Monday, August 20, 2007

NASD Board Meeting 8/20 Notes

The NASD board meeting was held tonight, starting around 7:45PM. Ms. Callie was absent for the meeting, but apparently was there beforehand for the closed meeting. Looking at the agenda, there didn't appear to be much to discuss, but there were a few notable items.

In lieu of Ms. Dautrich's report, there was a presentation by Mr. Deegan and Mr. Kern (hopefully I have these gentlemen's names correctly) about the NASD initiative to use data to make good decisions. Specifically, they went over the use of a program called "4Sight" to analyze benchmark tests to determine how students will fare on the PSSAs. 4Sight assessments were made in Nov, Jan and May in writing, reading and math. The data was looked at prior to students taking the PSSAs and used to determine deficiencies in "anchors" (anchor is a term described by the state that is "what the students need to be successful in a given subject). Ms. Dautrich described one example of an anchor in reading comprehension as inference. Teachers (and more specifically, the reading/math/writing specialists) could use this assessment as a "blueprint" to the anchors that needed more (or less) attention before PSSA tests. Results were given (and a sneak peak at some 06-07 PSSA results) for the success of the program in just the first 9 months of implementation:

Using the 8th grade PSSA scores:

For Reading
05-06 had 387 students tested and 300 at proficient or better (unfortunately, I didn't get the basic and below basic numbers) which was 78% of the total.
In 06-07, again 387 students were tested and 324 scored proficient or better (84%). The basic and below basic scores showed improvement as well; I just don't have the exact numbers.

For Writing
05-06 had 77% of the students at proficient or better and the 06-07 numbers showed 86% at that level.

I would have liked to have seen math scores. It should also be noted that these are not longitudinal numbers; these are separate classes of kids. In other words they used the 8th graders in 05-06 and then the 8th graders in 06-07. Perhaps a better metric would be to compare the same classes in a longitudinal manner to see the progression of an individual class over time.

After the presentation, Ms. Dautrich pointed out that "Scores are indicators. PSSA scores are not our goal. Learning is our goal".

Another notable item discussed, is that the 08-09 budget calendar has been set (it seems like we just finished up the 07-08 budget and here we are discussing the next one). One thing to watch with this is the date of the PA primary in 2008 because that is the date from which budgets must be set to at least allow (if necessary, due to Act 1) a public referendum should school districts budgets be above the inflationary index. Currently, the 2008 primary is set for April 22 (which is about one month ahead of schedule). However, there is a movement in Harrisburg to accelerate the date of the primary (presumably to give PA more influence in the 2008 presidential elections) to sometime in Feb. Should that happen, school budgets will need to be finalized VERY quickly. Fun, fun!

There were several Personnel Board Resolution addendum items. Maybe most notably (given some of the recent fund raiser posts by Ross) was to accept the retirement from Bruce Applegate, Nazareth Area Blue Eagle Education Foundation, effective at the end of the 07-08 school year.

Finally, Dr. Lesky went over some of the enrollment numbers for 07-08. The board has decided to add an additional 5th grade teacher at BES (the numbers as of 8/16 had 4 classes of 27, 26, 26 and 26 students). They are keeping an "eye" on the 5th grade class at SES.

That was about it. Meeting wrapped up around 9 PM.

10 comments:

Unknown said...

Wow, they are going to crunch the PSSA numbers to figure out how we can score better on the tests.

Sorry, I know everyone uses it as a benchmark, but we only make it stronger by relying on it more and more.

The true benchmark of any school is what happens to the students at the end of 12th grade.

How many of those students get accepted to 4 year universities/colleges and how many complete them.

I find it curious as to the number of students from Nazareth that go to NCC out of high school, not a name brand 4 year school. Indicative of this are the career days during the year in middle school. Those coming in to speak were not professionals, but in those professions that would be more applicable to CIT.

We can have the best scores in the state, but if our student body is unable to get into a good university, what are the scores worth?

I have said it before, I challenge any of you out there that have been out of school 10+ years to show me YOUR standardized test scores, other than SATs. They don't exist or we (and our parents) didn't care about them.

We cared about good grades and getting accepted to the best university we could.

So to NASD, keep on crunching those numbers. When they factor in the number of students accepted to 4 year schools, come talk to me.

anonymous said...

I would have to disagree. The percentage of graduates from any given school applying to 4 year universities is directly related to the socio-economic background of the student population, not necessarily test scores. As a graduate of NASD, I can attest that many students in lower levels (not honors or CP classification) went onto small, private, liberal art colleges with high tuition and high acceptance rates. These schools bank on middle and upper class students who could not get into top-tier schools and have a stigma against state universities.

Unknown said...

Anonymous,

You missed my point. We are judging our schools solely on their PSSA scores. We should be judging them on how well they are preparing the kids for secondary education.

When I am interviewing someone for a position, I don't asked them what their standardized test scores were, or even their SATs for that matter.

I want to know where they went to school, what they studied, and how well they did.

At a few events last year, when they introduced graduating seniors, the clear choice for most was community college. If NASD is more focused on test scores, are they really preparing kids for college? Socio-economics aside, more students should be going on to 4 year schools, whether they be top tier, state schools or private.

Were you a product of the current standardized testing environment?

Universities/colleges like to measure themselves by what their graduates have achieved once they have left. NASD, and any school for that matter, should do the same.

School is meant to prepare students for life, and last I looked over my 20 or so years of working, I have never taken a standardized test as part of my job.

RossRN said...

First thing that occurred to me was that we were now going to purchase a service (ie spend money) to better teach to the PSSA test.

I'm not certain this is the same thing, but it seems awfully close to what was described at the meeting.

Visit 4Sight here.

In regard to the comments, I think we should judge our schools based on the PSSAs because it is the only measurement available that applies to all students and tests equally from district to district across the state.

If the curriculum and teaching is solid and appropriate for grade level, then the students ought to fare well on the tests, if it is great, then they should do very well. If it isn't, then you'd expect poorer performance than those schools with it.

And if this were the case, then judging a school on a PSSA test would be akin to judging the school on a student's level of preparedness for college.

Ironically, 5:19 indicates the high number of NCC students from Nazareth (I don't know if this is true or not). Doesn't this correlate with our middle of the pack PSSA scores?

Scores as an indicator of college readiness are possible, but here's the catch - some schools have attempted to manipulate the outcome of the testing by teaching to the test in the hopes of attaining higher scores.

In doing so the curriculum hasn't been altered to improve readiness, but the scores themselves for the only purpose of benefiting the school, not the student.

And I think this is where the PSSA test gets attacked. Not for the measurement itself, but for the manipulation that takes place by the schools to improve their standing at the expense of the students.

Unknown said...

Again, you give the PSSA the status of being the end all measurement of success or failure.

It is that way because politicians and the teachers unions have us thinking that way. We need to stand up and say that we want real metrics, not some arbitrary test.

When you were in school, did your parents worry about where your school stood in relationship to other schools by standardized tests? No, they did it by looking at the school, its population and demographics.

Teachers should focus on the basics of teaching and not have to worry about some test. My kids have been told that these tests will affect their grades by a few teachers, when in reality, it is really the teachers grade that is affected.

Do teachers teach the test. Most certainly. My kids have told me that even the teachers have been open about it at times.

Look at Hanover Elementary in BASD. Almost every kid there is in the top percentile. Statistically, that is impossible. Explanation, they teach the test.

This PSSA mentality, in my opinion, is short changing our kids of the same type of education that we received. More important, it in no way is preparing them for the real world once they get out of school, let alone go to college.

We as a society have become so competitive that we have latched onto these tests as a way of saying "our school is better than yours".

We need to go back to the basics of education, teach these kids how to read, write and do math, the same we we did it as kids. Take away the cloud that are the PSSAs and teachers will be able to do their jobs. (and no, I am not a teacher)

RossRN said...

I don't look at the PSSA as a way to prove we're number one, but it opened my eyes when I saw we were about 7th of 17 or so in the Valley.

I think the PSSAs have upset people in Nazareth because the reputation of the school (being very good) has not correlated with the test results (mid pack in the valley).

I also don't see these as demonstrating success or failure of anything. Instead the PSSA scores are an ideal tool for comparison because all students are tested in all school districts (unlike sat's).

What specific metrics would you apply if not a test taken by all?

Looking at a school's population and demographics will not tell you if there is a quality teacher or good curriculum.

You can't use grades because every school grades differently. You can't use accepted to a four year college, because that essentially just takes tuition.

At some point you need to test skills and the PSSA does this.

What the PSSA hasn't done is change our emphasis in the classroom or the curriculum, that was done by our elected school board and administration.

Who knows, maybe if we had less administrators analyzing and studying the latest educational fads and changing curriculum on a regular basis and had less turnover on the principal level resulting in more time adjusting to new administrative processes and rules, the teachers would be able to focus more on simply teaching a sound and effective curriculum.

anonymous said...

I agree with many of the comments shared:
- I have no PSSAs to share as they were non-existent when I was going through k-12 (SATs, yes. Then again, most universities or colleges considered them as a part, not the whole).

- Was that one test (SAT) an indicator of my work ethic? Not even close. However, it did illustrate my competentcies regarding reading, writing and mathematics. Just as does the PSSA, Terra Nova and Iowa tests used in private education.

- I fit the classification of those who are middle class and were accepted to small liberal arts institutions with high tuition, yet no honors classes visible on my HS transcript.

- The media, politicians, real estate agencies (the list goes on) judges our children (districts) on the PSSA scores.

- As a parent, I see the district not using "scores" but using mastery of content (proficiency levels)to determine where my children need attention/remediation or where they need to move toward.

- I see the district using the proficiency levels to gauge what content my children have achieved.

- What do the PSSAs and 4Sight tests assess? I see them as an assessment of content relative to my childrens' ages and ability. Are my children and NASD graduates going to have to take tests in college? Did my professors teach me material I would see on my finals? I don't see it as teaching to the/a test, just teaching material that is needed to be successful.

In my profession my evaluation is based on goals, observable measures. I am held accountable for completing my projects and there are standards I need to follow for my profession. This is how I am measured. This process keeps everyone on a level playng field.
Roughly a year ago, it was reported that East Stroudsburg University was discussing as part of their admittance policy to include students who had level of proficient or advance in their PSSA scores. However, I'm not certain that has taken shape.

Unknown said...

Ross,

As for the metrics I would use, the same ones that can be found on many web sites, and one I used in researching the area.

How many attend the school, class size, graduation/drop out rate, and percentage that go on to secondary education.

Never once in my life have I researched a school district based on standardized tests scores. Anyone that does is fooling themselves. If the teachers teach the test, and nothing else, they will do well on them, but not necessarily where they need to.

They are sandbagged by teaching ahead of grade level. These kids are being taught memorization, not retention and it is going to hurt them in the long run.

Sorry, you can keep sitting back and cheering for your PSSA's. It is clear that it is a waste to try and get anyone to look at the other point of view that these tests are really doing nothing for us (has Nazareth changed substantially in the years since testing started? I don't think so).

Keep those tests coming, after all, they are more important that grades.

RossRN said...

First off, let me say this a good/healthy conversation and I appreciate everyone's input, not to mention Brad's amazing tolerance for attending all these school board meetings;-)

For the record, my family moved here for a very simple reason that required little to no additional research, my dad taught and coached in Nazareth and we lived in Northampton School District.

I grew up knowing Nazareth and its teachers, and I have great respect for them. Many of them are still teaching and many of my friends from school returned to teach here because they, like me, love the community.

Given that, I never looked at NASD based on anything other than my kids getting a good education and I assumed they would get it based on my own experience.

We come from very different perspectives, you've looked, evaluated and chosen to come here, while I've been here and wanted to stay.

Maybe I'm more curious in wanting to know how we really stack up today, compared to what I assume, and you are more confident in your research that lead to you coming here.

Having said that, I am concerned that Nazareth has changed based on PSSAs. I believe we are hindered on the HS level by block scheduling, and now based on the board report we are (assumably) paying for a service to help us identify better ways to teach to the PSSA test on the elementary level.

As I said previously, the test is not the problem it is the District's response to base everything around the test that become it.

Amused said...

Using standardized tests to assess where kids are doing well and where they need additional help makes sense.

These tests have been used that way in the past and they still are today.

A major difference from when today's parents went to school and these students is that the test scores now get 'state-level' attention in an attempt to give a sense of accountability. Teachers and administrators now put great emphasis on 'the test' and they are unecessarily stressing these kids out.

Back when I was a student, I, nor my parents had advance warning when the test would be administered. Now, we get letters home about having a good night's sleep, eating breakfast, even asking for volunteers to give out muffins in school on test day! HELLO-- aren't those things important EVERY day in school!

These tests are no further providing accountability in schools than before. The teachers still work in a union. It is difficult to remove a bad teacher. That has not changed.

I don't necessarily want to see the test go away-- just the inflated importance that has been associated with it in recent years.

As far as colleges and universities using it as admittance criteria. That's absurd. Standards are very different district to district, state to state. The SAT and ACT are still the ONLY national standardized measures.

Our first year here was a year in review for my children-- they had already learned what they were teaching here the year before! I have consistently noticed each year here that the grade level book reading assignments are 1-2 years behind where we used to live.

Anyone that has moved around the country can attest to the fact that public education in this country differs widely from state to state.