Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Update on Action Plan



Much of my daily time is devoted to working with TCMPC (formally CSCOPE) and the  released EOC questions.  As the instructional coach at the high school, I run the PLC meetings in which teachers analyze heat maps to compare how students performed on unit tests, checkpoints, and benchmarks to EOC state assessments.  In PLC this year, we have used many resources from Lead4ward to analyze the validity of assessments and how they did or did nto predict student success.  We looked at areas in the red (with less than 50 percent mastery on the SE) and compared how it was tested by CSCOPE and how it was tested by the EOC to close gaps between taught, learned, and tested.  We have also identified checkpoints that were not good indicators for student knowledge and skill; several tests from last year measure the specificity of a TEK that should not have been mastered yet.  I have rewritten several of these Central Office tests to better show mastery of the TEKS in the IFD (scope and sequence document per unit).  We have also analyzed questions for the SEs that appeared in the red for rigor and breadth in order to evaluate how the skill is taught versus tested and postulated reasons for differences.  We are also in the process of identifying SEs that were not tested on a unit test or district test but appeared on the EOC; this is particularly a problem with ELAR as adding questions often means adding passages.  I am also in the process of creating a data wall to monitor our students who have failed the EOC.  We can look at how they are doing in their classes and on TCMPC unit tests to see if they are progressing or are in need of more intervention.