After three years of research and discussion, the Washington State Board of Education has approved a new way to identify failing schools and manage their improvement.
Under the new process, districts with schools in the bottom 5 percent of a new accountability index would have a required performance audit and must start an improvement plan.
The accountability index measures math and reading test scores and graduation rates and focuses on improvement, not just one year of test results. It also will be used for state recognition of schools making the most improvement.
The state’s previous school improvement efforts under the federal No Child Left Behind law were optional. This process would be optional in 2010 and mandatory in 2011 if approved by the Legislature and signed by the governor. Its chances of passage were not immediately known.
The new program would put Washington on par with what most other states are doing about failing schools. (AP)
