Michael C. Warren

The assignment of creating an action plan for our campus helped me understand how schools create a plan to improve themsleves. By researching Academic Excellence Indicator System reports a school or department can decide what needs to be improved, what group of students to that might need extra help.  Prior to this course I did not know what information was really available to individuals regarding how schools are rated.  Even in my certification courses I did not find out this information.  Knowing this as a teacher helps me understand my students better, how test scores reflect students learning ability.  While I do question the reliability of how the tests are given and in some ways feel they may be geared toward some ethnic groups.  As a parent I can see how schools are doing in core areas. What percentage of students pass standardized tests is important, but what I found most interesting is that according to The Educational Trust “Each state begins by setting academic standards–a process of deciding what all students should know and be able to do” (The Educational Trust, 2004).  To me this can limit some states and districts, as some states may push for higher standards than others.  Some districts may choose to follow how teaching is taught in states that have higher rankings in order to do better in their own state.

Based on what I learned on the AEIS report, I developed a plan for our school that would focus on mathematic core subjects with additional help for hispanic subgroups.  I focused on developing a plan that would incorporate regular meetings with the math department in order to keep ideas shared between teachers on improving scores.  My second step was to introduce a math software program that would be installed by the technology department that would allow students to do additional work in class and at home.  The final step of the plan was to have the math department work with elective teachers to develop better ways in which math can be implemented into assignments.

This assignment taught me to look at data from all perspectives in order to see how something is guaged. From researching information to contacting individuals in person and over the Internet, I was able to gather ideas and put together my plan for my project.  The use of wikis was the best part of interaction because a document could be edited by many people in order to come up with a final version.  I will continue using tools such as wikis, blogs, and online chat groups in my career and encourage others to use these tools.

“A vision is much more than the articulation of statements and beliefs” (Connexions, 2010).  This is something I have learned in this course and relates very well when presenting information and developing a plan for change.  I am good at having a belief in a direction that a school should go, but my weakness is being able to articulate them to other staff and more importantly administration.  My own personal shyness keeps me behind the scenes working the problem instead of leading the change.

References

The Importance of Visions for Schools and School Improvement. (n.d.).Connexions – Sharing Knowledge and Building Communities. from http://cnx.org/content/m15634/

The ABCs of “AYP”. (2004). The Education Trust. 1-9

Assignments

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