NWEA Growth Scores are in
Many of you will remember how proud I was of our sixth grade students leading the district in growth according to NWEA. Last school year those students acheived 105.4% of the target growth. I feel when we look at growth, it is the best measure of how the school is doing with all children. Most parents are familiar with NWEA in this district. NWEA is a nationally normed test that we administer on the computers twice per year.
So, how did we do this year?
Well, in reading the scores break down as follows:
6th Grade : 115.4% of expected growth
7th Grade : 156.6% of expected growth
8th Grade : 95.0% of expected growth
Many people may question the 8th grade at 95%. Remember that when I came here four years ago the highest percentage of NWEA growth was 61.6%.
The Math scores break down as follows:
6th Grade : 104.7% of expected growth
7th Grade : 81.1% of expected growth
8th Grade : 94.3% of expected growth
Certainly, I feel that the rise in scores we see is an indication of some of the things we are doing right.
What does it take to be a good principal?Unlike some professions there no clear measure for job performance in education. If I ran a
manufacturing plant I could look at the quality of the final product and the profit we made. If I were in sales I could look at my sales figures compared to my
contemporaries. In education the lines of performance are grey at best.
Certainly I could look at student
performance on the
MEAP test. Scores have gone up over the past four years, but we haven't gained on other schools in the county. So, is that good or bad?
Maybe I should look at employee satisfaction. When I ask teachers how they feel about things, most will tell me they like what I have done. But then again, what else
would you tell your boss?
How about the parents? Certainly parents opinions are one of the best measures. The problem is that usually a small percentage of parents fill out a survey or provide me any feedback.
What about the students? Certainly I spend more time with students than I do with parents or teachers. Middle school students certainly are willing to tell you if they think something is wrong. But what do students know about all that a principal does and job performance expectations?
So how can a principal really know he/she is doing a good job?
Hitting a Changing Target (My personal
MEAP frustration)
I've been waiting to write about
MEAP scores and how we performed this year on the
MEAP test. Unfortunately the scores are still not to be released to the public. I do have the scores and I couldn't wait to comment a little.
The message has been very clear. The
MEAP test will be
consist ant from year to year so that schools have a fair way to measure growth. I guess the message should have been, we will grade only those portions of the test the current budget allows for grading. Yes, the test all our children took was not completely graded. In fact an entire section that Algonquin students have historically scored well on was thrown out. Not because we did anything wrong, because the budget didn't allow for paying for graders. So what will this year's scores tell us compared to last year's scores,
relatively little. Whether the scores go up or down the test is
significantly different as a whole, a changed target. In fact the test will change again for next year. The overall test will be significantly shorter, another changed target.
I have for years took pride in the fact that the scores in schools I have been at went up. In fact, the scores for last year's
ELA test were the highest since the inception of the
MEAP test. No matter what happens this year in
ELA, no matter what grade, it is a different test.
The Future is Now
I remember being in school as a student. I actually attended a one room schoolhouse in Bad Axe Michigan at pre-school age. (My grandmother was the teacher.) As my family moved, I attended a few different schools, ending up at Muskegon Reeths-Puffer. Except for the one room schoolhouse, all the schools were the same. I'm sure if we had MEAP scores back then some schools would have been labeled as high performing or low performing. As a student who sat in the chair, they were the same.
Then a marvelous thing happened my senior year. My physics instructor brought a computer into the classroom, a Tandy Model IV. A bohemouth with a monochome screen and two 5.25 inch floppy drives. I don't remember the RAM and I know it did not have a hard drive. I remember Mr. Zulauf being so proud of that computer and more importantly I remember how he dreamed of how computers would change education.
So, has technology fundimentally changed education?
My answer to the question is, no. Educators still concentrate on the recall of facts. Those educators who concentrate on critical thinking existed then (Thanks Mr. Zulauf), and many exist today. Computers didn't change education. Thay are just a tool to enhance the classroom. The teacher is still the key to the future of education.
When I think back to my own education it is clear where I recieve my most futurific education. It was in a one room schoolhouse in Bad Axe, Michigan. (More later)
New Lunch Programs
I wish I could take credit for these, but Mr. Kochan and Mr. Leaver conspired to get these promising programs going.
Lunch Study Hall – Tuesday and Thursday
Purpose : an intervention program to encourage students to complete classroom and homework assignments while developing study skills that will enable them to be successful in the future
Guidelines
1. This program is designed to benefit students who need extra time and/or motivation to complete assignments.
2. Teachers will give the student a pass attached to the specific assignment(s) to be completed.
3. The pass will allow the students to go to the front of the lunch line and proceed to room 130 within 5 minutes.
4. Teachers will e-mail the names of the students reporting to lunch study hall to Mr. Kochan by Tuesday and Thursday morning.
5. Mr. Kochan will compile an attendance list for the lunch times.
6. Students remain in the room the entire lunch period.
7. If the student finished the assignment(s) before the lunch period ends, the student will engage in silent reading or organizing any school folders.
8. Teachers will use their discretion to which students will benefit from this program.
9. Mr. Kochan will return the assignments to the teacher’s mailbox after the lunch periods are completed.
Activity Time in the Gym – Monday and Friday
Purpose : to reward students for completing classroom assignments and encourage physical activity
Guidelines
1. Teachers will give selected students a pass to go to the gym during the first 15 minutes of lunch.
2. Teachers may select students who have completed all assignments and have shown exceptional citizenship.
3. The students will go to the gym and participate in activities directed by Mr. Kochan.
4. Students will be dismissed from the gym and proceed to the lunch line and/or cafeteria for lunch.
Where have all the gifted students gone?
With the advent of No Child Left Behind congress may have left behind some children, the gifted children. As a principal you know that the school report card is based on the number of kids who pass the MEAP. The school report card has nothing to do with the students who exceed the state standard, only the number who at least meet the standard. Therefore, schools around the state spend allot of effort on those students who have fallen below the state standard line.
Congress is no better. In 2006 congress appropriated $9.7 million dollars for the Jacob Javits Gifted and Talented Act. Given the estimate of about 3 million gifted students, that works out to about $3 per child. In that same year congress has allocated $23.7 billion dollars to fund No Child Left Behind Act to bring students up to minimum proficiency.
The fact is that schools have a limited amount of resources to work with. Programs for gifted students or struggling students both cost money. So here are my questions for those of you who read this:
- Is the United States going to compete globally without putting money into programs for gifted students?
- Are the AP courses and dual enrollment options enough for these students?
- Is it ethically wrong to spend money on gifted students when we still have students who do not meet minimum standards?
Is reading cool?Last Friday during movie night at the school I sat and talked with a group of parents. During our conversation a parent felt compelled to share the following story.
The other night the parent picked up three boys from basketball practice. Her practice as a parent is to stay quite and listen to what is happening with the boys. On this particular night the boys were discussing greasers, Socs, Ponyboy, and Johnny. The parent smiled to herself because she recognized that they were talking about the book "The Outsiders".
So..., is reading cool?
