U-PASS bar raised; 40 more schools may require help

Up to 40 additional schools are expected to be identified as needing improvement under testing and progress standards for students that the State Board of Education raised on Thursday.

Around 5 percent of Utah schools earlier this year were identified as needing improvement in the states' premiere U-PASS accountability report because they did not meet state testing standards or show enough growth toward them. U-PASS is the Utah Performance Assessment System for Students, the state's way of holding schools accountable for student achievement.

Education leaders had expected to identify 10 percent to 12 percent of schools as needing improvement when they set the achievement bar. So the board voted Thursday to raise its testing and progress expectations by five points each.

The move will identify more schools as needing improvement, but the board felt it was a better move than allowing those who truly need help to struggle on the borderline, board member Teresa Theurer said.

The vote is retroactive to this year's data, so that baseline data can be set for future comparisons.

Up to 81 schools, as opposed to the initial 41, could be identified as needing help, according to State Office of Education data presented to the board's curriculum committee. The higher number would be 12.7 percent of Utah schools, the data show.

The schools won't be formally identified until the 2006 U-PASS report is issued, State Office of Education spokesman Mark Peterson said. The law requires the reports to come in October.

Theurer expects some schools, identified as needing improvement, to appeal. She also expects the board in the future will raise the bar further.

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