Battle Ground School Links
On April 25th 2016 the Facility Improvement Team (FIT) shared their recommendations on maintenance and capital projects for the period of 2016-2033 with the Battle Ground School Board.
That slide presentation can be found at: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5rqhOHGkUuaVkdTOFBiRkVJYVU/view
We have posed a series of initial questions to the Director of Communication (Sean Chavez) on April 29th. We received answers (sort of) to our questions after waiting almost 2 weeks. You can read them by clicking this link: BSGD_FIT_Apr_2016_Slide_Presentation_Questions_SWWEducation.docx
In a story published in The Reflector on March 30, 2016 titled: BGPS approves plan to ‘inspire excellence’ (link: http://www.thereflector.com/news/article_2cac0420-f602-11e5-a58d-87725ceb5825.html) they describe the changes. This story appears to have been written by the PR Department for the Battle Ground School District. At the end of November 2015 we submitted a list of concerns to the Battle Ground School Board. The observations and comments can be seen in this document by moving your mouse over the small bubbles in the pdf file (or clicking each bubble): 2015-2015_BGSD_School Plan_Improvement_Plan_Review_Nov_8_2015
If you were to take the time to go through our comments and suggestions and compare the two documents you would find…essentially NO changes. Like every other suggestion or comment we’ve made there is little or nothing (and we are being kind) every accepted in the way of feedback that causes any changes in their original.
While the school boards heart may be in the right place the actions and outcomes leave much to be desired. The only way to get them to pay attention and incorporate your feedback is to hound them and demand they include changes you want…otherwise…they do what they want and merrily continue down the worn path.
Battle Ground School District web site: http://www.battlegroundps.org/
Battle Ground School Board (choose from Directors, Board Docs, Agenda, Minutes, Policies and Board Briefly): http://www.battlegroundps.org/#
BGSD Common Core: http://www.battlegroundps.org/district/common-core
BGSD Newsletter: http://www.battlegroundps.org/news
BGSD Superintendent: http://www.battlegroundps.org/home/administration
*******************************************************************
Yacolt gets a $4000 grant for reading Jan 7, 2016
http://www.battlegroundps.org/blog/yacoltawardedlibrarygrantfromjamespattersonscholastic
*******************************************************************
The Columbian just posted the following article online: http://www.columbian.com/news/2015/aug/17/how-did-our-kids-do-standardized-test-scores-are-o/
Following is the material I assembled on August 17th:
In the attached document (it is in PDF format). I’ve compiled the data for Washington State overall; the school districts in Clark County and then each of the schools in the Battle Ground School District. This data is taken from the tables at the OSPI web site:
I make no comments or observations. This is merely the data. If you have comments or would like to discuss your thoughts please feel free to contact me.
2014-2015_Washington State_ClarkCountySDs_Battle_GroundSD_SBAC_Results
*******************************************************************
Battle Ground K-4 Report Card System
I would very much like to hear from parents who have participated (through your children) in the K-4 Report Card System in place. If you don’t want to comment publicly I would be happy to chat on the phone or sit down and meet or you can drop me a note or email. I’m really interested in knowing whether this is perceived as an improvement to the old letter grade approach, whether the assessment topics make sense to you and whatever else you want to share.
Here is the link to the Battle Ground page with the K-4 Report Card information and examples. Thank you in advance for whatever impressions and opinions you want to share:
https://battlegroundps.uberflip.com/i/452609-bgps-k-4-report-card-parent-guide
****************************************************************
The BGSB will review the proposed primary school improvement plans at their Monday, November 9, 2015 meeting. I took the opportunity to download each schools plan (the board agenda went live on Friday). I then read each document, made notes which I put in a separate report and then added the WA State Achievement Index information. This took me nearly 5 hours of work to put together. I emailed it to each board member and asked them to consider my comments.
I offer it here for those of you who want to open/download it. If it lead you to make comments to others and collectively you want to share your thoughts with the board members that would be great. If you want to comment back to me I appreciate that as well.
2015-2015_BGSD_School Plan_Improvement_Plan_Review_Nove_8_2015
***************************************************************
Earlier this year I was approached by some parents who were having an issue with one of their children in a Battle Ground school. The child was failing every subject…yes…every subject. The parents tried to get the school to engage with them to find solutions. The parents made up their own feedback form. The parents told the child they would not be promoted to the next grade. On the other end the school was telling the student that they would be promoted even if the parents didn’t want it to happen. The parents asked for the child to be retained and the school refused. They asked me to intercede on their behalf (which I did) which lead to a discussion between the parents and district post end of the school year.
That lead me to submit a 2nd series of questions to the Battle Ground School District administrative office. It took 2 weeks to get their answers which I found evasive and unsatisfying. I then followed up with a series of additional questions which then took four (4) weeks to get a response to. Both documents are attached. You can read them for yourself and then decide for yourself whether there is an issue of hiding failure.
The BGSD apparently doesn’t believe that ANY student fails…they just need more help. Most students are passed on even if you and I would consider them failing. If there is no responsibility or consequences why would a student change their behavior? If the school(s) isn’t/aren’t holding students (and parents) accountable then we get students passed on who are almost certainly guaranteed to be failures and have problems in education and perhaps in the real world.
Please…please take the time to read both letters and let me know what you think.
Rylander RFR final 08_19_15 (original letter asking about failing students)
Rylander PRR 9_23-15 (The follow up responses to the next set of questions)
end of year retention data 14_15 (This is the data on retention that they originally said didn’t exist and only became available when I submitted letter #2)
******************************************************************************
At the School Board meeting this past Monday August 24th David Cresap (Director of Assessment) gave a presentation on the results of the SBAC (Common Core testing). This represents the districts view. I’m happy to share my thoughts if you are interested (they differ in some regards). Here is the material that was presented:
Communications Summary of State Testing Results Dr. David Cresap, director of assessment, and Allison Tuchardt, assistant director of assessment, presented an overview of BGPS’ 2014-15 state test scores. The presentation, which can be viewed online, explained the district’s assessment system as a pyramid with a foundation of daily, formative feedback; a mid-section of regular classroom and interim assessments and a peak of summative assessments once a year.
The presentation then highlighted several summative test scores including the Measurements of Student Progress (MSP) for science, Smarter Balanced for English Language Arts (ELA) and math, and End-of-Course (EOC) exams for secondary math. The district as a whole BG Board Briefly, Submitted August 26, 2015 1 scored close to or above the state average on all tests.
The presentation highlighted specific trends in the data. In regards to the new Smarter Balanced assessment for ELA and Math, the state is using the 2014-15 results as a benchmark in student achievement. The graph below shows that historically, test results improve over time as school systems become more familiar with expectations. BGPS average scores are shown in blue and state scores in orange.
Each time a new test is introduced, there is a dip in scores, and a new baseline is created. It is important to note that state tests have drastically changed over the years, and scores should not be compared from test to test. The graph also highlights that the 2014-15 results statewide are much higher than the 2013-14 field test results and expectations (shown by the white dotted line).
“We are in a peak of complexity with the new assessment systems,”Cresap said. The process will continue to be streamlined as the state irons out specific requirements and district staff and students become more familiar with the technology and style of testing.”
Board members asked questions about the future of district assessments and student participation rates. Students choosing to refuse to participate in the test receive a score of 0. This complicates the process by lowering class test scores and makes it difficult to truly assess student learning in alignment with standards. The Assessment Department will continue to communicate with staff, students and families on the full assessment system and provide information on the value of assessment as a part of good instruction and learning.
Comment: The test results have little meaning because they are NOT predictive of anything. The only “score” that has any predictive value is…GPA. The billions of dollars spent (nationally) on these tests WOULD make a difference in the class room.
********************************************************************************