ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, November 30, 1996 TAG: 9612020010
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
Schools in poor neighborhoods with a history of poor academic achievement shouldn't be penalized because of Virginia's new academic standards, the Roanoke School Board says.
The board thinks the state should provide incentives for academic improvements - not reduced funds or other punishment for schools where students do not meet the standards.
"Schools should be evaluated over a period of time, based on their progress in improving the test scores they start out with," Chairwoman Marsha Ellison said.
"Because of demographics and other factors, not all schools can start out equal and they shouldn't all be evaluated by the same standard at first," Ellison said.
If the General Assembly enacts accountability standards for schools, it should make provisions for differences in demographics and the history of academic performances at schools, she said.
The board's position on school accountability is included in its legislative requests for the legislature's upcoming session. The accountability issue is expected to be at the center of the education debate.
The state has adopted new academic standards for schools and will begin a testing program for students in grades three, five, eight and 11 next year. State education officials said educators and schools should be held accountable for the students' performance.
No decisions have been made on the consequences if students fail to meet the standards. But some officials in Gov. George Allen's administration have raised the possibility of firing school personnel, withholding funds and closing schools.
The Virginia Education Association has urged the state Board of Education and General Assembly to adopt an accountability system that establishes "realistic expectations" for schools.
The teachers' organization said the system should be based on variables that influence student achievement, such as family income, the educational level of parents and parental involvement in their children's education.
The Roanoke School Board's position on accountability is similar to the stand of Lt. Gov. Don Beyer, who heads a commission that is studying the issue.
Beyer has said that closing a school because of low test scores won't help those children learn any better.
"I agree we need to test students to find out what they're learning - but not at the expense of entrenching the disparity that already exists in our school systems," Beyer told the VEA convention this year.
The Roanoke board thinks schools should be evaluated on the basis of improvement and comparisons to the past performance of their students - not to other schools.
Many of the board's other legislative requests deal with more state money for teacher salaries, school construction, smaller classes and technology.
It wants the state to set a goal of reaching the national average for teacher salaries by the 1998-99 school year. To meet the goal, the General Assembly would have to increase funds for salaries by an additional 8 percent, school officials said.
Noting the school building needs in the city and state, board members want the legislature to create a new fund to provide direct grants to localities for school construction.
The state now provides $15 per pupil a year to localities for the maintenance of school buildings, but no grants for school construction. Cities and counties can obtain low-interest loans through the state Literary Fund for school building projects, but they have to repay the money.
In addition to the new school construction fund, the board wants the state to increase the maintenance funds by $10 per pupil for each of the next two years.
The board's other legislative requests include:
* Local control over the school calendar and the opening and closing dates for the school year.
* A state study on increasing the length of the school year and the feasibility of year-round schools on a local option basis.
* State funds for hiring one school nurse for every 1,000 students.
* Opposition to charter schools, which were rejected by the legislature during its past session.
* Local option on drug testing of students and school personnel - not a state mandate.
* More state money for truancy prevention and absenteeism programs, including additional sites for alternative education programs throughout the state.
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