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Every Child is More Than a Score
Author Kathleen Williams, PhD, NCSP, discusses challenges of No Child Left Behind mandates and possible remedies
By Laura Kuhn

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Author Kathleen Williams, PhD, NCSP.

Many educators and community members are debating the use of high stakes testing as required by the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) legislation. They're asking tough questions like, "Will schools begin to focus on basic math and reading skills to the exclusion of other subject areas?" and "Why not provide schools with the resources they need, instead of closing schools down when they don't measure up?"

Kathleen Williams, test author and vice president of product development at AGS Publishing, believes children should not be reduced to a single test score. She's concerned about the lack of funding for schools. "People in this country say they value education, but we don't spend enough money on it." She refers to statistics compiled by Market Data Retrieval. They show U.S. state spending for textbooks ranges from 2.3 percent to 0.5 percent of total education expenditures. On average .95%—less than a penny on the dollar—is spent on educational materials. "I find that statistic hard to believe, but unfortunately it's true. It's very discouraging," says Williams.

While budgets are being slashed, standardized test results determine the fate of our schools. She adds, "I do believe in assessment as a diagnostic tool, but I'm concerned about the way NCLB is set up." According to Williams, NCLB does not adequately address what she calls the three T's—Transiency, Truancy, and Translation—as real-world roadblocks to learning.

Transiency

NCLB has established a benchmark called "adequate yearly progress" for measuring school performance. Williams explains that it's impossible to get a true picture of adequate yearly progress with a highly mobile student body. "Transiency is the biggest problem. A teacher starts with 22 students in the fall and ends up with 22 students in the spring. By the end of the year only two of those students are the same."

She elaborates, "The problem is you're not measuring the same kids. People move. Families leave because they need to find work or a better job. Children in these situations do not have a consistent curriculum. We're blaming a lot of things on schools and teachers, which aren't their fault."

Williams points out that if transience rates could be lowered, measurements of adequate yearly progress might be more meaningful. She shares ideas on how to encourage families to stay in their school districts, such as recruiting parents as volunteers. "One principal I read about requires parents to give 40 hours of their time a year," she says. "When you feel good about doing something for your child's school—like stuffing envelopes or reading stories to children—are you going to be so quick to move out of the district?"

She presents another simple idea: offer parents their own room at school. "School is not the happiest or most inviting place for a lot of people. A parent room can be a safe place to leave your coat or purse before going off to listen to first graders read for 30 minutes." Also it's the perfect location to post upcoming events, volunteer opportunities, and announcements. In essence, a parent room can help parents stay connected.

Williams knows firsthand how a negative volunteer experience can leave a lasting impression. "Parents need to feel welcome and appreciated, too." A few years ago she volunteered to supervise the lunchroom at her son's school. "All the times I came to volunteer, nobody ever said, 'hello' or 'you may park here.' Nobody ever said, 'the Student Council is going to feed all the volunteers donuts and orange juice on Monday at eight o'clock.'" Showing gratitude in simple ways can make a real difference in keeping parents involved.

Truancy

Williams explains that in order to make adequate yearly progress goals, the issue of truancy also needs to be addressed. "The absentee rate is miserable. There's a saying, 'Teachers can teach if the kids are in the seats.'" She recommends doing two things every day: take roll call and tell students you appreciate their being in class.

She continues, "The truancy rate could be cut if kids felt welcome in their schools. I tell teachers to throw away their seating charts. Call roll every day. Say a child's name every day. I don't care if the kid is five or eighteen."

When Williams taught a study skills class for college freshmen, she had almost 100% attendance by calling roll and telling students she was glad to be teaching them. Williams elaborates, "If you personally connect with each student, they're going to give you their attention. They want to be in school. Discipline problems also decrease if students sense their teachers want to be with them and view them as individuals."

Translation

A third issue vital to learning is "translation." Williams illustrates, "When I speak about translation, I'm referring to oral language. And I'm not just talking about ESL/ELL students. All kids are coming to school with a paucity of the background vocabulary and knowledge required to comprehend."

For example, she notes, if a teacher talks about robbing from the rich to give to the poor, many children would not know this refers back to the 12^th century English legend, Robin Hood. "These kids wouldn't know Robin Hood from a man in the moon," asserts Williams. "We have a translation problem in this country. Kids lack the background knowledge they need to make connections in order to learn the lesson."

Williams believes the picture is indeed grim. "Today children don't start with enough vocabulary and background knowledge to prepare them for reading. To be a successful student, you need to come to school with 5,000 words in your vocabulary. Kindergarten teachers tell me that it's laughable. Children have so few words in their repertoire."

This ability to make connections is fundamental to early reading. Williams cites Keith Stanovich, who refers to the influence of vocabulary growth as the Matthew Effect. "According to him," she says, "no one ever teaches you every word there is to learn. You use the initial vocabulary you know to comprehend initial reading material. The more you read, the more vocabulary you learn. The more vocabulary you know, the more you can read and comprehend." The term "Matthew Effect" gets its name from the Gospel of Matthew, which presents the principle, "the rich get richer and the poor get poorer."

The Comprehensive Assessment of Spoken Language (CASL), contains a test in the supralinguistic category that probes for information on a child's background knowledge and ability to make inferences. This test can help educators determine if a child has "translation" difficulties. For example, an item in this test might describe the building of the Empire State Building in the 1930's as surprising. A child who hasn't heard of the Great Depression would not understand why constructing such a building during this era would be unusual. "Background knowledge along with a strong vocabulary are essential for linking pieces of information together and comprehending oral or written language," Williams concludes.

All in all, Williams feels the intent of the NCLB legislation is positive, but believes other issues such as transience need to be highlighted. "Moving children out of one school into another will not solve the problem. What kids really need is more consistency."