Before the school year even started, a Hilo Intermediate School family experienced one of the ways students will be affected at campuses under the most pressure to meet federal and state standards.

In this instance, two siblings learned that they would not be allowed to take band classes because they had performed poorly on standardized tests.

School officials said the denial of the elective band class was not meant to be punitive, but rather was one of the consequences of a new scheduling system that allows teachers to assign struggling students a double dose of math and language arts classes.

However, the father of the two children said that what it boils down to is that "certain kids who didn't perform well on the Hawai'i State Assessment don't get to take electives." The father requested that his name not be published to prevent his children from being identified and possibly stigmatized.

The situation shines a spotlight on one of the tangible ways students and their parents will feel the effects of the federal No Child Left Behind Act. The law requires that schools steadily demonstrate improvement, with the goal of having all students up to grade level in reading and math by 2014.

Elaine Takenaka, the educational administrative services director at the Department of Education, said the department is not setting any policy about whether academics should be placed before electives, since that is a school organization and management issue.

However, she pointed out that all schools are struggling with how to provide the kinds — and amount — of instruction necessary to improve student achievement.

"It isn't an easy thing to accommodate all students and all the variety of subjects that were offered before. If something has to give, where does that come from?" she asked. "I think that's where students are getting caught."

6 CLASSES A DAY

Hilo Intermediate is one of 24 schools with consistently low test scores that is receiving help from three private companies to boost student performance. In this case, the provider is the National Center on Education and the Economy, which offers the America's Choice model.

School principal Elaine Christian said the revamped schedule is not intended to deprive students of electives, but with only six credits a day, a child taking double-math, double-language arts, social studies and science would not have time for nonrequired offerings.

"That way we'd be offering them seven or eight credits, and we don't have seven or eight credits in a day," she said.

But that's exactly what is being offered at Kea'au Middle, another struggling school receiving help under America's Choice.

Principal Jamil Ahmadia said the school moved to an eight-block schedule to make sure that all students can take double math or double language arts classes, regardless of their test scores.

"We are very creative at this school ... and very fortunate to be able to accommodate the students," Ahmadia said.

With eight, rather than six, classes, students also are able to take two electives.

"I would be very concerned if we couldn't, especially for students at the middle school," Ahmadia said. "That's the age they need to be exposed to different areas, especially in the arts, especially in (physical education), especially in music."

At Hilo Intermediate, most students will still have this exposure. Christian said only a few students would have no opportunity for electives because they need doubled-up classes in both subjects.

While the students were placed in "ramp-up" classes based on last year's performance, they will be given the opportunity to test out of the remedial classes after three weeks, at which time they would be able to choose electives.

"I'd rather take them out of a ramp-up class or a double-up class than put them in," Christian said. "I hope a lot of the kids will be taken out."

However, to the Hilo Intermediate parent, the division creates a two-tiered society at the school — the elite students who met proficiency and can take electives versus those who are stuck in remedial classes.

While he sees "a seed of goodness" in offering the ramp-up classes, he also sees a danger in taking away things such as music classes. His seventh-grader has always struggled academically and was looking forward to something more artistic.

FOCUS ON EACH CHILD

In the end, the school was willing to work with the parents to get these particular students into band. But their father still had concerns about the school's policy.

"I think that's a place where he could shine, and they were going to take it away," the father said.

Vera Vignes, Pacific regional director for the National Center on Education and the Economy, said accountability is forcing schools to take a look at each student's score, rather than lumping them all together to look at school performance as a whole.

Not only does the whole school need to meet the academic standards, but various subpopulations of students —based on ethnicity, financial status and scholastic ability — must meet the same standards.

"It's changing. The focus is on having every child be proficient," she said. "It does matter how individual students do, as well as groups of students."

Vignes said the doubled-up classes were specifically developed for students who are performing at two or more years below grade level. The courses are based on the premise that every student can learn the material, but some need more time to master it.

"Time is the variable that makes the difference," she said.

Although NCEE has no policy regarding electives, the emphasis is on getting students up to basic proficiency level in reading and math. "You want children to have those academic skills as part of their foundation, and I think it is very important," Vignes said. "It's not about having every child go to college, but every child should have that option or choice."

Don Pakele, grandparent and guardian of a Hilo Intermediate eighth-grader and a member of the School Community Council, said he understands why parents might get upset about the loss of electives, especially when their children are missing out on the subjects in which they might excel, such as physical education.

But rather than change the system, he would like to see better communication with parents to help them understand the need for the changes and so they don't feel that something is being taken away from their children.

The goal of helping children succeed in reading and math is a good one, he said.

"The overall intent is to be helping students improve," he said. "The school wouldn't have been singled out (for restructuring) if not for concern about the kids' abilities."