Why We Should Use Student Growth, Not Test Scores, to Judge Schools

Growth, But Non Achievement

A public school master argues that consequent student growth—non merely achievement—must be counted when judging low-performing schools. Otherwise, there can exist no success

Oct. 04, 2016

Throughout my career, I have managed diverse urban schools with hard learning environments—including a high school inside a prison. So I was upwards for the challenge in June, 2012, when the Schoolhouse District approached me to be the principal of Laura H. Carnell School in Oxford Circle.

And it was quite a challenge: Carnell was the largest elementary school in Philadelphia, and one of the largest K-eight schools in the state. When I took over the schoolhouse'southward leadership, enrollment within its three dissimilar buildings was almost i,800 students. The indigenous makeup was largely African American. The school had an English language linguistic communication learner population of 16 percent, and the special education population was effectually ten per centum.

Information technology too was one of the lowest-performing schools, with a history of poor bookish and organizational performance, and no pregnant student achievement for decades.

Achievement takes longer than growth. Information technology is possible, and we will go there; just in the meantime, we should look at how much has inverse for our students, non just how much is however declining.

Today, I atomic number 82 a school much changed. Only the successes—remarkable student growth that has put information technology among the pinnacle of its peer group—reflect a conundrum in the manner nosotros judge schools: Growth does not necessarily reflect real achievement amidst the majority of my students. But hither in Philadelphia, we guess the success of teachers and schools on examination scores. That is something we at Carnell struggle with every twenty-four hour period.

The very showtime action I took as principal was to conduct a walking tour in the neighborhood to run into the residents, to get a sense of their perception of the school, and to run across the children and families who would make up the school customs. I got an earful from the residents, to say the least. I met two very disgruntled mothers who politely, yet boldly, asked for modify in the school and urged me to consider new ways for engaging parents.

One of those 2 parents, Jennifer Leaman, helped me connect with other parents within the Oxford Circumvolve community. As a result of Ms. Leaman'southward extraordinary and tireless commitment to working with me and my teams over the years, Laura H. Carnell School is now the location for the Carnell Family Resource Eye. The center, i of the school's major accomplishments, engages parents and serves the school community in a variety of means on a daily basis.

Over the side by side couple years, we made significant changes to Carnell:

• Reconfigured the schoolhouse from K-eight to K-5 during my get-go year, to establish a true elementary schoolhouse, where nosotros could focus on curriculum for that age group.
• Fabricated program improvements, such as creating an Honors plan, to increase the number of students performing at the proficient and avant-garde levels on the PSSA.
• Implemented an innovative, bear witness-based redesign plan, as part of the School District'southward Redesign Initiative.

It'southward working. According to the Schoolhouse District of Philadelphia'southward Schoolhouse Progress Report, Laura H. Carnell School is showing positive growth, the mensurate used past the District to determine success. In my first three years, the school improved its ranking from 86th to 18th when compared to all elementary schools in the city, including traditional public and public charter schools, and from 20th to second when compared to 22 simple schools that educate similar student populations.

These examples call into question the notion that low-performing schools cannot be fixed; our experience shows that it is possible for a struggling schoolhouse to experience an upward improvement trajectory in a short timeframe.

Simply in our charged political climate, steady growth is not enough. Student accomplishment has get the sole indicator driving modify in public opinion. The national storyline virtually low-performing schools fuels the growing demand to supervene upon them with a "new organization of schools." The "new system of schools" is a portfolio of lease schools, private sector didactics companies, and new school models, as well as replications and expansions of "successful" schools.

I highly agree that many of these schools add value to urban teaching. However, it could also exist that the "new organization of schools" thrives on the strong economy surrounding declining public schools.

Low-performing schools tend to be the schools with the most pressing daily challenges. Learning spaces in these schools have been outgrown because of the buildings' ages and sizes. Information trends ebb and flow daily due to enrollment policies that crave these schools to accept students without filibuster, even during the PSSA testing menses. Facility needs are insurmountable; some buildings become entire school years without classrooms being cleaned.

At the start of the 2015-2016 schoolhouse yr, 5 percent of our second-grade students were reading on target. By the end of the schoolhouse yr, 20 percent of them were reading on target. Only look at the flip side: The other lxxx percent of the second-grade students are notwithstanding not reading at grade level.

Given all these factors, real accomplishment is a claiming that even schools like Carnell, that have shown significant growth, cannot hands surmount. A couple examples: At the first of the 2015-2016 school year, 5 percent of our second-course students were reading on target. By the end of the school year, 20 percent of them were reading on target. This significant increase in one year would stand lonely as a powerful performance mensurate for whatever school; information technology demonstrates success.

Merely look at the flip side: The other 80 percent of the 2nd-class students are still not reading at grade level. They are in need of intensive support, or at least a small strategic nudge, to get them on target.

Consider another example: Throughout my tenure, nosotros have implemented schoolhouse-broad curriculum changes to increase student engagement and accomplishment, including prioritizing a project-based learning approach beyond the schoolhouse, and conducting more and ameliorate professional development for our teachers. Every bit a upshot, our students made gains in reading, writing, and speaking.

Even so, our school's 2015-2016 PSSA results were dismal.

Aggressive systems for evaluating teachers and principals, and bold plans to reward or close schools are based on strict performance metrics—primarily PSSA scores. That'southward why unrealistic accomplishment data always trumps growth information. The collective message to schools is clear: It cannot be stock-still. It must be replaced or airtight.

Merely as Carnell has shown, achievement takes longer than growth. Information technology is possible, and nosotros will get there; just in the meantime, we should await at how much has inverse for our students, not just how much is still failing. If bodily growth were emphasized over achievement data, schools that are in like circumstances could breathe easier and focus on the important things—educating children.

Hilderbrand Pelzer Iii is the principal of Laura H. Carnell School in Oxford Circle. He won the 2022 Lindback Award for Distinguished Principal Leadership, and is the author of Unlocking Potential: Organizing a School Inside a Prison. Pelzer will be contributing regular columns from the schoolhouse front lines this year.

Header photograph courtesy of Carnell Elementary via Twitter

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Source: https://thephiladelphiacitizen.org/laura-carnell-growth-not-achievement/

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