Robinson will give a report to the school board on Tuesday

By Jennifer Moody

Albany Democrat-Herald

LEBANON - Superintendent Jim Robinson has declared an "academic emergency" over math scores at Lebanon High School and is redirecting resources to help boost achievement.

Robinson will give a report Tuesday to the Lebanon School Board about his plans. Lebanon High School Principal Mark Finch has scheduled a private meeting Sept. 10 with parents who have expressed their concerns about the district's math program.

Robinson said parent concerns and a history of low achievement, including another round of poor state test scores last year, prompted the declaration.

"It's a desire to be transparent," Robinson said. "We're stepping up, saying, 'We have a problem.'"

The district also is facing state sanctions because its low scores intersect with a second issue: teachers at one of its schools last year who did not meet the federal definition of "highly qualified."

Until the state lifts its penalty, the district cannot hire any more instructional assistants. That's under the theory that assistants are not as well-trained as full-fledged teachers, so the district should not be relying on their use, Robinson said.

Assistant Superintendent Steve Kelley is working with the four teachers at Sand Ridge Charter School - two elementary teachers, one science teacher and one language arts teacher - who do not yet meet the federal definition.

To address math, Robinson said he has directed Lebanon High School teachers to meet weekly so that they can, among other things, develop common standards for grading and tests, intervene more quickly when students need help, and work with the high school's "feeder schools" to make sure curriculum is coordinated all the way down.

Outcome reports to the superintendent will be required each month and each trimester.

Robinson said he's also contacting the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory to beef up staff training.

Math is particularly critical because the state is toughening graduation requirements over the next few years. By 2014, the only math credits that will be accepted for a diploma will be Algebra I or above.

According to figures from Finch, the principal, 47 percent of Lebanon High School students failed Algebra I in the third trimester of the 2007-08 school year. Another 21 percent squeaked by with a D.

Finch said he did not check other classes or other trimesters for comparison.

However, state assessments make it clear Lebanon students have been struggling in math for years.

Although the district occasionally has made enough progress to satisfy growth standards under No Child Left Behind, Lebanon has ranked below the state average in math since before the decade began.

In 2000-01, only 29 percent of sophomores met or exceeded the state's math standard. The state's average that year was 42 percent.

Lebanon's passing scores hovered around 41 percent for the next two years, dropped to 32 the following year, then crept up to 36 percent in 2004-05, the first year a controversial small-schools "academy system" was fully under way.

The percentage climbed to 50 last year. However, the growth target is now at 59 percent, so Lebanon failed to make "adequate yearly progress" under No Child Left Behind for the fifth consecutive year.

The state has changed its tests and its administering methods more than once during the decade, so scores technically can't be correlated from one year to the next.

However, Robinson said, "Our performance has not been sufficient. Our problem is a long-established one and predates academies. The issue is not one of format, it's of instruction in the classrooms, it's of learning in the classrooms, regardless of how they're packaged."