Time: 4:00-6:30pm
Location: Preston, Room P2
Schools Represented: Dunn, Fitzgerald, Garcia, Hughbanks, Morgan, Morris, Myers, Preston, Trapp, Werner
eSTELLAR Mid-Year Preliminary Data Review:
Looking at the student survey responses, the following observations and recommendations were identified.
- 60% of students said they have NOT used the school library catalog. All participating teachers need to provide direct instruction in the use of the catalog to located books on a research topic.
- 52% said they do not have a public library card. All lead teachers acknowledged that they have not taken advantage of the library's offer to present to their class. Noelle will arrange these visits. The presenter will show students how to access the reference databases and point out the live online homework help available after school.
- Only 19% of students have used Grolier. All teachers need to present a lesson integrating the use of this reference database funded by the district. Noelle will provide a suggested lesson for 4th and 5th.
- 29% of students said they use computers every day at school for things other than AR! Hurray! Another 23% said they use them "usually every week." We still need to make progress with the remaining 49% who reported they use it once a month or less. This is nearly half of our target audience that is not using technology as often as we are aiming for. (Some of this is due to the fact that Round 7 schools still don't have equipment!)
- 79% of students said they have a computer in their home and 71% said they have Internet access at home. Let's continue to take advantage of this by using eChalk to provide links to online resources, showing them how to use the resources on the school site including the library catalog, Grolier, and NetSmartz.
Science Performance Assessment Scoring:
We conducted a calibration activity to address the scoring of the 4th and 5th grade science performance assessments that were administered in the first trimester.
- 4th Grade: Electromagnet Experiment
- The team made minor changes to improve the rubric. (Check back next week for a copy.)
- An important disclaimer was added to the rubric: if the students' experiment provided data that did NOT show a positive relationship between the number of wraps and the amount of power, they may not draw this conclusion in their summary. They should still receive credit if they draw an incorrect conclusion, that it is backed up with data from their experiment. (This is what scientists do!)
- 5th Grade: Physical and Chemical Changes
- There was lengthy discussion about how much elaboration is required to receive a 3 on the rubric. A student's command of the English language should NOT impact their science content score, only their writing score.
- The provided rubric does not sufficiently guide a teacher in evaluating how well a student grasps the science content - it is focused on science writing skills. Mary Bruno will revise the rubric to be similar to the 4th grade one that does do this. (Check back next week for a copy.)
- A couple of anchor papers were identified. Patti Fitzsimmons will provide these. (Check back next week for a copy.)
- Lead Teachers were charged with the task of facilitating this same callibration activity at their site. Here's the procedure:
- In a grade level meeting, have teachers read students' assessments and group them into high, medium, and low piles. Share, discuss, reclassify as needed so you have 3 piles combining all classes' work into these levels.
- Score the high pile using the revised rubric. Discuss common characteristics. What did most of these students do that helped them score well? What could they have done to score a 4? (Remember, a 4 is above grade level.)
- Score the medium and low piles using the rubric. Identify common characteristics and what students in each group need to do to move to the next level on the rubric. (ie: Most students scoring a 2 could have scored better if they had...)
- Discuss how your school will use the findings to revise instruction.
The March 5th meeting will be at Kucera in the gymnasium at 3:15.
