Norwalk's progress on achievement gap
Editorial, The Advocate, January 12, 2007

And now, some good news on the achievement gap between white and minority students.

Yes, you read that correctly.

Results of a recently released study show that two Norwalk schools that were reprimanded last year under the No Child Left Behind Act are also among those doing the best job of bringing minority and disadvantaged kids up to speed.

So says the Connecticut Coalition for Achievement Now, a New Haven-based organization that works to help close the achievement gap. The group also took part in a community-wide forum on the problem sponsored by The Advocate last September.

Kendall Elementary School and Richard C. Briggs High School both landed on top 10 lists for schools making progress in closing the gap. A third, Nathan Hale Middle School, is on a particularly good roll. It escaped No Child's glare last year for the first time since 2003, and it's ranked 10th on ConnCAN's list of progress made by Hispanic students.

It's all a promising sign, although one that has to be viewed in context.

ConnCAN's assessment method differs from No Child's in that it looks at performance as compared to other schools in the state. And it gives schools credit for progress they did make, even if blocs of kids still fall below the NCLB goal.

No Child Left Behind takes more of an all-or-nothing approach. It sets a standard percentage of students, including minority subgroups, that must meet proficiency goals in math and reading. The standard rises each year. The law then assigns schools a pass/fail grade based on whether they meet the mark. Schools that repeatedly fail, and which receive federal funding, can be penalized. NCLB is intended to make all children proficient in reading and math by 2014.

So Norwalk's Kendall Elementary School took the No. 10 spot on ConnCAN's ranking of progress made by state elementary schools eventhough it failed to meet the NCLB requirement for a second straight year. Per the federal law's stipulations, Kendall last year was one of three Norwalk elementary schools required to give parents the option of moving their kids to another school.

It's important for educators to view the ConnCAN results within the framework of NCLB. Comparatively, Kendall is doing a good job; but it's still not good enough.

That goes for Briggs High School as well. In Briggs, which came in at No. 7, Norwalk boasts the only area high school to rank on ConnCAN's top 10 list for high schools. But Briggs was also labeled "in need of improvement" under NCLB for the third straight time last year.

Side By Side Community School, a regional public charter school in South Norwalk, was not cited by No Child Left Behind but ranked seventh among most improved middle schools in the ConnCAN survey.

It is understandable if educators would rather point to the ConnCAN results than those of No Child Left Behind. They've complained about No Child - which does have flaws - since the law's inception. But it's the measure that has the authority, and sometimes the stick, of the federal government behind it, so it's the one to which they must pay the most attention.

The ConnCAN survey becomes most useful when the organization reveals what lies behind the numbers. According to a group spokesman, one common denominator among well-performing schools is a strong leader who is able to inspire teachers and get them focused on a common vision.

"And teachers don't make excuses when kids fall behind," the spokesman, Marc Porter Magee, told Staff Writer Alexandra Fenwick. "They try to adjust their teaching skills to meet them where they are, and bring them up. They're constantly trying to improve and figure out how to do things better."

That's a model for success in all endeavors.

Norwalk public schools should take heart from these results. They're proof that educators' hard work can make a difference. Now they have to build on their success and see if there are lessons in that success for other city schools that haven't - yet - made ConnCAN's top 10 lists.