Flawed instruction seen at state's failing schools

SPRINGFIELD -- The shortcomings of teachers and administrators are causing some of the state's lowest-performing schools to fail, a series of in-depth reports released by the state Department of Education suggests.

Although most of the schools' students are poor, a commonly cited reason for low test scores, eight schools studied by state review teams also had teachers who didn't know what to teach, principals who didn't monitor teachers' work, and district officials who did not step in quickly enough to fix failing schools, according to the study.

The findings set off concern among members of the state Board of Education as they reviewed the eight schools' plans to improve.

Roberta R. Schaefer, a board member, said she was shaken that 11 years into the state's education overhaul, many schools still hadn't improved the way they teach.

"They know high school students have to pass MCAS to graduate," Schaefer said. "Why has this been allowed to go on so long?"

Since 2000 the state has identified more than 70 schools with test scores that are critically low and showing no trend toward improvement over four years. State officials have assembled teams of teachers and consultants to see if the schools have a sound plan to improve. If not, a fact-finding team is dispatched to observe classes and recommend changes. About 25 schools have undergone a fact-finding review, and all reports found varying problems with teaching and management.

The schools reviewed represent a small percentage of the 1,860 public schools statewide. State education officials say that they have enough staff to do in-depth reviews only in the most serious cases.

The state reports identify numerous failings in schools, but educational researchers say that many issues are beyond teachers' control. They say families that cannot afford preschool, eyeglasses, or dental visits are sending children to school with challenges that are hard to overcome. In Springfield, home to several of the schools studied last year and a city fighting for more state funding for schools, teachers have worked without a pay raise for three years.

"A lot of those things matter," said Gary Orfield, professor of education and social policy at Harvard University. "It's not fair to say it's all the school's fault."

Yet the state reviews also suggest what the schools can change. Among the findings of the 2004 state reviews of eight schools -- three in Boston, four in Springfield, and one in Lowell -- were:

At Kiley Middle School in Springfield, most teachers blamed parents or students for the low test scores, though in many classes the reviewers found that teachers' expectations were too low.

At Perkins Elementary, next to a Boston public housing development, teaching was so weak that for two straight years, a majority of the fourth-graders failed the MCAS math test.

At Homer Street Elementary in Springfield, the school had enough teachers, books, and time for instruction, but not enough monitoring of struggling teachers.

At Washington Elementary School in Springfield, two out of three first-graders could not read, a problem that reviewers blamed in part on a lack of tutoring for struggling readers.

"Sometimes [teachers] think that they're doing a wonderful job," said Megan Tupa, an education consultant who participated in several reviews in Springfield. "They have no idea that they're not doing something right."

Now schools are tackling those problems by training teachers and, in some cases, hiring new principals. At Kiley, for instance, the principal is coaching teachers and getting parents more involved in the school, so that they can help teachers by working with children at home. At Perkins, teachers pored over their test scores and other materials to identify what children hadn't learned.

At Washington Elementary this summer, new principal Kathleen G. Sullivan discovered boxes of unused textbooks, holes kicked in the school walls, and math and reading scores that were lower than in the impoverished school she had just left.

"I thought, 'Oh, my God, all these kids have gone through this building,' " said Sullivan, Washington's fifth principal in a decade. "Where was everybody?"

Eighty-five percent of Washington's 330 pupils are from low-income homes. But at Glenwood Elementary in Springfield, 74 percent of the pupils are poor, and their test scores are much higher, a result of teachers who plan lessons together, a principal who coaches teachers to improve, and pupils who learn in small groups, so they aren't left behind in class, according to a 2003 state report.

Over the past several weeks, Washington has started to rebuild. Seven out of 10 teachers are new to the school. The principal sent numerous teachers to seminars on teaching, critiqued teachers' lessons, and quizzed them to make sure they were improving.

Veteran teachers at Washington said they worked hard last year, but needed more help from district and school administrators. They say outside factors play a role; a survey this year showed that more than half of the first-graders hadn't been read to at home.

"People say 'We had all lousy teachers at Washington.' I would respond to that and say I'm not a lousy teacher. I do well," said teacher Gary Forgette.

In fourth grade, where most pupils are at least one grade level behind, distractions abound as a new teacher, Jordana Harper, leads the class. A girl won't sit straight in her chair. A boy gives a running commentary while Harper explains a writing lesson.

Harper grabs a stool and sits, arms folded.

"I'll wait," she tells them. "Because if you're not paying attention you're not learning. This school won't be the same as it was last year."

Maria Sacchetti can be reached at msacchetti@globe.com.