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2 <br /> <br />teacher performance, graduation rates, and students successfully being integrated into <br />society is being looked at. He said there are real issues in the Schools, such as students <br />with limited English proficiency. He said that No Child Left Behind takes more <br />resources than the federal government is giving. <br /> <br /> Dr. Griffin said that the SOLs and Flanagans are just one part of what the Schools <br />are doing. She said the Schools also have a curriculum. <br /> <br /> Mr. Lynch said that in a remediation program such as Book Buddies, a decision <br />was made to reduce the coordinators and fund professionals. He said that is okay if it is <br />felt that provides better support, but said he cannot get that information. <br /> <br /> Dr. Griffin said that assessments have not been done in the past on those <br />programs, and new staff has been charged with doing that. She said she has been asking <br />how Book Buddies is having an impact and making progress, but she has not been able to <br />get any answers. She said they are beginning to look at programs that can be evaluated <br />and get an assessment of those. <br /> <br /> Ms. Peggy Van Yahres, School Board member, said it is a priority of the School <br />Board to really find out which programs are helping. <br /> <br /> Ms. Dede Smith, Chair of the School Board, said that we now have staff that can <br />do that. <br /> <br /> Dr. Brown said that the whole area of assessment is an interesting one. He said he <br />would be interested in knowing what is the best model to use as an assessment tool, not <br />just how many school use the Flanagan tests. He said he would like to make testing less <br />intrusive and find out what is most effective for us. <br /> <br /> Dr. Griffin said that in order to get baseline data, we are initially going to have to <br />test more. She said the question is how to structure testing. She said if we do not have <br />baseline data on all students we have no idea how to structure it. She said that next year <br />will be different. <br /> <br /> Ms. Julie Gronlund, School Board member, regarding the time spent on testing, <br />said she would like to see a comprehensive overview of testing. She said she would also <br />like to look at other diagnostic tests, and to get a big picture of what tests do and the time <br />they take to administer. <br /> <br />Ms. Smith said that the Flanagan tests look at cohorts. <br /> <br /> Mr. Lynch said he does not question that, but he feels there is more we should do, <br />and noted that reading is not tested by Flanagan tests. <br /> <br />Dr. Griffin said that Open Court is now our district wide reading program. <br /> <br />The meeting was adjourned. <br /> <br />President Clerk <br /> <br /> <br />