Christ the King School, Mt Roskill, Auckland

AtoL case study – November 2005

Christ the King School is a full primary, decile 3 school with approximately 160 students, and a staff of 10 full-time teachers.

Over the past twelve months the principal and staff have embarked on an extensive self-review and professional development programme. Teachers gather data about student achievement levels using standardised diagnostic tests, and evaluate students' learning progress by comparing baseline achievement data with subsequent test results.

Recent changes in assessment practice and professional development

Guided action plan

The AtoL professional development contract facilitated by TEAM Solutions in Auckland has helped Christ the King School teachers identify needs, develop a plan of action, and set specific targets to improve learning outcomes. They have followed a simple 10-step process:

1. establish needs and set goals
2. collect data
3. analyse data
4. set targets for groups and individuals
5. develop a plan of action to implement over the following year
6. organise professional development meetings focusing on teaching and learning strategies to improve student achievement in reading and writing
7. share teaching and learning ideas with colleagues
8. observe classroom teaching practice, focusing on the curriculum focus area and student achievement in that area
9. develop curriculum documentation to reflect changed approaches to literacy learning
10. set a time following a year of focusing on raising student achievement to collect and analyse the data to evaluate the effectiveness of their work.

Goals and targets

In 2004 the teachers collected a school wide writing sample, analysed the data, and developed a plan to improve student achievement in writing. This involved sharing a vision and establishing common assessment goals that acknowledged:

• manageable and reliable assessment tools
• a balance between the three types of assessment (diagnostic, formative, and summative), with a strong emphasis on assessment for learning (formative)
• clear learning intentions for students to involve them in their own learning and give teachers opportunities to give appropriate feed back and feed forward. Revisiting the intention at the end of lessons and asking – How did we go? What do we need to do now?
• schoolwide assessment approaches and rubrics of learning
• national exemplars as bench marks and next steps in learning
• Best Evidence Synthesis (Ministry of Education)
• asTTle from years 4–7.

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Tools to identify progress

As part of a school wide professional development programme, the TEAM Solutions AtoL facilitator, Pam King, showed teachers how to use the writing matrices in the New Zealand curriculum exemplars to ensure consistency in marking. Benchmarks were set and teachers compared samples of student writing and shared professional insights. They crosschecked sample groups across the syndicate to ensure they were consistent before completing marking of all the samples.

Teachers marked samples and analysed data together, with the facilitator asking specific questions to focus on the issues the data raised. Following the development of an action plan, each teacher shared with students the focus for improving their writing, enabling them to become more responsible for own learning.

Teachers also applied a wide range of tests and observation processes to identify student progress, including; Probe, PAT, PM Testing plus SEA, 6-year Nets, Burt, Margaret Peters Numeration Testing (Juniors), Cyclic Mathematics (school-based), Wellsford Basic Facts Test Assessment at end of unit, peer Assessment, student Assessment. Not all of the information gathered was used to improve programmes of teaching that focused on student achievement.

Expectations

The principal, staff and board agreed on learning outcomes. That students:

• would be reading with understanding at their chronological age
• would be achieving at an acceptable level in writing based on class samples and observations.

Observation and feedback

Observations were completed during lessons that focused on the learning area the teachers were working on – in 2003, reading and in 2004, writing. Teachers found the process absolutely invaluable. Even though at first it seemed daunting, it helped them focus on what they were teaching, what the students were learning, and how they would attain their goals.

1. Prior to the first observation the facilitator explained why observations were valuable and would be part of the AtoL professional development.
2. The first observation was a 'walk-through' where the facilitator observed where formative assessment practices were happening in classrooms. General feedback was given to the entire staff.
3. Following professional development that focused on specific formative assessment strategies and implementation i.e. planning and sharing the learning intention, setting the criteria etc, the facilitator observed these strategies in classrooms. She asked students about their learning and how they would achieve their goals. Each observation focused on implementing a specific strategy followed by a time for teachers to reflect.
4. As teacher confidence grew and they understood the value of the observations and feedback, they agreed to have 'three-way' observations. These included a teacher teaching, the facilitator and a 'critical friend' teacher observing them then that teacher observing the' critical friend' teacher with the facilitator. This was followed by reflection and feedback.
5. The principal became involved in the process, with the facilitator and the principal observing and reflecting with the teachers on how they were implementing the formative assessment strategies they had been working on in professional development sessions.

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Benefits – Shared planning and enhanced teaching practice

Teachers now meet together as a whole staff before each term to ensure they all are working to improve teaching and learning in an agreed curriculum focus area. They make a curriculum plan and share the learning intentions and criteria with their students. These are either communicated orally in classrooms or displayed in writing.

There is increased student participation in classroom programmes. Graphic organisers are used to enhance thinking skills. Teachers have changed the way they give feedback and feed forward and they use Bloom's Taxonomy as a strategy to develop their questioning skills. They try to focus on questioning that moves students forward. They are teaching effectively and are more conscious of how learning happens in their school.

Home-school partnership

Parents of Polynesian students have been given pamphlets in their own language. Teachers are now holding three-way conferencing where the teacher, student and parent set achievement goals together. Teachers then follow up to check on progress later in the year. There has been some community consultation regarding goal-setting with student, parent and teacher and this is an area that needs to be further developed.

Maintaining the AtoL goals and vision

The school maintains contact with the TEAM Solutions AtoL facilitator, Pam King, and is commited to formative assessment, sharing goals with students, and focused feed back/ feed forward.

Teachers continue their professional reading and staff discussions, building on their AtoL professional development experience. Through ongoing professional development they intend to keep using this model as it has worked so well for both teachers and students.

Improving achievement in writing for students 2004–2005

The teachers wanted to improve achievement in writing, in particular narrative writing. In order to improve student achievement it was decided that data would be collected and analysed and programmes developed based on that data. There would also be explicit teaching using formative assessment strategies. Samples were collected from all students in June 2004 and in June 2005 with targets being set based on the initial data collected. The tables below show the comparative data collected in 2004 and 2005.

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Achievement in writing

Percentage at best fit writing levels (June 2004)

Improving achievement in writing

Percentage at best fit writing levels (June 2005)

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Writing achievement targets based on data

Writing data analysis – 2004

Writing data analysis – 2005

Narrative writing

Summary

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Trends

The writing target for 2004-2005 was that by mid-2005, the students at each year group would have moved at least one stage within a level or to the next level.

In 2004, teachers chose a couple of samples to compare to either side of each level based on the New Zealand curriculum exemplars. From this comparison areas of focus for improvement were identified. For 2005, emphasis was placed on rubric development. The teachers were involved in professional reading and inservice that led to the establishment of rubrics to provide guidelines for classification of students' work.

When targeted and actual 2005 figures are compared there is a close correlation:

Given the experience of 2004 and 2005, the teachers have now set attainable targets for 2006. To achieve these targets, the teachers are:

1. establishing needs and setting goals
2. collecting data
3. analysing data
4. setting targets for groups and individuals
5. developing a plan of action to implement
6. organising a professional development meeting focusing on teaching and learning strategies
7. sharing teaching and learning ideas with colleagues
8. setting a time in the following year to collect and analyse the data to evaluate the effectiveness of their work.

The AtoL in-service professional development in 2004 and 2005 has assisted the teachers to identify needs, develop a plan of action, and set targets to improve learning outcomes. Now the foundations have been set, the building can be built.

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