There is a lot of emphasis in schools today to increase student performance. I advise stepping back and taking stock in what we do that is right for kids. Then, dispense with those tactics that are not working and keep those that are.
As teachers, we have always felt so good when we’ve done what is right—that thing that turns a student around and leads to success, whether it is behavior or academics. Keep that in mind and know that you have the ability to make a difference to our kids; abandon the outdated notion that you have no support system to get it done.
Provide Interventions
One idea that has worked in my schools has been to engage your grade level team in problem solving and come up with solutions that will work for groups of kids. Choose a high stakes concept or benchmark you can all agree on. One highly successful one is graphing, for instance. The next steps are to conduct a pre-test, organize the students by results, break up the team members (don’t forget administrators and special ed teachers), one for each group of students, and work with the group of students to improve where the pre-testing indicated necessary, using intervention when needed. The post test results will be significantly better than the pre test results. They will all be proficient on graphing and many will exceed proficiency. The school district will be very pleased when its time to take mandatory state testing.
Don’t forget to plan for the needs of accelerated students who must also get what they need to raise their achievement and to eliminate boredom of our brightest students.
Response to Intervention
To raise student achievement for students about whom you have serious concerns, I established a broadened system of accommodations in alignment with what we now know as Response to Intervention (RTI). It began with a meeting among the student’s parents, administrators and teachers to discuss the specific concerns with the students and to cooperate in creating a workable plan which included accommodations that would support the advancement of the student’s accomplishments.
Accommodations are not modifications to the curriculum. It is common among teachers, even those in special education to misunderstand this point, which is a key reason why teachers often lower their standards for students who are struggling. Rather than lower expectation, accommodations are designed to assist students in successfully navigating the curriculum as set by the administration. Modifications, on the other hand, are available and should be used for those students with serious cognitive problems or disabilities who really cannot keep up with a mainstream curriculum.
An example of an appropriate accommodation follows: There was a boy, we’ll call him Richard, who had a very difficult time focusing on his work. He was very bright, but diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD). He drove the teacher crazy! Still, during our meeting we came up with accommodations to help him be successful.
It is essential to explain the plan to the child and get his agreement to participate, with clear consequences if he does not follow the plan. Usually all that is necessary is to make the student understand how the proposed plan will help them succeed at school. The most common response for the children is an appreciation for those that are willing to accommodate their challenges.
In the plan, Richard was to be allowed to get up and walk at the back of the room when he could no longer sit quietly and do his work, and as long as he was not disruptive to others. Richard’s parents gave him an hour glass to take to school. When the sand had run to the bottom, he was able to walk around the classroom quietly. During instruction, he was given a tactile ball to squeeze and play with while he listened to the teacher.
His parents had some accommodations to support at home. They would make sure Richard had a list of things he had to do before he went to bed each night, including getting his homework in his backpack ready for pick up the next morning.Forgetting these items had been another challenge for Richard in the past.
After a month, we had a follow up meeting (very important) to see if the accommodations were working. Indeed, the teacher had noticed great progress, and he was no longer a distraction to the class.
Use Student Data
Analyzing student data provided by formative and summative assessments is essential for raising student achievement. School administrators can compile the data into reports that group students with similar needs and provide this information to the teachers. It would not be possible to work with each student individually, so grouping students with similar concerns is more efficient.
Teachers should be given time to meet together to analyze student writing, for instance, to develop inter-rater reliability for scoring student work and to determine what proficient writing looks like. This is done with other subjects as well to create a school that has the same understanding of each level of proficiency.
Student Engagement
In order for students to learn, they must be interested in the content and approach. Teaching students to think at higher levels is essential. Schools that have required their teachers to understand the revised Bloom’s Taxonomy and align it with each standard and objective of the school have seen a significant increase in teacher understanding of the standards and how to teach them. At McREL it was called Guaranteed and Viable Curriculum. There is so much that you can do with teachers and students to raise student achievement. See McREL’s Classroom Instruction That Works for great ideas and strategies for creating meaningful activities that will raise student achievement.
Donna Newberg Long, aka Principal Donna has been in education for over 20
years. As the founding principal of 2 schools, she brings a wealth of knowledge to her counseling with teachers, principals and boards. Donna is available for consulting services for start ups and schools in need of advice. Visit href=”http://www.AskPrincipalDonna.com”>www.AskPrincipalDonna.com> for more information or call 303.280.5220 to discuss your schools needs.
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