46 schools on 'do better' list: Low math scores biggest factor on new ?needing improvement' ratings.

Byline: Tara M. Manthey and David Wickert

Sep. 1--Nearly four dozen South Sound schools are failing to improve student test scores enough, the state said Thursday. The biggest reason: math. The schools are among 248 statewide that need improvement under the federal No Child Left Behind Act, according to a preliminary list. Schools that receive federal assistance will face an escalating series of consequences ranging from hiring tutors to installing new management. State Superintendent Terry Bergeson said lagging math scores were a big factor for schools on the improvement list. The problem, she said, is the way Washington schools teach math. "It's not the kids," Bergeson said. "It's the program, the system we're operating in." Bergeson said Washington must boost teachers' math knowledge, give them better training and get them more information about the way kids learn math. "That's something that, across the state, we're going to have to work on together," she told The News Tribune. Bergeson stressed that the "needing improvement" list is only one measure of school quality. She said schools might have improved substantially but could still be on the list. To get off "improvement" status, schools must meet "adequate yearly progress" for two consecutive years.

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