Case wants inquiry into schools
By Derrick DePledge
Advertiser Education Writer
Congressman Ed Case, alarmed by Hawai'i's poor performance under the federal No Child Left Behind law, has asked federal education officials to conduct an extensive review of how the state's public schools are dealing with the law.
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Case wants the U.S. Department of Education to look into whether Hawai'i has received enough federal money to carry out the law and whether its unique statewide school system is a barrier to success.
"I'm trying to get to the bottom of a frustrating and puzzling dilemma," said Rep. Ed Case. "Why don't Hawai'i schools do better than they do under No Child Left Behind?"
Last school year, 60 percent of Hawai'i's schools failed to make annual targets under the law, which requires schools to build toward the goal of having all students proficient in core subjects by 2014. Thirty percent of Hawai'i schools are under some form of sanction because of the law, by one estimate the highest in the nation.
"I'm very alarmed," said Case, D-Hawai'i, who serves on the House's Education and the Workforce committees. "I'm trying to get to the bottom of a frustrating and puzzling dilemma. Why don't Hawai'i schools do better than they do under No Child Left Behind?"
The Education Department has not yet responded to Case's request. Jo Ann Webb, a department spokeswoman, said the federal government offers a wide range of technical assistance, including a staff person assigned to answer state questions and a superintendents' hotline.
States across the country have had trouble adjusting to the law's requirements, which force schools that do not meet annual targets over time to offer students free tutoring and the option of transferring to other schools. Schools that continue to do poorly risk increasing sanctions, including restructuring and the replacement of school staff.
There is a growing disagreement between officials in a number of states and the Bush administration over whether the law is adequately financed. This month, the attorney general in Wisconsin issued an opinion that the federal government cannot compel states to follow the law if it is not fully financed, a claim also made by lawmakers in several other states, including some in Hawai'i.
Beyond money, some educators have complained that the law is too punitive, although many agree with the overall aim to hold schools accountable for student performance.
The Center for Education Policy, a Washington, D.C., education advocacy group, reported in a study released in January that 21 percent of school districts nationally had at least one school in need of improvement under the law. Half of urban districts and 86 percent of very large school districts, like Hawai'i, had schools in need of improvement.
Case, who supports the concepts of No Child Left Behind, said he believes the Bush administration has not provided enough money for the law.
But he said he is also concerned about why Hawai'i seems to be doing worse than other states.
The congressman asked the Education Department to determine whether Hawai'i is getting enough money, whether state education officials properly understand the law, whether the statewide school system presents specific challenges, and whether there is enough local flexibility for diverse schools to meet the requirements.
"It's like talking to two different planets," Case said of state and federal education officials. "They don't mesh. It's as if they live in two different worlds.
"You've got a state here that I'm absolutely convinced wants to comply. We want to be at the top."
The question about the single statewide school system could have political implications. Gov. Linda Lingle, a Republican, has proposed breaking up the state Department of Education into local school districts with elected school boards, an idea rejected by Democrats who control the state Legislature.
Case, a Democrat, has favored local school boards both as a state lawmaker and a U.S. congressman.
Hawai'i has the highest percentage of schools under sanction of any state, according to an analysis by Education Week, an education newspaper, but educators caution about making direct comparisons between states. States choose the tests students take to measure whether schools are making progress under the law, and the rigor of the tests vary.
Hawai'i students have had difficulty with the state's new math and reading tests given over the past three years. Last school year, the second time the test was given, all but third-grade math scores declined. Teachers believe that students need to get comfortable with the tests, which require students to have a deeper understanding of the subject matter and to show their work.
The DOE is also streamlining the standards so teachers have a better grasp of what students are supposed to know and what will likely appear on the tests.
Katherine Kawaguchi, an assistant superintendent in the DOE's Office of Curriculum, Instruction and Student Support, said she had seen Case's request and believes the federal government could give states more flexibility. For example, schools can fail to meet annual goals if not enough students take the tests or if a single subgroup, such as low-income or special-education students, do not meet academic targets.
In March, in reaction to concerns by several states, the Education Department relaxed the rules on test participation, allowing schools to reach the 95 percent target for students over three years, instead of every year.
Many Hawai'i's schools have students working through poverty, limited English or physical and mental disabilities, and many at the DOE believe schools should also be rated by their own progress, not just compared to schools statewide or nationally.
"That's something that has to be taken into consideration," Kawaguchi said of the limits of high-stakes testing. "I think that's a little severe."
Reach Derrick DePledge at ddepledge@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8084.
