For about the last five years, the Weber School District has been moving toward a ‘standards-referenced’ philosophy of teaching and reporting. The purpose of this approach is to better report the progress of students toward the development of essential skills and knowledge. Over the last five years, the faculty and staff at Hooper Elementary have also been slowly shifting to this philosophy.
The ‘standards-referenced’ philosophy of the Weber School District focuses on four essential questions:
- What do we want each student to learn?
- How will we know when each student has learned it?
- What learning experiences and teaching strategies best promote understanding?
- How will we respond when a student experiences difficulty in learning?
The first question focuses on what students need to know and be able to do. In education, the terms subjects, standards, objectives, and indicators are used to identify what students should know and be able to do. These terms are used to describe the knowledge and skill set from most general to most specific. Below is an excerpt from the State of Utah Core Curriculum for Math in the 6th Grade (2007). The standard, objective, and indicator have been noted.
As part of the move to a ‘standards-referenced’ reporting system, the district has worked to develop a list of standards and objectives based on the state core curriculum. An ongoing effort has been made to filter a vast number of standards, objectives, and indicators into a list that is manageable for teachers, parents, and students. This list, based on the state curriculum, is what students need to know and be able to do.
In preparation for the move to a ‘standards-referenced’ reporting system, the faculty and staff at Hooper Elementary have been focusing on the question of how we can better teach all students. There have been, and will continue to be, school-level and grade-level discussions about effective teaching strategies, assignments, and activities. There have been inservice trainings on the effective teaching of math, science, writing, reading, P.E., and technology. The district has worked to adopt curriculum materials that are research-based (meaning the materials are based on research that shows what works best). Every effort is being made to use teaching methods that have been proven to be effective.
This week, Hooper Elementary made what may be the most visible change as part of the shift to the ‘standards-referenced’ philosophy by beginning to use a new computer program called MyProgress. MyProgress has been developed by the school district for use as a tool to monitor student progress as they work toward obtaining mastery of the essentials skills and knowledge outlined in the state core curriculum. The assessments recorded in MyProgress are assigned to a specific standard, objective, or indicator. The program then evaluates and reports on student progress toward mastery of the standard, objective, or indicator.
Progress is reported for each standard, objective, or indicator on a four point scale.
- A ‘4’ indicates the student has a solid understanding of key concepts, demonstrates the ability to use the required skills, and can apply the knowledge.
- A ‘3’ indicates the student is making significant progress toward the development of a solid understanding of the key concepts, skills, and knowledge.
- A ‘2’ indicates the student is in the beginning stages of understanding of the key concepts, skills, and knowledge.
- A ‘1’ indicates the student has not yet demonstrated an understanding of the key concepts, skills, and knowledge.
Although these may look similar to more traditional grades they are not grades. They are progress indicators that are based on evidence of student progress in each area. Evidence may take the form of paper and pencil assessments, observations, projects, or one of many other items that can provide evidence of student progress.
In the near future, student progress reports will be available to parents through MyWeber, the online portal for student information. MyWeber can be found at http://wsdinfo.net. More information about this tool will be sent home as it becomes available.
The final question focuses on intervention, what is to be done when a student is not making progress or encounter difficulty learning a particular knowledge or skill set. In many ways, this is the most difficult question to answer. However, it may be the most important question to answer. Teachers throughout the school are working in their individual classrooms and with their grade-levels to help students that are not making progress. This help may be in the form of working with small groups of students to address specific concerns. It may be having a peer work with a student on a concept or skill set. Students may receive the instruction in a different manner and then be assigned extra practice. Each student is unique and may require something different to help them. This is one area that parents and families can help. If a student is struggling in an area, discuss with the teacher what can be done outside of school to the student.
We are all partners in the education of the children that come to Hooper Elementary. The goal is to help each student know what they need to know and be able to do what they need to do. Working together we can accomplish this goal. MyProgress is a new tool to help accomplish this goal. It is still being developed and problems will undoubtedly arise, but if we are patient and work together we will see the benefits of this change.
