[Southsider2k12]

The full results, with detailed explanations and history can be found here. Keep in mind while viewing the spreadsheet that the MCAS is district 4925. A total of 6 City schools earned A's, 2 got C's, 3 D's were received, all by the middle schools, and MCHS came in at an F.

http://www.doe.in.gov/assessment/pl221_embargoed.html

Corp ID Coporation Name 2011 PL221 Category 2010 2011 Performance 2011 Improvement


4925 Michigan City Area Schools D (Watch) 69.0 1.5

Coolspring Elementary School A (Exemplary) 89.1 11.2
Springfield Elementary School A (Exemplary) 84.9 8.5
Elston Middle School D (Watch) 61.1 0.2
Martin T Krueger Middle Sch D (Watch) 62.8 0.2
Barker Middle Sch D (Watch) 76.0 0.6
Michigan City High Sch F (Probation) 59.3 -3.5
Edgewood Elementary School C (Acad Progress) 70.7 1.3
Lake Hills Elementary School A (Exemplary) 75.6 9.4
Joy Elementary School A (Exemplary) 80.4 5.1
Knapp Elementary School C (Acad Progress) 64.6 6.3
Niemann Elementary School F (Probation) 60.2 -0.5
Marsh Elementary School A (Exemplary) 76.0 7.5
Pine Elementary School A (Exemplary) 71.4 11.8

[MC Born & Raised]

"D" is for "dynamic"!

[Southsider2k12]

I was able to get a very good short interview with Dr. Eason-Watkins on this topic. I'd like to thank her again for being very honest, open, responsive, and accessible!

The sections in italics are the questions from Citybythelake, and the bolded sections are her answers.

-First off the elementary schools did very well for the most part with 6 A's, 2 C's and 1 F. What do you feel has been the key to their overall successful performance?

I have often spoken about the "instructional core" - the basic relationship among the student, the teacher, and the material. This is and will always be the key to improvement and ongoing success. All of our K-5 schools have new reading plans in place, and these are building on some of the successes last year. Our principals and teachers have been dissecting data on individual students, and tailoring instruction to meet individual needs. In addition, our community has been supportive, our parents have been supportive, and our technology is at an advanced level relative to other schools in the area. All of this is crucial.

MCAS also offers a great deal of professional development for our teachers - teachers logged more than 1,000 days attending workshops this summer alone. These are high caliber experiences and that impacts our classrooms; this summer we brought nationally known reading expert Stephanie Harvey in to work with elementary teachers, and we held a STEMstitute that brought teachers from all levels together to develop hands on learning experiences in conjunction with leaders in higher education. These are just two examples... This work is truly having an impact.


-All schools made improvements from 2010 to 2011 except for MCHS. As a system we improved by 1.5 points, but still could not avoid a D rating. What do you as the Superintendent take from these scores? What do you see as the direction of the MCAS going forward from here?


We want to see ALL of our schools performing at an exemplary level, and we are working toward this goal. I am encouraged that we are improving, however we need to see more improvement, particularly for certain sub-groups of our students, and particularly at the secondary level. We have the tools and the expertise in place - we need to continue the work.

We are now entering the second year of a three-year strategy to turn around our district. I remain optimistic that two years from now, we will be a model school district.


-One of the speeches I heard you give last year mentioned the education gap that shows up as kids transition from elementary school to middle school, and then again into high school locally. These numbers seem to bear that out, as the average grade goes from a B average at the elementary level, to all three middle schools receiving D's to an F at the high school level. With a year under your belt here at Michigan City now, have you started to get a feel for what is causing kids to plateau early on? What are you plans to attack this gap, and to push the early level of success all of the way through graduation?


I do want to point out that in the case of Barker, the grading system used by the state cast them in a harsh light. Last year they were ranked as "exemplary" (A) - but due to the way the calculations are made, their three year rolling average gain indicated the improvement as only .6% ...which moved them back down to a "D". It is interesting to note that schools staying above the 80% achievement mark (Barker is almost there but not quite) are considered exemplary no matter what their gains or losses. My point is... these rankings can be misleading and in some cases very erratic from year to year (I noted that one school district in Indiana bounced from an A to an F in just one year - next year they will probably rebound.) In some cases it takes only a handful of students' scores - or even just the score of one student - to make a large difference in these rankings.

That said, our middle school and high school performance is an area of tremendous concern, and we are monitoring the data closely. Several interventions were put in place at Krueger last year - and for the first time in five years, the school has made AYP. One hundred percent of students taking the end of course assessment in Algebra at Krueger passed it. Their gains in both math and language arts were impressive and the staff and students are to be applauded for this. We expect to even greater gains this year.

At Elston, like Barker, achievement was relatively steady/flat. The state (and MCAS) would like to see greater increases in achievement at ALL of our middle schools and of course at MCHS. This year, we have put in place several interventions to help us do this:

- We are focusing efforts on core classes where students must take the End of Course Assessment (ECA). This summer and continuing this fall, teachers of math, English, and biology are involved in curriculum alignment and planning (and in some cases assessment design).
- MCHS has instituted a number of supports for freshmen. We have added a full time counselor and 8 full time teachers in ECA subjects (particularly Algebra and English 9) to reduce class sizes. A Freshman Task Force of teachers has been working to support freshmen - the orientation and new "alpha links crew" is one example of this task force at work.
- Pre-Algebra is now being offered at MCHS, to provide added support for students who need it, to prepare for the rigors of Algebra.
- There is a renewed focus on making sure students who can do honors work are tracked into honors courses.
- We are starting earlier to prepare students for high school (and ultimately ECAs) through a Conceptual Algebra Readiness program at grades 4 and 5 and also through an English/Language Arts curriculum called Springboard at the middle level.
- We are implementing professional development for teachers at the high school level this year, that will help them teach reading across the curriculum (for example, will help science teachers help students who lag behind in reading to understand textbooks). This is through a partnership with National Lewis University and Purdue North Central.



-Is there anything else you wanted to add? I want to give you the opportunity to talk about how you see things, without my bias or influence in the questions, if you like.

It is important to note that the state's grading system can be difficult to understand and is sometimes not the best reflection of what is actually happening in our schools. This is due in part to the way that AYP is calculated based on the achievement of sub-groups of our student population, and how that factors in to the PL221 categorization. Our teachers, staff, administrators, and students are working very hard to push us in the right direction. In many cases, we are seeing tremendous gains (for example, at Joy, Springfield, Krueger, Marsh) and in other cases we have a tradition of excellence that is continuing. We also have schools that continue to struggle - and we are attacking those problems head on.

It bears repeating: We are now entering the second year of a three-year strategy to turn around our district. And I am optimistic that two years from now, we will be well on the road to becoming a model school district. As I said in our back-to-school meeting with teachers and instructional assistants, we are on the move - and there "ain't no stoppin' us now!"


Thanks in advance for your time!

Thanks for your interest and support - it is appreciated.

[ChickenCityRoller]

"D" is for "dynamic"!

You owe me a new keyboard because mine is covered with coffee I just spit all over the place!





Mike, nice interview...

[Southsider2k12]

http://thenewsdispatch.com/articles/2011/0...cf353920841.txt

MCAS remains under state’s ‘watch’ status

By Amanda Jacobson
Staff Writer
Published: Wednesday, August 31, 2011 5:08 PM CDT
MICHIGAN CITY — Indiana’s public schools saw the greatest improvement ever in their 2011 rankings under Public Law 221.

Michigan City Area Schools, however, again received a D grade, or “Watch” status, for the sixth time since 2005.

Indiana’s Public Law 221 was designed as a yearly accountability system for K-12 education throughout the state.

P.L. 221 scores are determined by a school’s percentage improvement from year to year on ISTEP+ testing from grades three to eight and final course evaluations in Algebra 1 and English 10 for high school students.

*
This year, P.L. 221 scores were accompanied by letter grades A through F to make the five school status categories more transparent and accessible to students, parents and school personnel.

This year’s P.L. 221 reports were released Monday, showing 51 percent of all Indiana schools receiving a ranking of Exemplary Progress in the past year on ISTEP+ and End-of-Course Assessments.

Six out of 13 MCAS schools earned a ranking of A, or “Exemplary,” based on their performance and improvement on ISTEP+ scores, but many schools in the corporation showed little to no improvement under P.L. 221.

Barker Middle School received a D grade, or “Watch” status, dropping dramatically from last year’s “Exemplary,” A-grade status.

Other schools showing little-to-no improvement from last year’s scores were Knapp Elementary, Edgewood Elementary and Michigan City High School.

MCHS remains at an F status, or “Academic Probation,” following last year’s probationary status.

MCAS Superintendent Barbara Eason-Watkins said MCHS is putting new student programs in effect this year to help reduce drop-out rates and increase overall student performance.

“For students struggling in math, we are adding a pre-Algebra class for those entering high school to build their knowledge and skill set so that they can be successful at the high school level,” she said.

MCHS also formed a Freshman Task Force, whose goal is to work with groups like Alpha Links to support incoming freshmen.

A new freshman counselor has been added to the MCHS faculty as well.

According to the 2011 P.L. 221 data, Knapp showed a small improvement, earning a C grade of “Academic Progress” following a mix of probationary and watch grades from 2006 to 2008.

Despite the lower scores of some schools in the corporation, there were major improvements in select MCAS elementary schools.

Marsh Elementary received an A grade after last year’s C grade and a probationary F grade in 2008.

Three elementary schools maintained consistent A grades: Springfield remained “Exemplary” from 2008 to 2011, Coolspring received A status from 2006 to 2011 and Pine has stayed at “Exemplary” status from 2005 to 2011.

Eason-Watkins said these grades are highly variable from year to year, since they are based on a school’s three-year average Adequate Yearly Progress and P.L. 221 improvement.

Thus, many schools showing improvements last year may have dropped this year because of a lower score in the recent past.

Overall, MCAS showed a 1.5 percent improvement on ISTEP+ and year-end course evaluation scores, with 69 percent of students passing ISTEP+ assessments over the past three years.

Eason-Watkins said the corporation is in its first year of a three-year transformation, and hopes to continue improving upon MCAS’ yearly performance.

“We are very confident that we are going to have a first-class school corporation here in Michigan City in the very near future,” she said.

[MC Born & Raised]

You owe me a new keyboard because mine is covered with coffee I just spit all over the place!





Mike, nice interview...

check's in the mail

[Southsider2k12]

http://thenewsdispatch.com/articles/2011/0...17455881694.txt

School rankings show how far MCAS has to go

Published: Thursday, September 1, 2011 5:08 PM CDT
The mixed results reported under the 2011 school rankings under Public Law 221 for Michigan City Area Schools show the school system is moving in the right direction, but still faces major challenges.

The school system received a “D” grade and remains on “Watch” status for the sixth time since 2005.

But six out of 13 MCAS schools earned an “A” or exemplary ranking based on their performance and improvement on ISTEP+ and End-of-Course assessments.

Public Law 221 was designed as a system to provide accountability by evaluating K-12 education throughout the state. Scores are determined by how much a school improves year to year on ISTEP+ from grades three to eight and final course evaluations in Algebra 1 and English 10 for high school students.

*
The letter grades are new this year to give students, parents and school personnel a more clear understanding of what the scores mean.

While Marsh Elementary received an A grade after last year’s C grade, Barker Middle School received a D, or “watch” status, dropping dramatically from it’s exemplary A grade last year.

Schools showing little to no improvement from last year’s scores were Knapp Elementary, Edgewood Elementary and Michigan City High School. The high school remained at an F status, or academic probation, following last year’s probationary status.

Overall, MCAS showed a 1.5 percent improvement on ISTEP+ and year-end course evaluation scores. Sixty-nine percent of students passed the ISTEP+ assessments over the past three years.

MCAS Superintendent Barbara Eason-Watkins has put new programs in place throughout the school system to help students struggling in math and English. This is the first year of a three-year transformation for the school system, she said.

While it may be a bit painful to look at these rankings now, remember that this is a another baseline for the school corporation to work from and improve upon in the future.

Eason-Watkins says the school system is confident that MCAS will reach “first-class” status in the very near future. In the meantime, she plans on continuing to improve MCAS’ yearly performance.

We agree with that assessment and encourage parents to look at these results as a starting point for further improvement in the future. To make these improvements, everyone – students, parents, teachers, support staff and administrators and the entire Michigan City community – is going to have to commit to a new way of thinking. Achieving “exemplary status” at all schools is going to take a lot of work and commitment. We know where we stand now. We know where we need to be. It’s time for all of us to focus on the work of making it happen.

[bandaid19]

Don't get me wrong... MCAS has a long road ahead... BUT....

I don't like this grade system for the NCLB assessment, because it's just an indicator of PROGRESS for the year.

If you have an "A" school that doesn't make additional progress, or slips just slightly, their grade can go down dramatically.

If you have an "F" school that makes great strides in a year, but is still no where at the caliber of a great school, it can still earn an "A" grade for progress.

I just think it's a bit misleading. And again, one of the major factors of performance is the ISTEP+ test, which like all standardized tests, has its flaws.

[Southsider2k12]

http://articles.southbendtribune.com/2011-...ols-association

New education guidelines proposed
State wants to accelerate timeline for getting involved in low-performing schools
November 19, 2011|By KIM KILBRIDE | South Bend Tribune Staff Writer

Dale Chu uses a dark metaphor to describe Indiana's troubled schools.

They are dead bodies floating down a river.

“You pull out one or two,” said Chu, the assistant superintendent of Innovation and Improvement with the Indiana Department of Education.

“Our approach is, let’s go upstream and see how (they) are ending up in the river in the first place.”

As such, he said, new proposed guidelines would allow the IDOE to intervene in those schools much sooner.

Currently, under Indiana’s accountability system known as Public Law 221, a school that receives an “F” for six consecutive years is subject to state involvement.

The proposed change would allow the IDOE to intervene in a variety of ways - up to a complete takeover - if a school receives an “F” for four years in a row or if it receives a “D” or an “F” for five consecutive years.

Current types of intervention doled out to schools by the state include reviews and recommendations by technical assistance teams, mandates to change curriculum or staff, and in the most extreme cases, assignment of an outside operator to run the schools.

But, Chu said, the state is in the process of looking at other ways it can assist low-performing schools, including tapping into the expertise of staff at schools that have been turned around without IDOE intervention.

“It’s not in our best interest to go in and run schools,” he said. “That’s best left to locals.”

Regardless of the method, Chu said, the state feels it needs to do more.

During the recent rounds of state-mandated hearings held in communities where schools were facing intervention, one message was loud and clear, Chu said.

“We heard over and over again, ‘Why does the state wait so long before coming in?’ ”

Local impact

Chuck Little, executive director of the Indiana Urban Schools Association, distributed two lists of schools to members of his association recently.

One list names 104 public schools in 76 school corporations in the state that would be eligible for intervention - up to takeover - next school year if they receive ratings of “D” or “F” under the state’s proposed accelerated accountability system.

On that list is a number of local schools, including Dickinson Intermediate Fine Arts Academy in South Bend and LaVille Jr.-Sr. High School in Lakeville, along with two Michigan City schools and a handful of schools in the Concord, Baugo and Elkhart districts.

It also includes John Young Middle School in Mishawaka.

Dan Towner, executive director for curriculum and instruction for Mishawaka schools, said the state’s proposed rule changes appear complex, and if enacted, he believes would have serious consequences for schools around the state, including those here.

At this point, he said, the focus in Mishawaka is on doing what needs to be done to ensure that all students are on a sustained path of improvement.

Rather than ruminate on the impact of any potential state consequences, he said, Mishawaka is concentrating on doing what it needs to do to ensure it’s never in that position in the first place.

Little, from the Urban Schools Association, opposes the proposed changes.

“Directionally,” he said “this is entirely wrong. ... I think the whole thing is misguided.”

Little believes it should be left up to local school boards to make decisions about what’s right for schools and students.

As for the lists, Chu was unaware of them and said it’s difficult to predict precisely how many schools would be affected immediately by the changes.

But, he did point out, the lists are based on the current A through F rating system.

Another rule change proposed by the state would revamp that system, retaining the letter-grade ratings but basing them on different criteria.

So, Chu said, it’s not known at this point how many more schools would pop up on the state’s intervention list next school year, at least not until after results of the spring 2012 ISTEP tests are known.

In addition to ISTEP results, the new ratings would take into account a student’s educational growth during the school year.

Other criteria would also enter the ratings formula, including graduation rates and college- and career-readiness indicators for high schools, such as Advanced Placement course success rates and the number of students obtaining dual college credits and industry certifications, for example.

Asked if schools would generally fare better under such a rating system, Chu said they could. However, consistently high-performing schools could potentially perform worse, he said.

“You could have schools that were “F’s” and “D’s” under the previous system and getting great (student) growth,” he said. “Now, they could be “C” and “B” schools.