CEDAR FALLS - Two Cedar Falls schools have been labeled "schools in need of assistance" for failing to meet annual federal achievement standards for the second time in as many years.

Both Cedar Falls High School and Holmes Junior High fell short of several federal reading achievement targets for special needs students in seventh and eighth grade and eleventh grade. The schools were first placed on the list last year after spending one year on the state's watch list.

Peet Junior High will be placed on this year's watch list for failing to meet reading achievement standards for special needs students.

Dan Conrad, the district's director of secondary education, said the designations are especially frustrating because the district is doing better than the state average in the two categories cited.

"This is a subgroup where every district in the state is struggling," he said.

A school's achievement is measured through math and reading scores on the Iowa Test of Basic Skills for third through eighth graders and the Iowa Test of Educational Development for 11th graders. Each district must report scores for all students in the grade as well as the designated subgroups, which include: minorities; a low family income; enrollment in special education or English language learner classes. The current list, which is released annually by the Iowa Department of Education, is based on 2007-08 test scores.

The requirements are part of the No Child Left Behind Act. Schools that fail to meet the NCLB state trajectories two years in a row are deemed schools in need of assistance.

Superintendent David Stoakes said what many people don't realize is that the federal legislation expects all special needs students to take the same tests and perform at the same level as their peers without any additional test-taking assistance, even if assistance is required by a student's individual education plan for regular class tests.

"The catch is that if these students are proficient, they are usually moved out of special education," he said.

Elaine Watkins-Miller, a spokeswoman for the Iowa Department of Education, said schools across the state and nation often struggle in the same areas as the Cedar Falls schools.

"The percentage of students that now have to meet these proficiency targets increased again this year. We haven't finalized our statewide list, but I think there is a great potential that there will be an increase overall of schools on the list, and that's not just in Iowa, but across the nation."

Conrad said even the federal government is analyzing its stance on requiring special needs students to perform at the same level as their mainstream classmates. The No Child Left Behind legislation is expected to be reauthorized, with some changes, in the next two years.

Currently, schools receiving federal Title 1 funding that are on the SINA list for several years in a row can face federal sanctions. Neither the high school or Holmes receive Title 1 money.

However, that isn't keeping the district from moving forward with additional programs geared toward both middle school and high school students who are not reading at grade level. Read 180, an intensive reading program consisting of curriculum in five areas of instruction, was implemented at Holmes last year.

A second chance reading program is available at the high school for 10th graders who struggle with reading proficiency and the district recently hired a student services coordinator who will focus most of her time on assisting with achievement programming for special needs students.

Stoakes also noted that the district was recently told by the Office of Special Education Programs that they are in compliance with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act part B and performing above state targets spelled out in the State Performance Plan in regards to special needs students.

Both reports are expected to be presented to the Board of Education at its next regular meeting.

Contact Emily Christensen at (319) 291-1570 or emily.christensen@wcfcourier.com.