Are We Responsible For Grades?

The last few days our administrative team has met with the the 9th grade academy teachers. We discussed the use of intervention, scheduling, and semester grades. Much of the time was spent on the resources that are being allocated to the freshmen, and the expected results.

Grade distributions were given to teachers based on their students' grades, the grade in relation to the team, the grades in relation to the subject area, and the grades in relation to the 9th grade class. Grades are an obvious way to measure the success of a program. It is equivalent to grading the football team based on wins-loses. But, is there such a thing a quality loss? If students continue to fail, but are referred to the office less frequently, then can it be deemed that the 9th grade academy is successful?

Students are not motivated and don't come to school. This is why they fail. However, students are not motivated to do worksheets and listen to talk, and as a result don't come to school. Right? I think our students are smarter now and traditional teaching methods are ineffective. The "I talk and you listen" model cannot hold the attention of a digital native. The are used to watching television, listen to a mp3 player, and posting on facebook all at the same time. What is the value of listening to a lecture, when the topic can be googled in a millisecond? They can search a lesson on YouTube and have it delivered right to their computer.

I don't have all the answers, but I do know that creating one (1) lesson plan for six (6) classes isn't effective. Now, we must create six (6) lesson plan for (1) class in order to ensure that all students are engaged and learning. This puts a lot of pressure on the teacher to be knowledgeable and skillful in content and pedagogy.

January Push

January is bringing a push to help every senior who hasn't passed the state's graduation test. We are pulling schedules to see what classes can be replaced with preparation geared and aligned to the exams. Here is a look at our plan:

Step 1. Identify the senior students that have not passed one portion of the exam.
Step 2. Print their schedules to see if they are already in a course designed to pass the portion they need.
Step 3. Put them in the library for one period working on computer generated test material.

This will ensure that those that are very close to completing the testing requirement of our state will be learning material needed for their success.

Next, we need to identify the seniors that need to pass more than one portion of the exam. Their intervention will be more complex. We will look at their schedules to see if they are in a class that will prepare them for the exam, but we will also look at how close they have come to passing the state exam. This will let us know how intense the intervention will need to be. Will the regular class meet their need, will there need to be computer software that could get them over the hump, or will they need one-to-one instruction?

Finding ways to get the students to pass the exam is not an exact science. It takes ingenuity and creativity to get the desired results.