MCAS targets leave some schools behind

It was the list that no school wanted to be on, but 34 schools in the western suburbs landed there anyway when they failed to reach federally mandated improvement targets on math and English tests.

In Framingham, Waltham, and Milford, the districts that placed the most schools on the list, frustrated educators said they would do their best to improve performance, but some groups of students -- immigrant students who are just learning English, for example -- face a particularly tough battle improving their scores.

``At some point, we're going to say we can't hit those state targets because they are too far away in some of our schools," said Christopher Martes, the superintendent in Framingham, which had six schools on the list.

Under the federal No Child Left Behind Act, schools nationwide are supposed to ensure that all students are proficient in math and English by 2014. The law, which went into effect in 2002, provided some new federal money for schools but also demanded that the schools do a better job educating students.

In Massachusetts, the statewide standardized MCAS test is the yardstick used to measure progress.

The report card issued by the state last week found that 617 schools across the Commonwealth, more than one third, were not making enough progress on the MCAS to reach the 2014 goal. Last year, 420 schools didn't meet goals for yearly progress. In many cases, the MCAS scores went up, but they didn't rise far enough.

There are two ways to get on the dreaded list. A school can be placed there when its students as a whole don't measure up. Or it can be placed there if certain subgroups of students -- including special-education students, non native English speakers, and students of a particular race or ethnicity -- don't make enough progress.

In Framingham, Martes said two groups particularly are struggling, special-education students and those who are still learning English.

Out of the district's approximately 8,000 students, 25 to 30 percent are non native English speakers, Martes said. Once foreign students have been in the country a year, they are required to take the MCAS and their scores count in the school's total, a timetable that Martes called unfair.

The district is piloting a new computer system at the elementary level to try to track student progress on a whole variety of tests to better pinpoint when an individual student is struggling, Martes said.

Framingham's school district launched a new math initiative in its middle schools this fall in response to the need for improvements, Martes said. ``We are taking action; we have been taking action," he said, though he noted that the state has cut funds intended to help students do better on MCAS.

Waltham also had six schools on the list and, just as in Framingham, an administrator said too much is expected of students who are just arriving in the country.

``That's what's sort of ludicrous about the ways the regulations are set up -- it takes at least five years or more for kids to become proficient in a second language," said Alec Wyeth, Waltham's assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction .

Thirty-four percent of Waltham students are not native English speakers, he said. There are more Waltham schools on the list this year than last, and, Wyeth said, ``The number is going to grow as we get closer and closer to 2014."

Other groups are struggling, too, he said, including special-education and low-income students.

Wyeth said the schools already offer help on MCAS preparation during school, after school, on the weekends, and over the summers, but the district will look at what else can be done.

The problem with No Child Left Behind, Wyeth said, is that the federal government and, to some extent, the state are not providing enough funding for education.

``Public school is the cornerstone of our nation and it's being chipped away at by inadequate funding," he said.

Milford Superintendent Tom Davoren reported problems similar to those in Framingham and Waltham , saying children learning English and low-income children are struggling.

``The bar is raised so high," said Davoren, whose district had three schools on the list. ``We are improving, but we didn't improve enough."

At the elementary level, Milford already provides a ``double dose" of math or English to students who are struggling with the MCAS: They get a second reading or math class twice a week. The district will look at expanding that idea to the middle schools, where math scores are too low across both schools. A new math program was just introduced at the middle schools this year, and that also could be part of the solution, he said.

But Davoren said he was wary of making excuses.

``It's disappointing and very frustrating," he said of the results. ``We're not in a position to second-guess the process. Our job is to . . . help every child become proficient and we're absolutely dedicated to doing that."

Schools must miss the federal targets two consecutive years before they are put on the list as needing ``improvement."

After four years they are identified as needing ``corrective action," which means they are ``required to make significant changes that could include staffing, curriculum, governance or instruction," according to the state Department of Education.

After five years of missed targets, a school is singled out for ``restructuring," which can mean a takeover by the state. No schools in the western suburbs were tagged for restructuring.

Area districts at least one school that needs improvement because of its performance overall are Framingham (Brophy Elementary, Wilson Elementary, Fuller Middle School); Marlborough (Intermediate Elementary); Milford (Middle School East, Stacy Middle School); Waltham (Northeast Elementary, Plympton Elementary, Whittemore Elementary); and Watertown (Hosmer Elementary).

Area districts with at least one school that needs improvement or corrective action because of a subgroup's performance are Ashland, Bellingham, Framingham, Hopkinton, King Philip Regional , Marlborough, Medfield, Medway, Milford, Newton, Norfolk, Shrewsbury, Keefe Technical School , Waltham, Watertown, and Wayland.

Lisa Kocian can be called at 508-820-4231 or reached via e-mail at lkocian@globe.com.