OEI Core Question 4 Report

We want to make sure that the board can see our Core Question reports on the academic side of things. They have traditionally come just from operations and finance. 

We are up for our charter renewal in the fall. Will Street Education Services conducts the review of our programming and submits that report to OEI. 

We received "exceeds standards" in almost all categories, with just a few "meets standards."

ELA checkpoint 3 results

• Checkpoint 3 tests grammar/mechanics and advertisement analysis — shorter passages and sentences — which is structurally different from checkpoint 1 (fiction) and checkpoint 2 (nonfiction), and students typically score higher on it
• Overall proficiency landed at 19%
• Fourth grade had a notably large jump and was a particular source of pride; Participant 1 noted this is Ms. Finn's second checkpoint back from maternity leave and the data reflects that impact
• Third grade also showed gains despite taking the IRA assessment the week before checkpoint 3

ELA proficiency by student group

• Special ed students largely maintained proficiency levels, with 7 students moving from below approaching to approaching
• ML learner proficiency saw a slight dip, which Participant 1 flagged as a priority area — over a third of the student population are ML learners, and weaving ML support into everything is a focus for the rest of this year and into next year
• Most special population groups saw proficiency gains from checkpoints 1 through 3, with the exception of multiracial students
• Black student proficiency showed a notable increase across the three checkpoints 

Math checkpoint results

• Overall math proficiency reached 32% in checkpoint 3, up from 25% and 23%
• Fourth grade hit 72% — the state average is currently around 45% (not all schools have finished administering yet)
• Sixth grade proficiency doubled this checkpoint to 30%, the highest that cohort has ever scored in their time at Adelante Schools; Participant 4 credited the sixth grade teacher (James), who Participant 4 took over coaching in January
• Seventh and third grade remain the biggest concerns despite teachers having strong track records
• Fifth grade is the lowest but has a brand new teacher

Math proficiency by student group

• Special ed proficiency remained relatively flat across checkpoints
• ML learner math proficiency rose to 26% in checkpoint 3 — within 10 points of the 32% overall rate, which meets the outstanding threshold on the OEI rubric for closing that gap
• Black student proficiency increased noticeably, particularly in sixth, eighth, and fourth grade, and outperformed the 32% campus average
• Hispanic student proficiency rose to 30%, just below the 32% overall

Slam the Exam redesign

• Slam the Exam runs April 6–April 27 (4 weeks)
• The redesign came out of stakeholder engagement — student surveys, staff surveys, and one-on-one meetings with teachers, leaders, and operational staff — after hearing consistent negative feedback about the prior format
• Mini mocks reduced from daily to 2x/week to cut burnout for both students and teachers
• After-school data meetings also reduced to 2x/week: teachers review mini mock results with their team and identify 1–2 standards to address the next day, then build a lesson in that meeting
• Science and social studies assessments (4th grade science, 6th grade science, 5th grade social studies) will have their own Slam the Exam plan this year, and those tests are being moved back one week to give more prep time

Test-taking skills lessons

• New this year: Monday lessons during Slam the Exam focused on test-taking strategies, which teachers and students both asked for in the stakeholder feedback
• Math lesson: teaching students what "check your work" actually means, and what a distractor is
• ELA lesson: using the highlighter tool to identify keywords in questions, then asking "what is this question actually asking me?" — Participant 1 noted students were misreading question formats even during makeup administration
• A second ELA lesson covers distractors — reading every answer choice and identifying which ones to eliminate

New state assessment format

• The state has combined the two math assessments (computer adaptive test and performance task) into a single Island Summit assessment this year
• The new test includes both traditional question types and performance task questions within the same assessment
• The state released example items on the IDOE website; Participant 4 and Chrissy are using those to build lessons showing students how to complete performance tasks, which teachers will then adapt for their grade level
• For ELA, performance tasks involve reading 2 paired passages and then writing either a narrative or persuasive essay (randomized); prep is focused on building student confidence with extended responses and understanding what the prompt is asking

Joy initiatives and prizes

• Principal Kyle Gavin is leading joy initiatives as part of Slam the Exam
• A pep rally is scheduled for the week of March 30th with games to get students excited
• Daily prize box giveaways run throughout Slam the Exam, tied to proficiency and growth on mini mocks and completing IXL skills for homework
• On test days, students earn raffle tickets by showing their work and taking their time (not based on scores), and the principal draws winners at the end of the day