8/21/08

Plain Dealer

Thomas Ott

After a year of trumpeting gains in achievement, Cleveland school officials say they expect to tumble back into “academic watch” when state report cards are released next week.

Test scores during the last school year fell in most categories, sometimes by more than 10 percentage points, according to preliminary data released Wednesday by Chief Executive Officer Eugene Sanders. The schools hit state benchmarks in just two of 30 categories - 11th-grade reading and writing.

“Academic watch” equates to a D on the state’s grading scale. Last year, the schools were listed for the first time as being in “continuous improvement,” the equivalent of a C, and met four of the state standards.

Sanders said he and the district’s entire staff accept responsibility and may have grown complacent after last year’s success.

The CEO refused to blame classroom discipline or parents who don’t get involved in their children’s studies. He said he personally should have monitored academic progress more closely during the year and worked harder to drum up a sense of urgency.

“I’m gravely disappointed,” Sanders said in an interview. “It is our job to have our student base prepared.”

Mayor Frank Jackson, who appoints the chief executive, called the district’s showing a “slight hiccup” and gave Sanders a vote of confidence. Jackson said he expects the district to be back in “continuous improvement,” and poised to go higher, after Sanders figures out what went wrong.

There are bright spots, including slight gains in social studies at all four grade levels where the subject was tested.

Data also show a rise of nearly 7 points in the graduation rate, to 61.9 percent, though the mark falls well short of the state’s desired 90 percent. The rate is based on the number of students who start the 12th grade and graduate in a given year.

Sanders has made specialty schools the cornerstone of his efforts to create a “premier” school system. Some of those niche schools scored well, according to officials.

The Early Childhood Development Center, for pre-kindergarten through third grade, and the John Hay Campus, a cluster of three high schools with focuses such as medicine and architecture, got the top score of “excellent.” Ginn Academy, for high school boys at risk of dropping out, earned a “continuous improvement” in only its first year.

The district’s final shot at retaining last year’s ranking rested in a new rating on this year’s report card: value-added.

The analysis measures the effectiveness of public schools based on how much academic progress their students make from year to year. Districts are rated on whether student growth was below, above or exactly as expected. Cleveland’s value-added rating: below expectations.

“The bottom line is we didn’t show enough growth,” Sanders said.

Chief Academic Officer Eric Gordon said he will scrutinize test scores to see whether the district has a flawed strategy for instruction or if it’s being poorly executed.

Sanders said officials will identify schools with chronically low achievement, then steer more tutoring and other resources their way.

He also wants to take aim at poor attendance, not only among students but teachers.

A recent study by outside consultants says that nearly 10 percent of teachers are absent on any given day. Sanders said he will talk to teachers about their “sincerity and commitment.”

“Ninety percent attendance by any professional group is way too low,” he said.

Teachers union President David Quolke said he is skeptical of the attendance data.

But he said if the numbers are accurate, teachers may be calling off to avoid headaches such as large classes and assaults by students.

“Clearly, we’ve got the toughest conditions in Northeast Ohio, if not the state,” he said. “Those conditions certainly contribute.”

Quolke linked the drop in academic performance to what he described as the last school year’s “rocky, rocky start.”

He said that understaffing left schools with large classes and that district headquarters was slow to send reinforcements to even the load.

“Many of the kids didn’t have their final teacher in front of them until November,” Quolke said.

The school board is unhappy with the new state ranking but remains solidly behind Sanders, Chairman Robert Heard said.

“We need to have a full explanation of all the data,” he said. “Why did it happen? How did it happen? And what are the next steps? I think key in that process are the next steps.”

Plain Dealer reporters Edith Starzyk and Scott Stephens contributed to this story.