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NCA Day. October 18, 2006 7:25 – 10:25 am Facilitator: Kyla Gurganus. Today’s Agenda. Staff Introductions Overview of the NCA Process Next Step: School Profile Data and Information Brainstorming Sessions. Staff Introductions. Your Name Your Subject/Department/Focus
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NCA Day October 18, 2006 7:25 – 10:25 am Facilitator: Kyla Gurganus
Today’s Agenda • Staff Introductions • Overview of the NCA Process • Next Step: School Profile • Data and Information • Brainstorming Sessions
Staff Introductions • Your Name • Your Subject/Department/Focus • Your Room Number/Location • Fascinating fact/dream travel location?
Overview of the NCA Process • What is NCA? • What is its process? • What’s new? • How will I be involved? • Proposed Timeline
What is NCA? • North Central Association • accredits schools in the north-central part of the US and the Department of Defense’s military installation schools. • The NCA standard is for each member school to maximize the proportion of its graduates who are self-directed learners and are prepared to make successful transitions from school to career.
What is the NCA Process? • Combines No Child Left Behind, Education YES, and the new Michigan School Improvement Framework requirements with its own quality standards and expectations to streamline paperwork and effort.
NCA-accredited schools are challenged to: • meet high standards • engage in a continuous improvement process (required by MI law since 1990) • have on-site reviews at least once every 5 years
School improvement: • should be continuous • should NOT be an event (like an NCA day ☺) • should NOT just be an act of compliance! • is a way to “fight back” against negative press (show we know what’s happening and are trying to do something about it)
NCA Process • VISION AND PROFILE • PLAN • IMPLEMENT • RESULTS • ACT • REPEAT
1. Vision and Profile • Make/renew commitment to NCA/school improvement • Get started • Compile and analyze data (Write a school profile) • Select appropriate goals and measures based on the profile
What’s New with NCA • No more peer reviews • Assessments do not need to be of the same kids or at the same time every year • No set time line (but usually 5 years) • No affective goals needed • No set number of goals • Include state, federal, and district goals in NCA goals
Ways to be involved: • School Improvement Committee/NCA Steering Committee (need leaders) • Profile data gathering • Profile report writing • Goal selection (all staff) • Goal committees (need chairpersons) • Implementation!
Timeline: 2006-2007: • Focus on preparing for the new HS graduation requirements 2007-2008: • Write School Profile • Choose school improvement goals based on the profile’s data
Timeline: 2008-2009: • Choose assessments • Collect baseline data • Decide on strategies/interventions/PD related to goals • Begin implementing strategies/interventions/PD
Timeline: 2009-2010: • Continue implementing strategies/interventions/PD • Check progress • Administer assessments • Refine strategies/interventions as needed
Timeline: 2010-2011: • Continue implementing strategies/interventions/PD • Check progress • Administer assessments • Refine strategies/interventions as needed • Collect and analyze final data • Write final report
Next Step: School Profile • for ourselves, not the shelf! • data needed to make wise decisions (not just hunches, anecdotes, or feelings) • first profile takes lots of effort; after that, it should be easy to update!
What to Include in a Profile • Basic data • what our community is like, who our students are, GPA, MEAP, ACT, attendance, graduation rates • Interpretations/implications of the data • Courses taught, initiatives, instructional techniques, tutorials, remediation • Strengths!! Points of pride!! • from every program, subject, and department • Graduate follow-up data
Data and Information • New Michigan High School Graduation Requirements • New Michigan Merit exam • Where are we now? • Current MEAP and ACT scores • Graduation Rates • Where do we go from here?
New Michigan High School Graduation Requirements: • Start with this year’s 8th graders (next year’s freshmen) • Each required course has lengthy content expectations associated with it • See Michigan Department of Education website for details
Summary of Requirements: • 4 credits English language arts • 4 credits mathematics (1 in senior year) • 3 credits science • 3 credits social studies • 1 credit physical education/health • 1 credit visual/performing/applied arts • Online course/experience required
New Michigan Merit Exam (MME): • Not yet approved by the US Dept of Ed! • If not approved, MEAP will still be administered • Based on the ACT, WorkKeys test, and several other MEAP-like components • This fall’s senior re-testing will be the MEAP
New Michigan Merit Exam (MME): • ACT part administered on March 13th to all Michigan juniors • March 14: WorkKeys and mathematics • Mar. 14/15/16: science and social studies • ACT and WorkKeys scores may be used for college admissions and job applications • One re-test will be paid for by the state • Home-schooled students may participate at their local high school
New Michigan Merit Exam (MME): • Very controlled conditions • All students must face the same direction • Minimum 3 feet apart • Assigned seating • Uninterrupted testing • Bells, PA turned off • Testing rooms separated from regular school activities
New Michigan Merit Exam (MME): • Very controlled conditions • No food or drink in room (students OR proctors) • Testing must be the first activity of the day • Testing must start no later than 9 am • Quiet part of the building • Tests timed; time remaining may NOT be posted
MME Assessment Design: • MME English Language Arts score will be based on: • ACT Reading (MC), English (MC), and Writing (constructed response) • WorkKeys Reading for Information test (MC) • Michigan Social Studies constructed response item (rubrics available on-line)
MME Assessment Design: • MME Mathematics score will be based on: • ACT Mathematics (MC) • Selected ACT Science items (MC) • WorkKeys Applied Mathematics test (MC) • Michigan supplemental items (about 13 MC)
MME Assessment Design: • MME Science score will be based on: • ACT Science (MC) • Michigan supplemental items (53 MC)
MME Assessment Design: • MME Social Studies score will be based on: • Michigan supplemental items (57 MC and 2 constructed response)
Last year’s juniors’ MEAP scores: • higher in every subject area the first time out (as compared to the class of 2006) • Increases over the previous year’s scores: • Reading + 5% • Writing + 7% • ELA + 5% • Mathematics + 4% • Science + 4% • Social Studies + 53%
How the Class of 2007 compares to the state: • Reading – Abovethe state by 5% (last year below 4%) • Writing – Belowthe state, but only by 1% (last year below 9%) • ELA – Abovethe state by 2% (last year below 8%) • Mathematics – Belowthe state by 5% (last year below 9%) • Science – Even with the state average (last year below 1%) • Social Studies – Belowthe state, but only by 1% (last year below 7%)
How our MEAP scores affected AYP: • LHS made AYP in English Language Arts • Total 11th grade cut scores (includes MI-Access students) were above the 52% threshold (by 34%) • All sub-groups met the participation rate and cut scores needed to make AYP in ELA • LHS did not make AYP in mathematics • Total 11th grade cut scores (includes MI-Access students) was above the 44% threshold (by 22%) • All sub-groups met the participation rate and cut scores needed to make AYP in math except students with disabilities • They were only 14.3% proficient, and they missed safe harbor by 5%
MEAP Concerns: • Less than half of the students are “passing” the math portion • Overall ELA scores are falling because of low writing scores • Science scores lower than they could be because not all students take earth science
Where do we go from here? • Break out in groups of 10 • Use list of questions to initiate discussion of school improvement • Have one person record/summarize responses • Reconvene at 10:00 am to report
Brainstorming Questions: • What are your reactions/responses to the MEAP and ACT scores? • How are we meeting (or not meeting) the needs of our students? How do we know? • What changes (if any) need to be made in the courses I/we teach to meet the new graduation requirements? What resources are needed to make those changes? • What changes need to be made in the courses I/we teach in order to improve our students’ standardized test scores? What resources are needed to make those changes? • What changes need to be made in our overall school in order to have the greatest impact on the current and future success of our students? • What should be our #1 focus of improvement in the next two years? Why?