The Frustrating Reality of Test Scores

Yesterday's New York Times had an article on plummeting test scores in New York City. The state has recalibrated and made tougher its expectations on state English and math exams. As you might expect, the results have been dramatic. Schools in New York City that were flying high saw their passing rates plunge. Not a pretty picture.

Teachers and principals interviewed for the article put a game face on the situation, and what else can they do? Any school looking for state or Federal funds has to play according to state or Federal rules, which means measuring results on test scores and pass rates. Of course, one of the many challenges of this dynamic comes in situations like these, when those measurements change and schools and districts scramble to face a new reality.

One solution, as discussed in a recent Time cover story, The Case Against Summer Vacation, is to do away with the notion that public schooling is a nine-month affair. In this scenario, June, July, and August are culprits in the unintended crime of helping students to forget, during the summer months, much of what they learned the previous year. Keep 'em in school year-round, this argument goes, since we don't need them out in the fields helping with the farm anymore (the original logic behind a September-June school year).

Perhaps the answer is indeed more summer school, or versions of summer school. But as another New York Times article notes, "The scoring adjustment could raise questions about the precision of educational testing." In a word, precisely. Let's use as a baseline the assumption that there are many components to improving success in public schools. Better materials that reflect specific student populations, smaller class sizes, improved teacher pay, more coordination and sharing among educators -- the list can grow, but it's hard to argue with the basics.

Living (and sometimes dying) by the score, however, can be a hazard. It's a natural human desire to look for some objective measurement against which we can compare ourselves to one another. That makes sense in sports, in science, and in other fields. But in education, the variables are so many, and they so deeply depend on the human response under varying conditions, that a strict numerical assessment can be limiting.

Especially when Those On High alter the rules by which the assessments are made. That's what happened in New York, and it regularly occurs across America. If there is a lesson or a moral to be derived from all of this, it's that there is no sure, single solution to educational progress. Students need many approaches, many avenues to success. What works for one often doesn't work for the next. And measuring success is rarely as easy as pointing to a test score.

Thinking about dropouts

Here in Portland, Maine, where Walch Education is headquartered, we have a new superintendent for our school system, Dr. Jim Morse. One of the interesting things about Dr. Morse is that, as a child, he attended Portland High School -- and he dropped out of PHS for much of his junior year. Obviously, he worked his way back into the system, thence into a career in education, until today he runs the state's largest school department.

But the dropout issue is one that Dr. Morse understands all too well. Currently, the city's three high schools graduate about 78% of their students, a figure slightly better than the recent national average. Another way to look at it: according to the America’s Promise Alliance, U.S. high schools lose close to 1.3 million students every year. By now, we're all far too aware of the importance of a high-school education (not to mention a college degree), so those numbers represent a huge loss for our country and individuals involved.

What to do? Here's one place to learn more: Clemson University hosts the National Dropout Prevention Center which, at this link, showcases 15 strategies for increasing graduation rates: http://dle-mediasite-hehd.clemson.edu/Mediasite/Viewer/?peid=1d84b884-4d32-41e9-b761-64878271fd38.

From Walch Education's perspective, we get involved, obviously, at the curriculum level. And it's interesting to see, from the NDPC's web site, the importance of active learning. Much of the language from this site is virtually identical to what we've been saying for years:
"Research has shown that not everyone learns in the same way. Some of us are visual learners that need to see to understand; while others need to hear or verbalize information. Others are hands-on, kinesthetic learners. Some learners prefer to work alone, while some like to teach each other in small groups. Some need time to quietly reflect, while others need to move and be active. Teachers know that they need to use a variety of activities to meet the learning styles of their students."

The site goes on to discuss cooperative learning, project-based learning, and other strategies that we likewise champion. It's important to note that these strategies are not useful solely to prevent students from dropping out. Rather, they're an approach that assumes that a one-size-fits-all style of educating doesn't do anyone any good. Students are as different and unique as the adults they grow into being. Similarly, how we teach them should be unique to each student.

Many of our programs, such as our Academic Support Programs, or our Expeditions series, or our Real Life series, do just that. They give the educator a variety of ways to instruct, and students a variety of ways to engage the content. No one single program or approach will lower dropout rates, but there are ways to help to turn classrooms into environments that students will want to return to, next week, next month, and next year.

Summertime, and the schoolin' ain't easy...

Interesting article in today's Washington Post on new ways of looking at summer school. 1 in 4 American students attends a "summer learning program." But there's a still a great stigma attached to summer school, and it isn't just from the students' perspective, either. Parents are often loathe to send their kids back to school over the summer, reasoning that June-July-August is a time for relaxation, for getting away from school, etc. etc.

As the article points out, summer school takes many forms, and is not necessarily a remedial environment. Many summer school programs are enriching, offering students curriculum choices unavailable during the academic year.

But it's more serious than that. "Summer learning loss" is a real problem -- students who arrive back in classrooms in September having forgotten far too much from the previous year. For teachers, that means that the new year doesn't necessarily pick up where the old one left off. Rather, there is often too much time spent reviewing what summer vacation erased.

Many Walch programs and materials are specifically designed for use during summer school. We've long recognized that learning is a flexible concept; it doesn't magically begin when the first leaves fall or end when the yellow buses pull away. Increasingly, we're seeing school districts across the country extend and broaden their academic calendars, to provide alternatives for students who simply need more.

A new way of approaching Accuplacer

If you're a high school senior, then you're likely aware of, or will soon be aware of, the Accuplacer test. The College Board administers the tests, usually given to seniors or incoming college freshman. The Accuplacer, in math, reading, or English, helps academic advisers and counselors place college freshmen in the appropriate courses.

Many students find out, after taking the Accuplacer exams, that they need (non-credit) remedial courses in college. It's to everyone's advantage if those students can instead take the classes in high school that help them to catch up, rather than in college. So more and more schools are now giving the Accuplacers in (high school) junior year, so that any remedial work can happen in 12th grade.

We've just entered the Accuplacer universe with a new set of six units of math instruction we're developing. The units will be administered in junior or senior year, and students can then do any necessary remedial work before they hit college.

Here's the cool part: these six units aren't a book. They aren't a PowerPoint. They're digital instruction that will be delivered via iTunes U, the Apple-developed curriculum program, downloadable right onto an iPhone or iPad. We're piloting them here in the state of Maine, and iTunes U will make them available free of charge to Maine teachers.

Using the digital technology, students will be be able to work through math problems and, depending on their answer, get directed on-screen to resources that help them tackle and resolve any particular issues.

We're developing this program in partnership with the Maine International Center for Digital Learning, through a grant funded by the Davis Family Foundation. As part of our development work, we recently conducted a focus group with Maine educators currently administering the Accuplacer (that photo was taken at our focus group session). Plans are to have a working pilot by this winter, make refinements to it in the spring, and have it available as instructional material for the 2011-2012 school year.

A day at Poland Spring (Academy)

For many years, Walch Education has been a fan and supporter of Poland Spring Academy (PSA). They're located in the town of Poland Spring, Maine, about 45 minutes or so northwest of Portland. Yes, that's the same town that gave rise to the "Poland Spring" brand of bottled water.

PSA is a small private school, focused on providing an individualized education to each member sof its student body. They offer many different programs to accommodate different lifestyles and educational requirements. They refer to it as "Individualized Learning At Its Best."

A couple of weeks ago, we accepted PSA's offer to visit the school and observe their graduation exercises. Upon arrival, we were greeted warmly by PSA parents, students, and staff, and we quickly felt at home. It was clear that this was a place where everybody was invested in the common purpose of supporting and nurturing students.

The graduation ceremony itself was highly inclusive, personalized, and student focused, and it reinforced our satisfaction at supporting this fine school through the years. In our business, we have the opportunity to see close at hand many hard working, dedicated educators and administrators. They work conscientiously all year long, often in very challenging circumstances. But year after year, in school after school, teachers do manage to inspire and educate their students, and prepare tomorrow's leaders. It's a delight for us to say that PSA’s staff ranks at the top of the list.

Reading the tea leaves on state standards

If you look at Texas, based on Friday's vote to approve a controversial new social studies curriculum, you'd conclude that states are reaffirming their right to make their own judgments and decisions, even when there is enormous pressure to do otherwise. But if you look at Massachusetts, you'd conclude that states (or at least this one) might be giving up some "local control."

That's one of the ways to interpret the news out of Massachusetts. The story there is that state education officials are looking seriously at a proposal to do away with standards in English and math (the "MCAS" exams) and replace them with standards developed across many states -- or perhaps even to-be-crafted national standards: http://www.boston.com/news/education/k_12/mcas/articles/2010/05/20/education_officials_may_scrap_mcas_test/

So is there a single way the wind is blowing, or are there multiple crosswinds? Perhaps the primary conclusion is that the standards issue is in flux and will remain so for the foreseeable future. Even in Texas, where the curriculum vote is binding for the next decade? Yes, even in Texas. If a new (i.e. Democrat) governor is elected in November, the curriculum issue could theoretically be brought up again before the state Board of Education.

And in Massachusetts, while some are already bemoaning what is seen as a possible retreat from rigorous state standards, it's clear that there are many potential outcomes, including multi-state standards, national standards, or some version of state standards cobbled together with them. Naturally, money is at the root of some of this: Massachusetts, like some other states, may have lost out on early Federal "Race to the Top" funding because of a perception that state officials didn't want to water down stringent local standards. Now, perhaps, that position is being rethought.

It's the educator in the classroom who faces the greatest challenge in the long run. She or he still has to teach those twenty-five-or-so students every day AND ensure that what is being taught meets the (sometimes rapidly changing) standards. It's just one of the reasons why our customized materials are striking such a chord with district decision-makers. Because we can develop and produce new content quickly, customized Walch programs can meet new standards and easily be re-fashioned if the standards alter.

On beyond books

It's easy to beat up on PowerPoint. We've all sat through more than our fair share of presentations featuring that ubiquitous Microsoft application, bullet after bullet, screen after screen. The New York Times even recently had an article about how PowerPoint has become an obessive time-devourer within the U.S. Army.

But one of the reasons PowerPoint is so universal is because sometimes it really does the trick. That was the case in a Maryland district that wanted to use a PowerPoint presentation to supplement their regular Algebra program. Working with the district, we developed 100 Lesson Starters for Algebra I, and it's now available in both a Maryland and a national version.

The "book" is a 100-slide PowerPoint program (it comes on a disc, easy to install, just insert it into a computer). Each slide has an image showing something students can identify with: a mall, a concert, a swim meet. And below each image is a basic Algebra problem that relates to that place or event. Teachers can use one or more of these screens every day to introduce Algebra in a more friendly format for students. [The speaker notes for each slide give suggestions for how to use the material, what student responses might be, and more.] Most students are familiar with PowerPoint -- they often use it themselves in class presentations. Makes sense to employ the same format to teach. We're not suggesting that PowerPoint can (or will) replace books or other educational media. But here's a case where it works well as a supplementary aid in the teacher's toolkit.

Turning the world upside down

Since 1927, Walch Education (known back then as J. Weston Walch) had published supplemental books, primarily for middle and high schools following a tried-and-true publishing process. Generate ideas internally for a number of book ideas, winnow them down (using any one of a number of filters), and then write and publish the books. And then hope/trust/pray that any market research done in advance was accurate, and that the books would appeal to teachers.

In the last few years, we've been quietly turning that world upside down. The costs and the risks are simply too high to continue tossing books towards schools and waiting for a response. Plus, educators have increasingly specific needs for the classroom, and increasingly demanding state and Federal standards to meet.

In states throughout America, we're now several years into a new system that starts with a novel premise: ask the educators what they need. We first talk to administrators and teachers in key districts and find out from them where there are holes to be plugged, skills that are not being taught or learned properly, standards -- and students -- that are slipping through the cracks. We then take those needs and build them into curricula that fit that particular state's standards and testing expectations. And we have them partner with us throughout the development process, reviewing and improving our materials.

The result: when we deliver a program to a given district, or school, or teacher, it has already been designed and vetted so that it successfully meets unique needs. Our operating mantra is "one size does not fit all." Students are unique, schools are unique, districts are unique, states are unique -- and they all deserve materials that teach uniquely. When we get feedback from teachers in the field, they tell us that our custom programs are unlike anything they've experienced before. For many of these teachers, it's the first time they've worked with materials that were designed with local input.

We think this is the direction all educational publishing is heading towards. And we're just excited to be one of the pioneers.

Bio This, Bio That

We have a double-barreled "Bio" introduction at Walch this month.

First of all, we've just released our new Hands-On Science: Introduction to Biotechnology title. It's pretty remarkable -- 20 lessons that get middle or high school students deep into the worlds of cloning, natural antibiotics, jobs in biotech, much more. When you think "21st century careers," biotechnology is right up there, and we think this new title goes a long way in helping students understand and think about the field's potential.

Second, we have a new free download in our Teachable Moments series. It's called Fly Eyes and Whale Hearts, and it zeroes in on biomimicry. That's a whole new field in which man-made design looks to natural solutions and ideas. Neat stuff, and it ties in nicely with the biotechnology title, above.

Take a look, and let us know if there are other contemporary scientific topics you think we should explore!

Time to Visit North Carolina!

Right now, our Senor Director of Programs and Partnerships, Jill Rosenblum, is down in Greensboro, North Carolina. She's at the annual meeting of the North Carolina Council of Teachers of Mathematics.

Jill is showcasing our newest program there, Foundations of Algebra. Designed, written, and piloted with North Carolina educators, Foundations of Algebra prepares struggling students for Algebra 1 and beyond. It's aligned to the North Carolina Standard Course of Study, and can be used in 9th grade as a semester or a full-year course.

Definitely Not Your Father's High-School Science Class

Forensic science is all the rage on TV, what with C.S.I. and similar shows. Makes sense that it would percolate down to the high-school classroom, too. Teachers across the country are now using the cool parts of forensic science -- you know, the blood, the fingerprints, all that -- to teach basic science.

Sean Cavanagh reports on this phenomenon in a recent article in Education Week: http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2009/10/28/09forensics_ep.h29.html?tkn=PQQFA0Hu7sxGMDVWXWtNmgy65xvOiTLMBWKp

And it's nice to see our new Hands-On Science: Forensics featured in the article as one of the resources educators are using!

Blood, Glass, Garbage...Forensics!

With all of the interest in television shows about forensics (C.S.I., etc.) -- and there are plenty of middle- and high-school classes on the subject -- it's nice to see our Hands-On Science: Forensics title pick up a nice review.

The National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) regularly takes a look at new science titles in the classroom. On September 8, they recommended our Forensics title, saying, among other things, that it "...offers teachers a wealth of activities that are aligned with NSES content standards...Each activity gives instructional objectives, NSES correlations, vocabulary, materials, helpful hints, and scoring rubrics...Hands-On Science: Forensics provides teachers with a total package for implementing forensic lessons that are relevant and engrossing for students." You can read the full recommendation here.

Hands-On Science: Forensics includes 20 activities that introduce students to the science of crime scene investigations. Sample topics include:

• Blood pattern analysis



• Glass fracture patterns



• Photographing a crime scene



• Searching through garbage



• Microscopic fibers

The program is proving popular in middle schools, high schools, and adult ed/community college settings. For more information, contact (800) 341-6094, or customerservice@walch.com.

Video Games as a Teaching Tool? That's Right!

Our popular Media Literacy series explores how different media have developed, how they influence us, and how they can be used to teach critical skills in the classroom. The series has looked at media such as television, the Internet, newspapers --

-- and now, Video Games and Virtual Worlds! For many students, the online gaming and simulation worlds are far more interesting and "real" than the actual world we inhabit. OK, then, if that's the case, how can educators respond? We've developed this program, formally called Thinking Critically About Video Games and Virtual Worlds, to hekp students -- and teachers-- interpret, analyze, and evaluate interactive digital entertainment.

The program includes 48 lessons, zeroing in on topics such as:

• The role of violence in video games


• How video games affect parent-child relationships


• Video games and players with disabilities


• Scams and cheats


• Linden dollars and other virtual world currency


• What messages video game developers and sponsors are sending

Educators are using this new title in media, design, and computer classrooms, as inter-disciplinary resources in language arts or social studies classrooms, or to address the National Educational Technology Standards. You can find our more at (800) 341-6094, or customerservice@walch.com.

New Georgia Web Site Focuses on Education

Walch Education has just launched http://www.walchgeorgia.com/. The new site focuses on our programs and partnerships in the Peachtree State.

We've partnered with many of the leading districts in Georgia, including Clayton, Cobb, DeKalb, Fulton, and Lumpkin counties. The site highlights some of our work with those districts, and the resulting programs.

Want to know more? Then you should talk to Andrea Newman, our Regional Partnership Manager in Georgia. She's at (404) 543-2478, anewman@walch.com.

Lexile Measures Make the Difference in Walch's New Georgia English/Language Arts Program

Our Georgia Academic Support Program for English/Language Arts, High School, has been very popular in the Peachtree State. Now, Georgia educators have more evidence of the program's strength.

Metametrics, a leading educational measurement company, has applied its Lexile Framework for Reading to the 92 reading passages in the program. The average measure, 887L, places the majority of those reading passages squarely within a 9th-grade reading ability.

In other words? As Walch's Director of Education, Susan Graham, notes, "This demonstrates that the Georgia Academic Support Program for English/Language Arts, High School, is appropriate for a range of abilities. We're supporting Georgia educators with the data, and assurance, they need, that this program works well in diverse high school classrooms."

In Georgia, students receive a Lexile score along with their regular score for the CRCT Reading or GHSGT English/Language Arts tests. Educators using the Georgia Academic Support Program for English/Language Arts, High School, can now see just how each reading passage in the program matches student reading ability.

By the way, the Georgia Academic Support Program for English/Language Arts, High School, was recently cited as a "Recommended Learning Resource" by the Georgia Department of Education.

Getting Ready for the New York Regents Exams - Something New

If you're a student or educator in New York State, you know all about the Regents Examinations, or as they're usually called, "the Regents," a series of comprehensive high school exams.

In our opinion, too many programs prepare students for the Regents with short-term test-prep drills. Result: students who get a blip of insight into how to take the test, but who lack a true understanding of the material and the skills thathelp them interpret and think through what they've learned.

That's why we developed the Academic Support Program for English Language Arts, NY State Regents Prep. Yes, it has assessments and answer keys modeled after the Regents Exam, to give students practice. But it also has:

• More than 80 hours of correlated instruction


• More than 40 lessons correlated to IRA/NCTE Standards for English Language Arts


• Strategies for direct instruction, differentiatd approaches, alternative assessments, and extending learning

And the whole program comes packaged in an easy-to-use, completely reproducible 3-ring binder. Throw in a CD-ROM with all of the content on a PDF, and you can see why the program is a boon for New York educators. Want to find out more? Call us at (800) 341-6094, or email customerservice@walch.com.

Walch Team Grows with Maryland Hire

We've added to our team with Rorye Jordon, our new Regional Partnership Manager in the Maryland/Virginia/DC area. Rorye lives in Maryland, and she'll work with existing accounts and new partnerships.

Rorye is a find, and we're very lucky to have her aboard. She has been a teacher in the Baltimore City Public School System and has taught at Baltimore City Community College. She's also worked as Regional Education Quality Manager for Education Station, a partner of Sylvan Learning.


Among the programs Rorye will be focusing on in Maryland will be:

• Maryland Algebra/Data Analysis


• Maryland Academic Support Program for English II HSA Mastery


• Maryland Academic Support Program for Biology HSA Recovery
  

If you're a teacher or district administrator in Maryland, Virginia, or the District of Columbia, and you're looking for affordable, flexible ways to boost student success, talk to Rorye. She's at (443) 255-8125, rjordon@walch.com.