School Improvement Mapping

This chapter is speaking to what Pioneer has been working on this year in our benchmark teams.  My teaching partner and I have worked very hard together to set a joint goal around our reading instruction and is tied to the OAKS testing.  We know our kids, have done a lot of formative testing, have collaborated on exit tickets, common assessments, and how to run intervention groups when we have limited time and resources.  I can see it paying off.  We check in on a regular basis and can and do make changes when they are necessary based on the data we are getting from kids.  We want 80% of our kids at or above grade level in reading skills.  After our first round of OAKS we are close and have some kids achieving higher than we thought.  I believe that by really working together, identifying the key components that needed to be retaught or taught more efficiently and effectively, and getting students motivated to stay with the learning is going to pay off.  Our kiddos are working so hard.  They are rising to the challenge and it is inspiring.  I am not a fan of a lot of testing but a lot of formative checking in with kids makes a huge difference when they have to perform.