Cracking a Code
Dr. Andrew Lovett Jr. • Cahn Fellow 2022
Students in public schools in grades third through eighth in Georgia are measured by the Georgia Milestones Assessment System in the areas of English/ language arts, mathematics, and in select grade levels, social studies and science. Due to inconsistent performance patterns, my administrative and pedagogical leadership team had to rethink our systems and processes to help improve the data. As a result, a three-pronged approach was applied with varying strategies to ensure all learners had a chance to improve their academic performance.
Methods: In December 2022, the administrative and pedagogical leadership team of Benteen Elementary School met to review the data and discuss next steps. The first strategy implemented included the software purchase of Lexia Core 5 to be used with all students to provide an individualized path of instruction based on reading and language standards. The second strategy implemented was a targeted tutorial of students who scored in the 35th-57th percentile on the Winter 2022 administration of NWEA’s MAP. The final strategy implemented was active monitoring to ensure teachers know the level of mastery of content during the current instructional block.
Results and Implications: Student performance has nearly doubled and tripled in terms of proficiency from 2017 to 2023 in mathematics and English/ language arts (respectively). Some implications of this work include continuing to monitor the instructional environment by inspecting what we expect, a review of the data to ensure we are continuing to see the gains we want, and ensuring we foster a supportive culture to staff while having high expectations.
