For the students of Hawthorne Elementary, school is a struggle.
This Genesee-area school scored the lowest or close to the lowest among Seattle's elementary schools in virtually every category.
According to recently released school reports created by Seattle Public Schools to track school performance, the percentage of the school's third-, fourth- and fifth-graders who scored high enough to be considered "proficient," or passing on the state's reading, math and science tests has dropped significantly in recent years.
During the 2009-2010 school year, only 20 percent of students were proficient in reading, 22 percent proficient in writing, and 19 percent proficient in mathematics. But the real shocking score is that only 3 percent of fifth-graders were considered proficient in science.
Hawthorne's scores may be the lowest, but the school is far from being the only troubled elementary in Seattle. According to the Seattle School District's new school reports that were released in November, a dozen elementary schools across Seattle are ranked at the lowest level.
Sorting the numbers
The low ranking is triggering more district scrutiny, special programs and more money for training and classes. If the schools don't show improvement in student performance over the next few years, more drastic measures could be taken, such as firing the principal, teachers and administrators at the schools.
The district's report system ranks schools on a scale from 1 to 5, with 5 being the highest. The scoring is based on a number of factors, including student proficiency in the state standardized tests for reading, mathematics, writing and science. The reports also take into consideration the trends in testing during the last three years and how students in each school perform against the district's average for their grade level.
The ground-breaking reports, which offer a wide variety of information about each school, were implemented in recent years as a way to better gauge the performance and trends at each of the district's schools, while also offering information to parents about how school administrators plan to improve student performance.
Highs and lows
Among the district's middle schools, only the South End's Aki Kurose ranked a "1," with 49 percent of students considered proficient in reading, 31 percent proficient in math, 59 percent proficient in writing and 31 percent proficient in science. In a strange twist, 73 percent of the school's eighth-graders actually ranked ready for high school math; there was no explanation for this anomaly.
Seattle's high schools proved to be neither terrible nor excellent. Instead, their combined rankings were more mediocre. No Seattle high schools earned the dreaded lowest score of "1." However, three high schools - Beacon Hill's Cleveland, Haller Lake's Ingraham and South Seattle's Rainier Beach - all scored a "2" on the report. These schools will also receive closer scrutiny and more vigorous administrative involvement.
On the positive side, 11 Seattle elementary schools earned a "5," with the highest overall rankings going to Northwest Seattle's Loyal Heights. There, 94 percent of students ranked proficient in reading, 91 percent were proficient in math, 84 percent in writing and 69 percent in science. District-wide, 71 percent of students were proficient in reading, 63 percent in math, 65 percent in writing and 40 percent in science.
Also ranking near the top was Magnolia's Catharine Blaine K-8, Madison Park's McGilvra Elementary and Wedgewood Elementary.
Among the middle schools, only Magnolia's Catharine Blaine K-8 earned a "5," with 79 percent of sixth- to eighth-graders ranking proficient in reading and 76 percent proficient in math; 78 percent of seventh-graders ranking proficient in writing; and 73 percent of eighth-graders proficient in science. The report also showed that 67 percent of Catharine Blaine's eighth-graders were deemed ready for high school math.
The high schools that earned a "4" ranking include Roosevelt and Garfield. Garfield's strong showing was one of the few bright spots for schools located in South Seattle and the Central Area, the city's traditionally lower-income neighborhoods.
The 'mobility' factor
A recent study by the University of Washington's Center on Reinventing Public Education found that nearly all of Seattle's pubic schools that have showed the most improvement in recent years are located north of Interstate 90 in the city's more affluent neighborhoods. In fact, the center reports that South End neighborhoods, considered the city's poorer area, had 75 percent of the lowest-performing schools.
The center also found that where the city is growing the fastest is also where many of the district's lowest scores can be found.
Prime examples of these findings are at Seattle's Hawthorne, Madrona and Leschi elementary schools. At Madrona, only 48 percent of the school's third- and fifth-graders scored high enough to be considered "proficient," or passing, on the state reading test. Leschi students fared slightly better, with 53 percent of students ranking proficient in reading. Those scores are considerably lower than the district-wide average of 71 percent.
In math, 35 percent of Madrona's third- and fifth-graders were considered proficient. Leschi's students scored below that figure, with only 32 percent of students in those grades scoring at a proficient level. The fourth-grade state writing test found 55 percent of Madrona's students and 38 percent of Leschi's students proficient.
However, the major problem for both schools was in science. Only 20 percent of Leschi's fifth-graders were considered proficient. Madrona appeared to experience a near collapse in science teaching last year, with only 8 percent of students testing proficient on the state test.
One characteristic of all three of these schools is what the district calls "mobility." This refers to the percentage of students who either enrolled or left a school during the 2009-2010 school year. Mobility is a disruptive element to the learning process, officials say.
More than one in three of Hawthorne Elementary's 284 students either enrolled or moved during the 2009-2010 school year. Another difficult factor for Hawthorne is that the school draws students from many immigrant neighborhoods where English is a second language.
However, by far the highest mobility figure belongs to Madrona K-8, which has suffered from administrative changes and controversy in recent years. According to the Seattle School District, four out of every 10 students in Madrona's kindergarten through fifth-grades either entered or left the school during the 2009-2010 school year.
By comparison, Leschi Elementary, which is in the same region, had a mobility rate of 15 percent, and even that was relatively high compared to other elementary schools around Seattle.
Finding solutions
Being ranked a "Level 1" school triggers a number of requirements by the district including:
All teachers in Level 1 schools are setting and being evaluated by the principal on student-growth goals for learning, beginning this year.
Extra learning time, such as after-school tutoring, extended reading time and additional math classes for students so they can catch up to grade level.
Intervention teachers to help meet the needs of students during class and help them catch up to grade level.
Time for teachers to meet to analyze student data and plan lessons together.
Instructional coaches to help teachers continuously improve and maximize the impact on student achievement.
Reentry specialists to prevent students from dropping out.
If a school fails to show progress after six years, then more drastic steps will be taken, such as possibly changing the school's principal and bringing in new teachers.
Nancy Coogan knows that these academic scores needs to improve. As the new executive director of Seattle's Central region, she oversees instruction and principals for 20 schools, including Madrona and Leschi.
She said the district is working closely with all the school principals to help find solutions. Coogan points out that Madrona's principal, Farah Thaxton, has only been in the position since January, but she is showing strong leadership and is making great progress.
"These scores are only one piece of the puzzle," Coogan said. "We need to take all of the data points and come to a conclusion about what is happening in each school and how to improve the situation."
Coogan stresses that the best way to increase student performance is through teaching in the classroom. With that in mind, she said many of the schools that ranked low on the report are receiving math coaches, reading tutors and instruction coaches.
The district is also implementing common planning times, where teachers at a school can meet and plan their teaching schedule together.
Seattle University is also offering help by providing college students as reading and math specialists to work with youngsters at Madrona and other schools.
On a larger scale, the Seattle School District is working with the teaching college at Columbia University to help develop unique educational programs, teaching instruction and leadership plans for some schools.
Madrona's Thaxton, for example, has announced that Madrona is focusing on reading and math this year, and she has set a school goal for 2011 of at least 58 percent of students meeting or exceeding the state's reading standards and at least 45 percent of students meeting or exceeding the state's mathematics standards.
One proposal put forth by Thaxton calls for increasing the school's arts and music offerings. While details are still being developed, Thaxton has discussed adding choir and orchestra programs to the curriculum, as well as developing a drama program at the school for the 2011-2012 academic year.
To view the report for your child's school, go to www.seattleschools.org/area/strategicplan/schoolreportslist.html.
[[In-content Ad]]
