DATE: Monday, June 23, 1997                 TAG: 9706230025
SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B4   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS 
                                            LENGTH:   59 lines

SCHOOL-PENALTY PROPOSAL AMONG TOUGHEST IN U.S.

A proposal to penalize Virginia public schools whose students fail to meet high academic standards appears to be the toughest such plan in the country, several national education analysts said.

The plan, which already has tentative approval from the Virginia Board of Education, would take state accreditation away from schools where fewer than 70 percent of the students pass new state tests for three straight years.

``In a lot of ways, Virginia is way ahead of the curve,'' said Patricia Sullivan, director of education legislation for the National Governors Association. ``What they're proposing . . . that's not something I've heard before.''

A few states, including Maryland, have rules that provide for the eventual takeover of schools where student performance is below par.

Board of Education President Michelle Easton said Virginia's idea came about when state officials looked at what other states were doing and decided to try something different. The result has drawn mixed reviews.

``Virginia is in the forefront of the movement to create substantial academic standards that carry with them some real consequences,'' said Jeanne Allen, president of the Washington-based Center for Education Reform. ``If schools are supposed to be about learning, then how can we continue to make the case for accrediting schools where that doesn't appear to be happening?''

Other school officials, however, say the plan is unfair because it punishes the schools without offering them the help they need to improve.

Several local school officials in Northern Virginia say loss of accreditation would be devastating to a school - even if state funding continues - and could cause students and teachers to move in droves.

``Basically, what you're doing by removing accreditation is removing the help and assistance from those buildings that need it the most,'' said Prince William School Superintendent Edward L. Kelly.

``We're basing an awful lot of students' futures on a test, and then when they don't pass, we're going to pull the rug out from under them. I think we'll be condemning these students to a long and difficult life,'' he said.

The tests in English, math, science and social studies will be given to students in grades three, five, eight and 11 starting next spring.

State officials say the state's schools will be given extra time to get used to the new system, and schools with a large numbers of transient and non-English speaking students will be granted special allowances.

The first year a school could lose its accreditation will be 2003.

Removing a school's accreditation could stir community concern and prompt action that helps turn around a struggling school, Easton said. ``It is intended to be a very loud and strong signal to a community that there is something terribly wrong with the school.''

``It will be a clear indication of how a school is doing academically, and I would like to think the local community would rally around the school and make the changes necessary to bring those scores up,'' she said.

The proposal is one of several school standards on which the Virginia state board will vote in September. The package also includes new graduation requirements and a mandate that more class time be spent on basic subjects.

The board will hold public hearings on the plan next month. KEYWORDS: EDUCATION

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