Across the state this month, students in grades three to eight are taking the New England Common Assessment Program, or NECAP test.
The NECAP is the result of the federal No Child Left Behind Act, which requires yearly testing.
The test is designed to determine how well schools are teaching….and students are learning.
But even before the scores are in, one school in Nashua is preparing to be labeled a failure.
NHPR correspondent Sheryl Rich-Kern has more.
(Sound of students in cafeteria)
At the Academy of Learning and Technology in Nashua, the day starts with breakfast.
For many of the 100 sixth through tenth grade students, the school is a welcome refuge against hunger.
(fade out sound)
Students in the school have the highest poverty rate of any secondary school in New Hampshire.
And last year, they also had the state’s lowest NECAP scores.
If the students don't show progress this year, the school will have to make some changes as outlined by the No Child Left Behind law.
That could mean reinventing the curriculum, restructuring the school, and even replacing staff.
Students began testing this month.
Teacher Kathy Vetri coordinates the NECAP testing at the school.
She says since many students are already reading two levels below their grade, no one is expecting any surprises.
Kathy: We know our students are not going to score well. We’re not phased by that. (Vetri1)
And Vetri says she tries to be very honest with her students.
Kathy: …..We try to be realistic in how we teach our kids. The NECAP testing situation is just another stressful thing they are going to have to learn to deal with in the real world. (Vetri2)
The district established the school five years ago to help kids who don’t function well in traditional middle schools.
Many are at risk of dropping out, or getting in trouble with the law.
State officials have praised the school’s curriculum.
In fact, this year the State Dept of Education ?? honored the academy the Middle School of Excellence award.
Yet, because of the low NECAP scores, Ed Hendry has found that some decision makers in Nashua can’t justify the school’s one million dollar operating budget.
Hendry works for the school district and is in charge of testing and assessment.
Ed: Public perception becomes an issue.
Ed: 11:18 Politically, if there’s a particular setting the public isn’t quite sure they want to continue funding, it becomes another reason for saying, look, we can’t continue this program because the kids aren’t demonstrating achievement. (Hendry1)
Jim: I don't think the city is in the business of investing $900,000 in anything without data or results.
That’s Jim Tollner, an alderman on the city’s budget committee.
Jim: …..I'm a big fan of investing them when they're young so they're contributors of society. I don't care how much money we spend on it. My itch in all this is: I'll invest a ton of money if you can show me some results. Legitimate data.
Unfortunately for the Academy, the data as defined by No Child Left Behind, are not going to look good.
But Rivier College Education Professor Charles Mitsakos, says with a school like the Academy, people need to look beyond the numbers.
Charles: By providing the support services, and the personalized attention they get in that type of program. they may not make progress in that first year, but over time they make excellent progress.
Mitsakos predicts the school will fail in its NECAP scores.
And if it is sanctioned, the faculty will have to commit time and resources to comply with No Child Left Behind regulations.
Meanwhile, the district wants to find other ways of measuring long-term progress.
For example, it plans to track the students who stay in high school and out of the courts.
And federal officials are trying to rework the No Child Left Behind regulations……
So that in the future, schools designed for at-risk students don't have to meet the same requirements as mainstream middle schools.
For NHPR News, I'm Sheryl Rich Kern in Nashua.
