Dramatic academic growth is the pride of my teaching. It dictates whether or not all of the strategies that I talk about in this portfolio actually improve student results. Academic growth is highlighted in quantitative and qualitative ways. In this section of the portfolio, I will show that my teaching produces dramatic academic growth through a combination of evidence.
Data that is quantifiable and easily detected through a numbers analysis is the "bread and butter" of my classroom. Students participate in Unit Checkpoints halfway through each unit, as well as Unit Tests at the end of each unit. These are regionally produced and focus on all relevant standards to the unit. Students experience rigorous unit exams, and are challenged with the most stringent questions each unit. Through KIPP New Orleans' regional team, I am able to analyze data in real time as scholars test. After the exam is finished, I am able to break down results by standard, demographic, question type, and mastery level. When scholars finish their testing, I am able to use the data to effectively create reteach plans and produce meaningful small group intervention for improvement on the next unit exam. This is observable from test to test. Test results are also shared during quarterly APTT (Academic Parent Teacher Team Meetings) for the purposes of goal-setting with scholars and their families. After sharing results, I participate in regional Data Dives, which focus on reflecting on testing and trends that I saw within my classroom. We then create an action plan moving forward to increase mastery.
Qualitative academic growth occurs in my room organically through classroom discussions, question dissections, and other engagement activities. The biggest qualitative results come from our weekly "Write about Math" lessons. In these lessons, scholars encounter a math problem and a strategy that was used to solve it. Scholars then have to decide if the strategy is valid or not. They then have to explain, using words, why the strategy works or doesn't work for the given problem. Writing about math at the beginning of the year was quite the stretch for most students. As we approach the end of the year, scholars are able to explain their reasoning, locate issues with strategies, and explain to someone what needs to be done differently.
Teachers who value the success of their students don't simply focus on results of standardized testing alone. Growth in that area is certainly something to work for. Great teachers focus on numbers and the qualitative and day-to-day growth in the classroom. I make sure, as a transformational teacher, to include many types of assessment to give my scholars many means of dramatic academic growth. The pages that follow highlight that, in my classroom, all students will learn at a high level of rigor and success.