02/03/04 -- About one-fifth (21 percent) of all school districts have had at least one school identified as in need of improvement, reports the Center on Education Policy (CEP), in a comprehensive report on the impact of the No Child Left Behind Act. That's up from 15 percent in 2002-03.
Urban districts are twice as likely to have at least one school identified as in need of improvement, states the June 26 report, From the Capital to the Classroom: Year 2 of the No Child Left Behind Act.
This year, half of all urban districts, 86 percent of the nation's largest districts, and 23 percent of suburban districts had at least one school identified as in need of improvement.
The report also shows that states and school districts are providing additional help to improve student achievement in these schools. But CEP notes, "many school leaders are concerned that federal resources may not be enough to address significant staffing and funding challenges created by the law."
According to CEP Director Jack Jennings, "While much of the debate and headlines have focused on test scores and lists of 'failing' schools, the law's requirements for additional help for schools that need it -- and states' and school districts' ability to provide that support -- will have a more profound and lasting effect over time."
More than three-fourths of districts (77 percent) with schools in need of improvement are providing extra professional development to those schools.
More than half of these districts have implemented a new research-based curriculum or instructional program, and more than one-third have extended the school day or school year.
A majority of districts have allocated resources to such strategies as increasing the use of student achievement data to inform instruction, matching curriculum with standards and tests, and using research to inform decisions about improvement strategies.
The school choice option has not been used much, the report finds. Only 1 percent of students attending schools in need of improvement and eligible to transfer schools have actually taken advantage of that option.
In 2003-04, 11 percent of school districts have at least one school offering choice under NCLB. That compares to 10 percent last year.
Supplemental services have proven to be much more popular. According to the report, 46 percent of students eligible for supplemental services have received them in 2002-03.
Among the other key findings in the report:
• Most state and district leaders are supportive of NCLB and believe it will "raise student achievement over time." But some worry that reaching proficiency for all students by 2014, as required by NCLB, is an unrealistic goal. And some worry about the impact of budget cuts on their efforts to carry out the law.
• Thirty-eight states say they don't have enough staff to carry out all their responsibilities for NCLB, even though school districts name state education agencies as the resource they rely on most to help them implement the law.
• Twenty-four states report that fiscal problems are hurting their ability to carry out the law, and about half say local districts are being hampered by budget cuts.
The report warns that these funding and capacity issues will get worse as more schools are affected by the law's accountability requirements and as districts move closer to the law's deadlines for improving teacher quality in 2005-06 and student proficiency in 2014.
• Some requirements of NCLB are "overly stringent, unworkable, or unrealistic." One example often cited by state and district officials is the testing accountability requirements for English language learners and students with disabilities.
• States and districts have been slow in complying with the law's requirements on teacher quality. Currently, states and districts say the overwhelming majority of teachers are highly qualified, but many states are still struggling to define what "highly qualified" means or develop systems to track teachers' qualifications.
• States are proceeding even more slowly on upgrading the qualifications of paraprofessionals hired with Title I funds. A majority of the states that have reported data on paraprofessionals say that fewer than half of them are "highly qualified" according to NCLB criteria.
Access the report at www.cep-dc.org.