Grading and Assessment of Student Work

An common issue in schools is how to assess student work. It is often a complex, and occasionally contentious discussions, because it gets at issues of teacher autonomy and accountability, and because it is closely linked to student success in school and decisions about dropping out.

Two new resources, Research Into Practice, are available for GEAR UP principals. They were prepared by J. Howard Johnston, part of the EPI team working with principals as part of the Oregon GEAR UP program. The first discusses best practices in grading, and the second examines the use of rubrics for assessing student work. Both provide a summary of best practice in each area and include links to other online resources.

We think you will find the resources helpful and look forward to hearing from you about how you're working on grading and assessment in your school.

Five Key Functions of Effective Principals

A report just issued by the Wallace Foundation reviewed decades of research on school leadership and identified five "key functions" used by effective principals. They include:

• shaping a vision of academic success for all students;
• creating a climate hospitable to education;
• cultivating leadership in others;
• improving instruction and
• managing people, data and processes to foster school improvement.

Of particular importance is that the study "reinforced the empirical link between school leadership and improved student achievement."

The Wallace Foundation has supported studies on school leadership since 2000. The complete report is available on the foundation's website. We encourage you to read the entire report and learn about the impact a principal can have on student learning.

Principals Perspectives - Podcasts on School Improvement

Principals in the Oregon GEAR UP schools are involved in many exciting initiatives that are changing their schools in exciting ways. In order to share some of these programs and to allow principals to speak directly with other principals, a set of podcasts is being developed by Jerry Lynch with support from Dana Beck at Oregon GEAR UP.

Four podcasts are currently available at http://gearup.ous.edu/podcasts.php or through the Principals Perspective link at the iTunes Store. Current topics include:

• College and Career Advisory Program – Kristi McGree, Principal, South Umpqua High School
• Positive Behavioral Interventions and Support – Bryan Wood, former principal , Brookings-Harbor High School and Diane Kinney, Dean of Students, Azalea Middle School
• Increasing Student Expectations and Test Scores – Jay Mathiesen, Principal of La Pine High School
• Freshman Academy – De Ann Jenness, Principal, North Marion High School

The podcasts are a rich resource for principals or their staff who can learn about the ways that GEAR UP teachers and principals are improving the educational experience of their students.

Nurturing and Sustaining Professional Learning Communities

Over the last decade many schools have embraced the idea of professional learning communities (PLC's). While the term describes all sorts of collaborative activities, the PLC advocated by Rick DuFour, Shirley Hord and others is a school where teachers and principals focus on intently on improving student learning. They are committed to their own learning and act on that learning in ways that will positively improve students' education.

As PLC's have matured some schools struggle with ways to nurture and sustain the vitality that was often present in the early years. Schools that have successfully navigated this path find that five things support the continued growth of professional community.

• First, create a schedule or other structure to provide time for teachers to work together and reduce isolation. There are many options, limited only by one's creativity.
• Next, embrace policies that encourage greater autonomy, foster collaboration and improve communication. Share what works. Have conversations about successes and opportunities for growth.
• Third, provide time for professional development both during the school day and at other times. Consider converting staff meeting time into opportunities for professional dialogue.
• Fourth, when hiring new teachers look for candidates who are comfortable with feedback, examining their practice and who share your commitment to professional learning.
• Finally, be transparent about your own learning and encourage those around you to do the same. Read widely. Be inquisitive. Work to create an atmosphere of trust and respect among all personnel.

We'd enjoy hearing from you about your experience with PLC's and how you work to maintain their vitality in your school.

Decision Fatigue

Recently there has been a lot of discussion about whether the time of day you make a decision impacts the quality of that decision. Well, the evidence is clear that there may be an impact. It is called decision fatigue and it describes a phenomena where the quality of one's decisions made later in the day deteriorates.

The research shows that during the day one's mental energy is depleted, particularly if you focused on complex tasks and decisions. Decision fatigue can cloud a person's judgment and explains undesirable behaviors such as losing focus during meetings, getting angry with colleagues, becoming impulsive or making decisions without consideration of the consequences.

There are things you can do to minimize the effect. They include:

• recognizing the problem and monitoring your behavior during the day;
• planning your day so that you schedule important meetings and decisions early in the day;
• avoiding back-to-back meetings so that you have time to recharge your 'mental energy' between meetings;
• taking short mental breaks;
• sleeping on decisions and avoiding making complex decision late in the day; and
• being clear about your goals so that you minimize the drain of energy associated with sorting through complex issues.

A Research Brief that describes this term more fully is available at from the Oregon GEAR UP site at http://tinyurl.com/6wlllhq. We would enjoy hearing from you about your experience with decision fatigue and ideas you may have for avoiding the impact.

Seeking Volunteers to Fix Up Schools

Almost every school faces the need to reduce expenditures and deal with shrinking resources. In order to maintain a strong instructional program fewer resources may be available to maintain the building and school grounds.

Howard Johnston recently prepared a Research Brief for an Oregon GEAR UP principal about how to seek volunteers to help fix up his school. Here's a summary of the brief.

"There isn't much research on how to secure volunteers to participate in school clean-ups and fix-ups, but some key ideas can be found in anecdotal examples from many communities around the nation. The first recommendation is that securing volunteers is easier when the school has a solid, active community relations program in place. If people are familiar with the school and its mission, they are more likely to volunteer when the call goes out for help. Secondly, people are more likely to volunteer if asked to do something specific. Finally, communicating with key groups is likely to build support within the group (e.g., alumni, churches, local businesses, service clubs) to help out. That makes the school an integral part of their public service agenda, and usually puts their volunteer efforts at the school's disposal."

You can read the entire Research Brief here. We'd be interested in hearing from you about ways you work with your community to maintain your school campus.

Using Instructional Rounds to Improve Instruction

Instructional Rounds is a process based on the work of Dr. Richard Elmore. Rounds is adapted from the medical rounds process used in the medical schools to diagnose and identify treatment and is based on a belief that by working together educators can solve common instructional practices.

Rounds is a multi-step process. First is identification of a "problem of practice," or an area of inquiry. Then a team "makes the rounds" by visiting classrooms throughout the school. The observers then debrief their observation and the data is used to identify appropriate next steps.

The South Lane School District in Cottage Grove, OR, an Oregon GEAR UP district, implemented an Instructional Rounds model. In South Lane each school selects a "problem of practice" or an area of inquiry that is their focus for the year. Visits by teams of district administrators makes the "rounds," visiting classrooms to gather information. Following the "rounds" the team meets, debriefs and provides the school's principal with advice about next steps.

The emphasis is on identifying factual patterns from the observations, not personal opinion or personal judgment. The debriefing does not identify specific teachers or classrooms but rather looks for trends across the school's classrooms.

A brief PowerPoint from the Oregon Leadership Network describes the South Lane Instructional Rounds model.