Idaho schools try to improve but Luna fails to support them

Posted on Aug 2, 2010 in Uncategorized

Dr. Stan Olson, Democratic candidate for Idaho’s State School Superintendent, said that the results of Idaho’s schools Annual Yearly Progress (AYP) are in. “That’s the good news,” Olson said,  “the bad news is, Tom Luna is suggesting that he had something to do with AYP improvement across the state and that the AYP standard really measures a school’s true effectiveness.”

“Any school gains in Adequate Yearly Progress over the last four years have come as a result of the hard work of Idaho’s teachers, principals, and students, NOT from the efforts of the current State Superintendent.  If anything, Mr. Luna has negatively impacted school improvement efforts by failing to support local school districts and by not having a real plan in place to help schools sustain improvement initiatives.”

Schools have also been hurt by Luna’s politicization of test scores, inferring that the AYP measure is the standard by which Idaho’s schools should be judged. “We have some schools in the state that are rated in the top 6% nationally who did not make AYP, how can that be?” Educators across the nation view the AYP measure of the No Child Left Behind program to be a “faulty premise” on which to judge schools, and reflect that almost every American school will not make AYP for one reason or another in the future.

Greater emphasis needs to be placed on helping all Idaho school children meet rigorous, nationally recognized standards through consistent support and guidance.  That support and guidance is not in place, and has been lacking over the last four years.

If you would like to speak with Stan Olson, please contact Nic Swanson @ (208) 585-7938 or email @info@olsonforidaho.com

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