Mat-Su Borough School District deserves better AYP grades

Frontiersman editorial board

As 18 schools in the Mat-Su Borough School District received failing marks in Annual Yearly Progress testing requirements this year, several of them now entering phase two of the corrective actions program, parents will begin receiving letters from the district. The letters will identify the schools that are not in compliance and explain that parents with students in phase-two schools will have the option to move their students to other schools.

Before making the decision to bus students from failing schools to those that passed the AYP guidelines, parents should consider some important facts.

The most important piece of information is that the Mat-Su Borough School District is an excellent place to educate children. It is a lighthouse district, with more experienced teachers than any other major district in the state. The majority of parents with students in Mat-Su schools have been happy with their experience, and that should be the first point to consider.

It's also important to note that the failing schools all scored high in the majority of categories, often only failing because they were unable to meet unrealistic requirements in very small categories. A small group of students that was not proficient in language skills could drag an entire school into the failure column. Some schools performed well in all categories, but did not have sufficient student participation in testing to pass the overall requirements -- probably more a failure on the part of parents than on the part of the schools.

The district has taken a positive attitude toward No Child Left Behind and toward AYP testing, using the data to identify problem areas and to address the challenges faced by the struggling students. More importantly, district officials have said they are committed to address those challenges in a way that improves education, not in a way that simply prepares the students for the exams. The district is focused upon actual progress, and Chief School Administrator Bob Doyle has said he believes it's most important to judge each student's progress across the entire school year, not simply on the day of the test.

This is the time to stand behind our schools and help them achieve positive results. Gouging the budget with excessive transportation costs by moving students is only going to hurt more schools in the future.