What works in schools day II--afternoon

So--the basis of the discussion is this. as educators we want to insprire kids to learn--to create self actualized learners who desire to know more. The reality is this: we are defined as a failing school because our test scores are not on par with the goals set by the state and the interventions we feel we must take to raise those test scores seem to kill our students desire to learn. these two ideas are islands separated by a vast channel named "how is success measured." The bridge has yet to be built, at WRHS, that will marry these two ideas together. Sure, we can expect success, be visionary, and yadda yadda yadda. But to define a school's success, and therefore students' success on a single day assessment that only measures the bar set by people who are not members of those communities is farcical. We are not allowed to use data to show how much our students have gained since they have entered our doors. We are not allowed to show in our state reports that for our students a gain of .05% in attendance is a huge success. To realistically set forth the ideals of NCLB--which is not a bad idea, it's implemtation is hugely flawed--every student needs to be evaluated where they begin and where they finish. Then, true success can be measured.