Performance 90/90/90 Schools

1. Performance90/90/90 Schools Where do we fit into all of this?

2. Things to consider . . . . • When looking at the areas and subgroups, were we didn’t make it, we know pretty quickly that the same students also span several of the same subgroups. • Hispanic, Free-Reduced, and Special Ed.

3. Common Characteristics of High Achievement Schools • Focus on academic achievement • Clear curriculum choices • Frequent assessment of student progress and multiple opportunities to improve • Emphasis on non-fiction writing • Collaborative scoring of student work

4. Academic Achievement • Laser like focus on student achievement • Charts, graphs, tables displayed about student achievement information • Data is about continuous improvement students had made • Exemplary student work on display • Do we prize academic performance? How would a visitor know? • Focus on improvement is especially important in an environment where many students come to school with academic skills that are substantially below grade level.

5. Curriculum Choices • More time for core subjects of reading, writing , math • Even with focus on core areas, these schools out-performed their peer schools on science tests as well.

6. Frequent Assessment of Student Progress with Multiple Opportunities for Improvement • Student performance that is less than proficient is followed by multiple opportunities to improve • There are weekly assessments of student progress • Assessments are given to inform teaching and learning.

7. Frequent Assessment of Student Progress with Multiple Opportunities for Improvement • In a classroom scenario where there are multiple opportunities to improve & the consequence is NOT a bad grade & discouragement but… • More work • Improved performance • Respect for teacher feedback

8. Written Responses in Performance Assessments By far, the most common characteristic of 90/90/90 schools was the emphasis on requiring written responses in performance assessment Helps teachers obtain better diagnostic information about students • Helps students demonstrate the thinking process that they employed to find a correct (or even an incorrect) response to an academic challenge. • Teacher can diagnose obstacles in child’s learning • Vocabulary issues • Misunderstood directions • Reasoning errors • Etc.

9. Written Responses in Performance Assessments • Written response (Informative writing) • Helps students demonstrate the thinking process they use to find a correct response • They write to think-clarify their own thought process • There is a standard for good writing and there is no compromise on the expectations for quality. • Assisted writing vs assigned writing (in small group format)

10. Frequent External Scoring of Assessments • No accident of geography or classroom assignment would determine expectations for students. • Common assessments • Teachers would scores each other’s student work • Need uniform scoring criteria/protocol (rubric???) • (I would start with joint scoring of work) • Principal would score student work • Goal is to score an identical piece of work the same way. (This common scoring could apply to Miscue Analysis for Running Records in Guided Reading as well.)

11. The findings from the 90/90/90 schools are striking… Techniques used by these schools are… • PERSISTENT…students are still poor, economic opportunities have not improved, yet 90% of the students meet or exceed state standards. • REPLICABLE…these traits were found over and over again in these schools.

12. The findings from the 90/90/90 schools are striking… Techniques used by these schools are… • CONSISTENT…They all follow same areas of emphasis: • Frequent writing in a variety of subjects • Performance assessment (integrate technology) • Collaboration by teachers: routinely looking at student work determining what does proficient really mean. • Focus: Highly focused on reading, writing, and math.

13. “It is interesting to note parenthetically that, despite their disproportionate emphasis on language arts and mathematics, these schools also significantly out-performed their peer schools on science tests as well.” • How did we do in Science?

14. Strengths… • Quality/Talented/Committed Teachers • Quality/Capable students • Parents Supportive • Admitting that what has been, isn’t working consistently.

15. WHY NOT? • Can’t we do this? We need to work closer with our building colleagues and be willing to try and stick to those strategies we know already work. • Our biggest barrier might be more about what we believe is possible. Deliberate Decisions make changes, not inspirational speakers.

16. Working Smarter not Harder…. • How can we work smarter? • Use PLC’s for professional growth & collaboration time • Use faculty meetings for professional growth/collaboration time for studying student writing and for differentiation. • Our schedule is set up to accommodate teaming – make it happen by being persistent TOGETHER. • Flexible grouping with a shared focus and belief works. • Use multiple sources of student data to inform decisions. • We must Progress Monitor ALL students below grade level • No PBIS but refocus our efforts and practice with Responsive Classroom. If you have had training, use it. • VDAP’s must be reflective and clearly aligned with building goals.

17. Things to act upon. . . . • Efficacy is the antidote to stress because choice DOES influence outcomes. • If you believe that external factors influence outcomes you will burn out.

18. What is happening in those areas that have realized huge gains and a steady climb year after year?

19. Flexible grouping. • Push-in whenever possible putting more adults in front of those that need it most. • Planning together, not in isolation, for the students they might work with. • Tools like standards cards to intrinsically motivate – charting progress towards goals. Kid’s believe they can. • Deep and constant reflection about how what they learn has changed and improved learning for students