Transfer, tutoring options need to be used by students

We're a proponent of school choice in providing students the opportunity to improve their education either through attending a charter school or a higher-scoring school in the district.

Sixty-one school districts — six times more than ever — are on the state's list of districts in need of improvement based on student performance during the 2010-11 school year. The list of individual schools in need of improvement has grown to 227, up from 90 in the 2009-10 school year.

That number likely will decrease considerably if the state's application for a waiver from provisions of the No Child Left Behind Act is approved. A draft of Oklahoma's waiver application shows the state aims to shift the focus of its school accountability system onto individual student growth. The foundation of the new system will be “A” through “F” grades for every school and district, which will replace the Academic Performance Index scores in 2012.

Federal standards under the No Child Left Behind Act have gotten tougher each year. Schools and districts land on the needs-improvement list not for overall poor performance, but if one of 24 subcategories of students (poor, black, English language learners, special education, etc.) fails to score high enough on state exams two years in a row. Districts are deemed in need of improvement if one of those subcategories at each grade level — elementary, middle, high school — fails to score proficient on state exams.