The AYP Blues

A little blue this morning?

It's no surprise if you're a school official in Washington state, where this morning's headlines are peppered with phrases like "failing," "falling short" and "missing the mark."

Those characterizations spring from yesterday's AYP update from OSPI — specifically, that 628 schools and 57 districts are in "improvement" status, up significantly from last year's 280 schools and 30 districts.

But lost somewhere in much of the coverage is an explanation of why we are seeing such a drastic increase in schools "needing improvement." Consider:

• 2008 is a “step year.” According to Washington state’s stair-step approach to AYP, the percentage of students who must meet proficiency increases in three-year increments. This year, because it is a step year, the percentage of students who must meet proficiency has increased for all grade spans — elementary (3-5), middle (6-8) and high school.
  
  
• The “n size” changed to 30. Within each grade span, schools and districts are accountable for the performance of all students and several student subgroups: American Indian, Asian, Black, Hispanic, White, English language learners, special education and low-income. Before schools and districts can report on a subgroup’s performance, there must be a minimum number of students in that subgroup to ensure statistically reliable data. Prior to 2008, 40 was the minimum number of students required in the English language learner and special education subgroups. This year, however, the minimum number of students for accountability calculations is 30 across all subgroups.

Ah, the complexities of No Child Left Behind. If only the challenges we face were as simple as a short, punchy headline.

Newsflash: Principal Returns to School

Since when does a principal heading back to school in August make headline news? Since the name on the door to that principal's office is "Ms. Phelps."

When Debbie Phelps, mother of Olympic phenom Michael Phelps, returned to Baltimore recently, the media spotlight followed her — from Beijing right to Windsor Mill Middle School, where Monday she welcomed back 600+ students.

No doubt, Phelps’s version of "What I Did On My Summer Vacation" will outshine most at Windsor Mill, but the students aren't complaining. They'll reap the benefits of having a celebrity principal, who has her sights set on gold-medal performances in the classroom — and on the Maryland School Assessment for reading. This week, The Baltimore Sun reported:

Earlier this month, Phelps presented her students with a challenge called "Read Your Way to Beijing." On Aug. 8, the students received recorded phone messages asking them to read as many 100-page, age-appropriate books as possible between then and Sept. 8, she said. The winners of a drawing will get to spend an afternoon or evening with her son at the ESPN Zone, she said.

Together, Debbie and Michael Phelps have raised awareness of other education issues, including bullying and learning disabilities. Read about Michael Phelps's struggle with A.D.H.D. in the New York Times article "Phelps’s Mother Recalls Helping Her Son Find Gold-Medal Focus," and watch this joint interview with mother and son, in which Michael applauds his mom's commitment as a principal and describes his memories of being bullied in school. (Hint: To watch the video, download Silverlight when prompted and bear with the commercial; then, to view the mother/son portion of the interview, slide the arrow directly under the screen to the 15:00 mark.)