June 6, 2012
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Clarify the facts
Describe breadth of
root causes
Provide an overview of
interventions
Review speculations
about academic
achievement at TJ
Next steps
Q&A – index cards
Exit slip suggestions –
index cards
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Students
Teachers
Administrators
Parents
Counselors
Staff
FCPS Officials
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The math performance of the Class of 2015 is lower
than previous years, although not by SOL “pass
advanced” standards
15% recommended for the “watchlist” compared to 8%
Down to 11% (2015) and 7% (2014) this quarter
This might be a one year anomaly
We have used some four year trends to identify
patterns in students “at risk” – another 15%
We have many interventions in place
99.5% success rate due to teacher, counselor,
administrator, and parent support
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Admissions criteria
and test difficulty
Acceleration of math
curriculum grades 3-8
TJ regarded as a “prep”
school rather than a
STEM school
SoLs don’t emphasize
problem solving
The meaning of an “A”
from middle school
varies
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Lack of study skill
development
Instructional
approaches to challenge
all students adequately
Setting accountability
standards that might be
too high
Parent and peer
pressures to accelerate
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8th period open tutoring:
(W/F)
8th period small group
“stickies” (M)
8th period peer-tutoring (M)
8th period study skills
sessions
Individual meetings with
counselor and teacher
Preassessment for SOL
readiness with review of
trouble spots
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Watchlist if cumulative
unweighted GPA is
below 3.3
Individual student
plans created by
counselor, teachers,
admin, parent, student
Address study skills,
work habits, tutoring,
etc.
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Meeting with
principal to review
progress and offer
suggestions
Speculation
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Students admitted to
TJ define our school
success
TJ standards have
declined
My thoughts
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Nature and nurture both
count
TJ diploma, “frosting” in
curriculum, “decoration”
affected by variability in
performance
This metric is based solely on the ratio of
number of APs: the total enrollment of students
for a single year and does not account for
differences in four year schools to two-year
academies or APs taken during sophomore or
junior year.
Speculation
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New teachers have
lower grades than
other teachers.
TJ has remedial classes
My thoughts
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Consistent grade
distributions
All math/science classes
are honors level, we offer
remedial support to lift
students
Speculation
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Students are not
prospering like they
did in the “good ole
days”
The interest to attend
TJ has changed
Students who earn B’s
and C’s don’t belong
here
My thoughts
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Standardized metrics
exceptionally high, research
advancement, increase in
junior AB calculus enrollment
US News ranking, perceived
college gateway
We provide intervention
support. Students not
meeting the 3.0 average
often have C’s, D’s, and F’s
in math/science
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Opening two extra help sessions before final
exams: June 6 from 6-8pm, and June 9 from 8am12pm in Rm 243.
Distributing an end-of-year survey to students to
obtain a representative sample of good
experiences as well as ideas for improvement
Posting online modules for summer practice based
on the final exam item analysis
Recommending students take the FCPS online
trigonometry course if they did not perform well in
4th quarter algebra II/trig
Making a commitment for unified Blackboard
resources next year in algebra II/trig
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Providing an online algebra diagnostic assessment
over the summer, and then offering a boot camp
based on results
Issuing a pre-assessment to algebra II/trig students
in the fall to provide interventions before grades are
released
Piloting a new instructional model – “flipping the
classroom” – to provide attention to wide variability
in student readiness
Parent-based support systems - TBA
School district officials dialogues to address root
causes and policy changes - TBA
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All problems become
smaller if you don’t
dodge them but
confront them
Admiral William Halsey