Questions:
1. How can data collected from standardized tests help administrators develop and plan intervention programs for at-risk students?
2. Why is it important for the school community to collect and analyze test data on all students?
Scenario:
Green High School is a suburban school located in the central region of Georgia, has approximately 2200 students in grades 9-12, with a one - six period schedule. For three years, the school has not met the requirements for Annual Yearly Progress (AYP) mandated by the federal No Child Left Behind Act. When looking at school AYP data, Green High’s administration discovered that the subgroup, students with disabilities, was the one subgroup where students were not meeting or exceeding academic standards.
Assistant Principal Geoff Bull was given the task of school improvement under the supervision of the school principal and the assistant superintendent for the school system. He will work with a Curriculum Facilitator assigned to the school by the Georgia Department of Education. One of the first tasks Mr. Bull completes is to collect data for students who are taking the Georgia High School Graduation Test (GHSGT) for the current school year. He decides to look at 8th grade STAR test scores that indicate reading levels, CRCT scores from 6th through 8th grades, and any End of Course Tests (EOCT) already taken by students while in high school.
While evaluating data, Mr. Bull determines that he needs to look at all test data available for students in the 6th through the 10th grades. He anticipates using this data to forecast which schools in the county will have difficulty making AYP, and also to determine which students may need academic intervention prior to their 11th grade year which is when Georgia graduation tests are first administered.
What The Administration Discovered:
Through the data analysis, Mr. Bull determined which students would benefit from an additional help course to be taught during the first semester of the school year by the math and science teachers where an EOCT is administered. This course will be offered during the school day as a zero or a seventh period (before or after school) and will count as an elective on student transcripts. Green High School is particularly concerned about science graduation test scores, which seems to give students the most trouble, even though they are not used to determine AYP. An individual analysis done by school administrators discovered that students who do not pass (scoring below 70%) on the EOCTs in Biology and Physics have a much greater chance of failing the science portion of the GHSGT the first time they take the test.
Mr. Bull also discovered that among students with disabilities, girls’ test scores are consistently higher than boys’ scores. He determines from data projections that students in this year's junior class may be able to score well enough on state standardized tests to help Green High make AYP this school year. He has also determined that next year's junior class has a good chance, based on past data, to do well on all graduation tests and help get the school out of needs improvement status.
The final finding made by Mr. Bull is that there is a significant achievement gap on state test scores between students with disabilities and students without disabilities, sometimes by as much as 50%.
Changes That Will Be Made:
Green High School's administration believes that all students, even those with special needs, can meet or exceed academic standards set forth by the state with appropriate instructional support. To help sophomores and juniors who lack some of the skills and knowledge needed to be successful on state tests, the help course will be offered in the fall as well as an intensive two-week review in the spring. At-risk students are to be pulled from their regular classes for the intensive review session.
The EOCTs on which students perform poorly at Green High are Physics and Biology. Mr. Bull has initiated academic improvement within the science department with a great deal of input from the teachers. The consensus was that freshman students would no longer take Physics in 9th grade. They will instead take Biology in 9th, and then take Physics in 10th grade followed by Chemistry in 11th.
Responding to the Questions:
1. How can data collected from standardized tests help administrators develop and plan intervention programs for at-risk students?
The data revealed to Mr. Bull that there is a disparity in the scores of students with and without disabilities, motivating him to work with faculty to alter the class offering schedule for students during their high school education. Mr. Bull also realized that the special needs subgroup had the most difficult time meeting and exceeding standards, so he implemented a help course program for those students and any others who wanted to take it. Finally, collected data gives a statistically accurate picture of student performance to the whole school community which can be used to identify those who need intervention prior to taking graduation tests.
2. Why is it important for the school community to collect and analyze test data on all students?
Mr. Bull's collection of test data yields two significant pieces of information. First, he can identify current students at-risk for failing graduation tests without academic intervention, and secondly, he can forecast the test score trend for future students in order to implement intervention programs earlier in their high school career.
Assessment of Administrator: Developing
Mr. Bull earns a developing rating for how he is disaggregating test data for the school to determine which students need immediate or future academic intervention in order for the school to meet and maintain AYP. Mr. Bull's interpretation of the data provides critical information for the school community; this is his first year using data to determine which students need intervention. He is still working with school faculty to determine if the help course intervention would be best, which is why I have given him a developing rating for this case study.