behind Act=
, one second-grader's score in Tennessee counts more than the other's. That=20=
is because Laquanya is black, and Victoria is white. 
 
An Associated Press computer analysis has found Laquanya is among nearly 2 m=
illion children whose scores aren't counted when it comes to meeting the law=
's requirement that schools track how students of different races perform on=
standardized tests. 
 
The AP found that states are helping public schools escape potential penalti=
es by skirting that requirement. And minorities - who historically haven't f=
ared as well as whites in testing - make up the vast majority of students wh=
ose scores are excluded. 
 
The Education Department said that while it is pleased that nearly 25 millio=
n students nationwide are now being tested regularly under the law, it is co=
ncerned that the AP found so many students aren't being counted by schools i=
n the required racial categories. 
 
 
"Is it too many? You bet," Education Secretary Margaret Spellings said in an=
interview. "Are there things we need to do to look at that, batten down the=
hatches, make sure those kids are part of the system? You bet." 
 
The plight of the two second-graders shows how a loophole in the law is allo=
wing schools to count fewer minorities in required racial categories. 
 
There are about 220 students at West View Elementary School in Knoxville, Te=
nn., where President Bush marked the second anniversary of the law's enactme=
nt in 2004. Tennessee schools have federal permission to exclude students' s=
cores in required racial categories if there are fewer than 45 students in a=
group. 
 
There are more than 45 white students. Victoria counts. 
 
There are fewer than 45 black students. Laquanya does not. 
 
One of the consequences is that educators are creating a false picture of ac=
ademic progress. 
 
"We're forcing districts and states to play games because the system is so b=
roken, and that's not going to help at all," said Kathy Escamilla, a Univers=
ity of Colorado education professor. "Those are little games to prevent show=
ing what's going on." 
 
Under the law signed by Bush in 2002, all public school students must be pro=
ficient in reading and math by 2014, although only children above second gra=
de are required to be tested. 
 
Schools receiving federal poverty aid also must demonstrate annually that st=
udents in all racial categories are progressing or risk penalties that inclu=
de extending the school year, changing curriculum or firing administrators a=
nd teachers. 
 
The law requires public schools to test more than 25 million students period=
ically in reading and math. No scores can be excluded from a school's overal=
l measure. 
 
But the schools also must report scores by categories, such as race, poverty=
, migrant status, English proficiency and special education. Failure in any=20=
category means the whole school fails. 
 
States are helping schools get around that second requirement by using a loo=
phole in the law that allows them to ignore scores of racial groups that are=
too small to be statistically significant. 
 
Suppose, for example, that a school has 2,000 white students and nine Hispan=
ics. In nearly every state, the Hispanic scores wouldn't be counted because=20=
there aren't enough to provide meaningful information and because officials=20=
want to protect students' privacy. 
 
State educators decide when a group is too small to count. And they've been=20=
asking the government for exemptions to exclude larger numbers of students i=
n racial categories. Nearly two dozen states have successfully petitioned th=
e government for such changes in the past two years. As a result, schools ca=
n now ignore racial breakdowns even when they have 30, 40 or even 50 student=
s of a given race in the testing population. 
 
Students must be tested annually in grades 3 through 8 and at least once in=20=
high school, usually in 10th grade. This is the first school year that stude=
nts in all those grades must be tested, though schools have been reporting s=
cores by race for the tests they have been administering since the law was a=
pproved. 
 
To calculate a nationwide estimate, the AP analyzed the 2003-04 enrollment f=
igures the government collected - the latest on record - and applied the cur=
rent racial category exemptions the states use. 
 
Overall, the AP found that about 1.9 million students - or about 1 in every=20=
14 test scores - aren't being counted under the law's racial categories. Min=
orities are seven times as likely to have their scores excluded as whites, t=
he analysis showed. 
 
Less than 2 percent of white children's scores aren't being counted as a sep=
arate category. In contrast, Hispanics and blacks have roughly 10 percent of=
their scores excluded. More than one-third of Asian scores and nearly half=20=
of American Indian scores aren't broken out, AP found. 
 
Bush's home state of Texas - once cited as a model for the federal law - exc=
ludes scores for two entire groups. No test scores from Texas' 65,000 Asian=20=
students or from several thousand American Indian students are broken out by=
race. The same is true in Arkansas. 
 
Students whose tests aren't being counted in required categories also includ=
e Hispanics in California who don't speak English well, blacks in the Chicag=
o suburbs, American Indians in the Northwest and special education students=20=
in Virginia. 
 
State educators defend the exemptions, saying minority students' performance=
is still being included in their schools' overall statistics even when they=
aren't being counted in racial categories. Excluded minority students' scor=
es may be counted at the district or state level. 
 
Spellings said she believes educators are making a good-faith effort. "Are t=
here people out there who will find ways to game the system?" she asked. "Of=
course. But on the whole ... I fully believe in my heart, mind and soul tha=
t educators are people of good will who care about kids and want them to fin=
d opportunity in schools." 
 
Bush has hailed the separate accounting of minority students as a vital feat=
ure of the law. "It's really essential we do that. It's really important," B=
ush said in a May 2004 speech. "If you don't do that, you're likely to leave=
people behind. And that's not right." 
 
Nonetheless, Bush's Education Department continues to give widely varying ex=
emptions to states: 
 
-Oklahoma lets schools exclude the test scores from any racial category with=
52 or fewer members in the testing population, one of the largest across-th=
e-board exemptions. That means 1 in 5 children in the state don't have score=
s broken out by race. 
 
-Maryland, which tests about 150,000 students more than Oklahoma, has an exe=
mpt group size of just five. That means fewer than 1 in 100 don't have score=
s counted. 
 
-Washington state has made 18 changes to its testing plan, according to a Fe=
bruary report by the Harvard Civil Rights Project. Vermont has made none. On=
average, states have made eight changes at either the state or federal leve=
l to their plans in the past five years, usually changing the size or accoun=
tability of subgroups whose scores were supposed to be counted. 
 
Toia Jones, a black teacher whose daughters attend school in a mostly white=20=
Chicago suburb, said the loophole is enabling states and schools to avoid ta=
king concrete measures to eliminate an "achievement gap" between white and m=
inority students. 
 
"With this loophole, it's almost like giving someone a trick bag to get out=20=
of a hole," she said. "Now people, instead of figuring out how do we really=20=
solve it, some districts, in order to save face or in order to not be faced=20=
with the sanctions, they're doing what they can to manipulate the data." 
 
Some students feel left behind, too. 
 
"It's terrible," said Michael Oshinaya, a senior at Eleanor Roosevelt High S=
chool in New York City who was among a group of black students whose scores=20=
weren't broken out as a racial category. "We're part of America. We make up=20=
America, too. We should be counted as part of America." 
 
Spellings' department is caught between two forces. Schools and states are e=
ager to avoid the stigma of failure under the law, especially as the 2014 de=
adline draws closer. But Congress has shown little political will to modify=20=
the law to address their concerns. That leaves the racial category exemption=
s as a stopgap solution. 
 
"She's inherited a disaster," said David Shreve, an education policy analyst=
for the National Conference of State Legislatures. "The 'Let's Make a Deal'=
policy is to save the law from fundamental changes, with Margaret Spellings=
as Monty Hall." 
 
The solution may be to set a single federal standard for when minority stude=
nts' scores don't have to be counted separately, said Ross Wiener, policy di=
rector for the Washington-based Education Trust. 
 
While the exemptions were created for good reasons, there's little doubt now=
that group sizes have become political, said Wiener, whose group supports t=
he law. 
 
"They're asking the question, not how do we generate statistically reliable=20=
results, but how do we generate politically palatable results," he said. 
--- 
Associated Press Writers Laura Wides-Munoz in Miami, Nahal Toosi in New York=
, Duncan Mansfield in Knoxville and Garance Burke in Kansas City contributed=
to this report. 
 
=A9 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be=
published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Learn more about our </FO=
NT>Pr=
ivacy Policy. 
 
=A9 2006, Media General, Inc. All Rights Reserved 
 
 
=A0</HTML>

--part1_32c.30bada6.31764eb4_boundary--

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