Making the Grade

Superintendent Carl A. Cohn knows of a place where there is “no child left behind,” where all children achieve grade-level proficiency and where there is no achievement gap.

“It’s called heaven,” says the head of the San Diego Unified School District.

Cohn cringes at the expression “No child left behind,” the slogan for the standards-based education reform act signed into law by President Bush in 2002. The law aims to bring all children, including limited-English, special-education and disadvantaged students, up to the proficient level on state tests by 2014. Like many educators, Cohn considers the legislation unfair, underfunded and too focused on one-size-fits-all testing. The idealistic goals of the law, he says, would require divine intervention to succeed.

Despite those challenges, we are happy to report that 45 elementary and middle schools in 10 local districts have achieved what Cohn would consider heaven on Earth by surpassing both state and federal benchmarks.

It’s a tricky accomplishment, because although federal and state systems look at the same student test scores, they do so in different ways. A school can exceed state standards, but if low-performing students only move up, say, one grade instead of two, the school can be penalized, often through reduced funding. Some of the districts in San Diego County have schools with Academic Performance Index (API) scores that have soared, yet they have failed to meet federal standards.

Our highest six performers include three elementary schools in the Del Mar Union School District: Ashley Falls, Sage Canyon and Torrey Hills. Poway Unified School District’s Creekside Elementary, and Carmel Creek and Solana Pacific in the Solana Beach School District, complete our list.

The motto of the Poway Unified School District is “Every child can learn.” But when a teacher discovers students lagging as many as four grade levels behind, a lot of support and planning is needed.

Creekside Elementary teachers level the learning field with two techniques: “purposeful grouping” and “looping grade levels.” Students at different stages of ability are grouped together so high achievers can impact others. Parents also have the option to enroll students in a looping class—one that integrates a lower grade with an upper grade. The advantage is that it helps students and teachers ease their way into the next level of learning.

There can be a creative aspect to differentiation, too. Teachers Jessica Dusek and Christina Gonzalez loop fourth- and fifth-grade classes and together came up with an idea that energized a reading circle. Students were asked to read three books on a required reading list, a standard type of lesson one would find in any school. But then the children were asked to come up with ways to sell that book. They were encouraged to create a persuasive advertisement, and they searched for songs from pop culture that emphasized the book’s theme so that music, art and decision-making were integrated into the curriculum in a way that made learning fun.

“It’s not about getting to the end of the textbook,” says Gonzalez, who worked at two charter schools and a public school in Florida before moving to Poway. “As much as we consider standards and curriculum, we are given the freedom to do what’s best for kids. Once, I thought I had lost that spark of creativity. Here, I feel my teaching has come to life.”

Identified here are 45 schools in 10 districts that have exceeded state requirements (by earning at least a 900 API score) as well as federal AYP goals established by the No Child Left Behind Act. The districts and the schools have met federal annual progress goals. Within that group, six schools in three of the districts scored a base API of 950 or higher. Charter, alternative and small schools were not included. Unless otherwise specified, elementary schools include kindergarten through grade 5.