CAPP High School Exit Exam: Chula Vista High School Site Report. Sheila Shea, Research Associate Jordan Horowitz, Project Director

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1 CAPP Exit Exam: Site Report Sheila Shea, Research Associate Jordan Horowitz, Project Director August, 2002

2 CAPP HIGH SCHOOL EXIT EXAM PROJECT: CHULA VISTA HIGH SCHOOL SITE REPORT Introduction and Context The CAPP California Exit Exam project involves, Mar Vista, and in the Sweetwater Union District, near San Diego, CA. The schools are working jointly with the following post-secondary partners: San Diego State University (San Diego Math Project), Southwestern Community College, and University of San Diego (San Diego Area Writing Project and CREATE). Faculty members from SDSU are associates from CAPI (Collaborative Academic Preparation Initiative), a project that develops ways to reduce placement of graduates into remedial SDSU courses in math and writing and thus, very much aligned with the goals of this project. Other partners include Mathematics Diagnostic Testing Project (MDTP) and the San Diego County Office of Education. This partnership serves to increase student performance primarily through the "Standards Mastery and Responsive Teaching" (SMART) goals. The aim of the project is to help teachers document mastery of standards and measurable outcomes by aligning curricula, developing common assessments, and being responsive in their instruction as they develop and examine student work. The CAPP CAHSEE project at these schools places slightly more emphasis on the math component because the partnered schools perceive a stronger need to address students' gaps in math, based on previous patterns in student achievement. However, the project does include a language arts component and has outlined activities that will promote student achievement in both areas. Of the 9 th grade students who took the exam at High last year (now sophomores), 39% percent of students passed the math section and 65% passed the English language arts section. At Mar Vista High, 37% passed the math section and 52% passed the language arts section. Individual school results for 2002 have not been made public yet. During the academic year, 2667 students were enrolled at High School, 2142 students at Mar Vista High, and 1204 students at. At and Mar Vista High, approximately 70% of students are Latino and 5% African American. Mar Vista High has slightly more White students (30% vs. 15%). Middle has approximately 70% Latino students, 15% White and 10% African American. All schools have between 20% and 29% English Language Learners, the majority of whom are Spanish speakers. Both and Mar Vista High have a strong AVID program. 1

3 Proposed Project Activities and Progress to Date Table of Activities Activity Target Population Progress to Date Teacher participation in Summer Leadership/Content-Area Institutes Teachers in math and English language arts design and implement common assessments Teachers learn to use more effectively a variety of data for decision-making Letter grades linked to mastery of key standards High teachers, Mar Vista High teachers, Middle teachers High teachers, Mar Vista High teachers, Middle teachers High teachers, Mar Vista High teachers, Middle teachers High teachers, Mar Vista High teachers Teachers from both high schools and the participating middle school attended the Summer Institute. The math session was led by the San Diego Math Project and the literacy session involved SDSU and SWC. Teachers in both departments found the sessions extremely useful in helping them examine the curricula and CAHSEE standards to inform instruction. MVHS math teachers developed common assessments using WestEd s Western Assessment Collaborative (WAC) model and CVHS math teachers also created common assessments. The district requires students to create English Portfolios, which contain common written texts. Middle administers preand post-tests in math. It is not clear how the middle school is involved and to what degree they can be involved with common assessments. Both high schools use data to drive decision-making. For example, CAHSEE results were analyzed by item to identify areas of student need. Assessment data help drive instruction and site data are used to inform placement. The Project Director is experienced with the district database system which allows her to extract data that can be used for placement and assessment purposes. This is an important piece of the project, especially if they are to continue to work towards the overall goal of standards mastery and responsive teaching. The Project Director may want to work with the site leader at Mar Vista High so that Mar Vista teachers can also benefit from the use of school data. The Mar Vista site leader, in fact, mentioned how useful data provided by the MDTP has been for the math department in the past. Both high schools have made concerted efforts to accomplish this goal. Previously, rubrics for student course grades within departments were not consistent. Now common syllabi have been developed in math courses. Course syllabi incorporate CAHSEE standards and the common assessments also reflect the standards. It appears that English departments will be working towards this goal in the upcoming year. 2

4 Improve vertical alignment from middle school to high school Development and implement ongoing intervention to support students falling behind expectations High teachers, Mar Vista High teachers High and Mar Vista High students has participated in the math pull out days at MVH and CVH. The annual report also states that spring 2002 placement of 9th grade students at High reflected 2001 achievement data. Like many of the CAPP partnerships, vertical alignment with the middle schools is difficult for a number of reasons. This project, as others, can benefit from discussions about how to find solutions to increase schools capacity to improve vertical alignment. The schools are implementing a number of strategies to provide extra support services for students. This includes the CAHSEE workshops (at which about 60 students attended), after school classes, and the homework center. When interviewed, students were aware of these resources. This summer a summer enrichment camp will be offered to Mar Vista High and High students in both math and literacy. Although schools have interventions in place, teachers still have concerns about the need for new courses if an abundance of students fail to pass the exam in the next few years. At Mar Vista High, teachers were particularly concerned because they are not aware of any long range plans to address students who continually fail the exam. Internal Perspectives WestEd conducted a two-day site visit to and Mar Vista High School on April 4-5, The CAPP liaison accompanied the WestEd evaluator to the site visit. During the site visit the following were interviewed: CAPP CAHSEE Project Director, CVHS math lead, CVHS principal, MVHS principal, MVHS math lead, and MVHS English lead. One focus group included math and English teachers at CVHS, a language arts coach from SDSU, a math coach from SDSU, and the vice-principal of CVHS. A second focus group of math and English teachers from MVHS and two groups of 10 th grade students also were interviewed. Finally, the homework center at High also was observed briefly. Project Director and Site Leads The Project Director of the CAPP CAHSEE project is an experienced teacher of both math and science. She also serves as categorical coordinator at the school, facilitating the writing and implementation of the site plan, allocation of categorical budgets, and liaison among the three partner schools. The Project Director believes that one of her goals is to ensure the CAPP 3

5 grant has matching funds. She believes that all partners view the grant as a guiding tool for overall schoolwide improvement, not simply preparing students for the Exit Exam. The math chair at also plays an integral role in helping meet the project goals as well. As a resource teacher, he has two resource periods and he teaches three classes a day. He spends time making sure the math courses are in alignment with all California state math standards (not just CAHSEE) and that students achieve success in meeting those standards. Although there is no official Project Director at Mar Vista High for the CAPP grant, there is a math lead who is a resource teacher. She teaches one math class and uses the rest of her time to address the goals of the CAPP grant, along with her other administrative responsibilities. She also works with the department chair of the English department to address the language arts goals of the CAPP grant. The math lead spends the majority of her time working with teachers to create common assessments and rubrics, as well as ensuring that teachers are, in fact, using the assessments. Some of the major activities as outlined in the CAPP grant include: common assessments, use of data for decision making, summer institutes, linking letter grades with standards, and vertical alignment with the middle school. Common assessments have been a critical component of all math courses at High and Mar Vista High. CVHS began work on common assessments in algebra about two years ago with a CAPP mini-grant and now have moved on to assessments for geometry and intermediate algebra. Assessments closely follow the course syllabi and are aligned with the math standards. Furthermore, common assessments were provided for Extended Algebra 1 and 2. The Project Director had much to do with beginning the process for common assessments and now assessments for all math classes (except pre-calculus) have been developed. At Mar Vista High, teachers are on the same pacing schedule and common assessments also have been created. Furthermore, teachers use the same rubric to evaluate students work. Therefore students in algebra for example, are not only given the same assessments, but they are evaluated similarly across all algebra classrooms. Many of the assessments have two forms. Students who fail an assessment are encouraged to get tutoring from the classroom teacher or in the tutoring center. Then they may re-take an alternate form of the assessment to improve their score. The Project Director and math chair of CVHS reported that last year nearly all 9 th graders volunteered to take the Exit Exam. Like the majority of students in the state, students at both high schools had more difficulty in math, with 39% of CVHS and 37% of MVHS passing the math section. In October of last year, schools received general results from the district; and the Project Director learned to use the VAX system (district database) to access data about who passed which sections, and informed each teacher of results for their classrooms. They have 4

6 found that this kind of data are very useful to identify which areas students struggle with the most; and this inevitably helps the school in planning curricula. For example, using data, they found that most students who didn t pass the math component were enrolled in geometry. However, much of the exit exam focuses on 6 th and 7 th grade algebra. Consequently, the math department made a few changes in curricula, namely including some basic algebra skills in their six-week exams in geometry. Ultimately, they found this change in curriculum important to helping their students achieve in math. At Mar Vista High the math department focused on ten areas in which students performed poorly on last year s CAHSEE. They looked at released items, examined areas of need, and designed ten warm-up exercises that teachers can integrate into their classes. The math lead reported that all classes should be doing warm-up exercises, even if teachers are not spending a lot of time on them. (Some students who were interviewed did in fact report doing warm-up exercises in math.) CVHS is making efforts to provide opportunities for students who fail math standards by providing them with an after school math support program. This after-school program is a voluntary program for students who are failing in algebra, intermediate algebra and geometry. All students take six-week exams in their math class and if they receive a D or F, they are recommended for this program. This year funds from Beyond the Bell help pay for after school instruction classes and SMART funds are used for teacher and test preparation. Each core class has a one-hour per week, six-week intervention class that focuses on the math standards. Students can attend the after-school class during which they review the standards and then take the recovery exam. If students pass the recovery test, their course grade changes a major incentive for students. As stated earlier, MVHS offers students tutoring services at the tutoring center four days a week. This year, approximately 50 students in intermediate algebra, 50 students in algebra and 25 students in geometry attended the program. The algebra recovery program was scheduled immediately after spring break. More students attended than anticipated. The math department chair sees the benefits of this program as twofold: (a) helping students focus on the standards and see the link to their course grades and (b) helping teachers refocus on standards. He added that the hope is that teachers see that grades are based on mastery of standards and this gives them an opportunity to align grades and standards. The Project Director added that this program seeks to intervene while students are enrolled, not after they have failed the class. The Project Director also discussed how the school made efforts to help students see the importance of the exam and understand what the test entailed. Several math teachers wanted to create an exit exam series of courses that were sports oriented (i.e., motivated kids to pass by showing them pictures of last year s graduation ceremonies). The workshop took place over 5

7 three days, three hours after school on one day, and four hours on two consecutive Saturdays in March of this year. Out of the 286 students who failed the math section, approximately fifty 10 th grade students voluntarily attended the workshop. Students were given a diagnostic exam that is based on CAHSEE math standards on the first day. On the second day, facilitators provided an overview of the CAHSEE, analyzed results from the diagnostic test, and helped pinpoint student s strengths and weaknesses. On the third day, students learned about the state standards on the CAHSEE and then learned about test taking strategies. The math department chair at CVHS believes this series of workshops helped students see this test as crucial. It also allowed math teachers to become more focused and motivated because it allowed them to see that some students were in fact interested in getting the help they needed. The Sweetwater Union District recently decided to focus on writing portfolios for 9 th and 10 th graders and at the time of the interview, the schools were waiting for the district to put forth the curriculum. Three pull-out days for the language arts department have been used to support the CAHSEE goals. In October, the SDSU writing coach helped teachers examine an essay, collectively, given the CAHSEE rubric. The session helped familiarize teachers with the rubric and the nuances between a 3 and a 4 on the rubric. Teachers now are using the same rubric to grade student writing portfolios. Other sessions involved creating a curriculum and common assessments, as well as assemble a curriculum for after school CAHSEE workshops. The English department chair at MVHS noted that their next steps include: creating a uniform syllabus at each grade level, developing instructional units based on the CAPP WAC model, and finding instructional approaches for students who receive As in English but who cannot pass the CAHSEE. The collaboration with Mar Vista High has been very promising according to the Project Director. Generally, they use the same assessments and same rubrics. Although both schools do not necessarily go through the same process in meeting the goals, both schools have shared ideas and should continue to share ideas in meeting the goals of the project. For example, sharing common assessments and rubrics may save time for department leads and teachers. Generally, the collaboration with all partners has been effective. Aside from collaborations during the summer institutes and professional development workshops, partners involved in SMART meet throughout the year to discuss goals, activities and outcomes. Meetings held in November, February and March outlined the progress of activities as well as next steps or expectations for the upcoming meeting. The notes from these meetings are useful tools not only to document what has been discussed, but also as a tracking tool for examining what has been accomplished and what still needs to be accomplished. Coordination with also has been productive. They attended many of the professional development and working sessions as well as SMART meetings. 6

8 However, the other middle school Mar Vista Middle has been less involved and more resistant to participation this year. As a result, the project now focuses its efforts on collaboration between the one middle school and the two high schools. High is one of the four CAPP CAHSEE sites approved for additional funds to conduct an action research project. intends to track High and Mar Vista High graduates between 1990 and Their goal is to understand the profiles of students who are accepted at the University of California and CSU system. Currently only a small number of students are accepted to either of these schools and the purpose of this research is to find ways to increase the number of eligible students. The action research project has a clearly outlined plan detailed in the original grant agreement. If the project is carried through the final phase, both high schools can benefit, ultimately leading to useful information that can help current students matriculate. Finally when asked what the CAPP office or WestEd can do to better help the project, the CVH math lead stated that she would like to find out what activities other CAPP CAHSEE project sites are conducting to meet the overall goals of the project. With previous CAPP grants, they found that meetings with other CAPP schools were not as productive as actually visiting the school sites. For example, a small team of teachers from Tennyson High (in Hayward, CA) and Mar Vista High visited each other s schools, during which Mar Vista teachers were able to learn some useful information about Tennyson s 4 by 4 schedule, which Mar Vista was considering adopting. However, the English lead at CVH added that it also would be helpful to sit down with a school from another district to learn about other kinds of approaches to the same issue. The Mar Vista High math lead also reported that the working sessions with WestEd on the CAPP WAC project in the past were very helpful because they helped teachers learn to look at how and what they teach very differently. It gave them alternate ways to assess their programs that they still are using. For example, instead of designing assessments just prior to test dates, they are trying to design math assessments ahead of the teaching unit. She acknowledged that working with WestEd over several months was a very intensive activity that required staff to look very closely at what and how they were assessing, and come up with strategies for improvement. Students Fourteen students were interviewed altogether, seven students from each high school. Students interviewed at were enrolled in a geometry support class. The Project Director also attended the interview with students. Interviews revealed that students are aware of the exit exam and the consequences of failing to pass. They believe it is now harder 7

9 to graduate with the exam in place, however, it does not appear that they place much importance on the exam at this point. They don t seem to feel particularly anxious about the test, especially because they know they have many opportunities to pass before senior year. Students have been notified by mail of which sections they passed and which they failed; most students believed that the math section was most difficult. Although students at who were interviewed were informed of the CAHSEE workshops, none of them had attended. Students say their classes help somewhat in preparing them for the exam. One student stated It helps indirectly. It helps with the subject but they don t really go in-depth to what they re teaching. When probed as to what he meant by this he stated They should go more into the subject that might be on the high school exit exam. They should stay on it a little longer than everything else. When asked how teachers prepare them for the exam, students are reticent and reports are mixed. When asked if teachers point out This will be on the exit exam only few responded yes. When teachers do point it out, they note it tends to be in math class. Some students report doing warm up exercises in math. Most students think it s fair to have the test as a requirement for graduation but they also feel that the school is not doing all it can to prepare them for the exam. A few students at Mar Vista think that the test is unfair since they are being re-tested on 6 th and 7 th material when they have already passed 7 th grade. They think the courses should be more focused on the content of the exam. For example, students believe that teachers talk and lecture but they don t show how to do it, making it boring for students, and making them less attentive. However, students at CVHS feel that the geometry support class provides more examples than the non-support classes, and provides students with individual help both of which help them understand concepts more readily. Mar Vista High students indicate that they need more warm up exercises that are similar to test items. Students who were interviewed showed a diverse range of career interests after high school including: teaching, military, law, medicine, photography, computer graphics, and zoology. Most students hope to go to college immediately after graduation; with a few students naming community colleges or University of California (Berkeley and Irvine), and others unsure where they wanted to apply. Only a few students plan to work rather than go to college after high school graduation. At MVHS, when asked where students go to ask questions about college, five of them responded counselor and one student said their AP history teacher. Students say that they have to wait as much as half an hour before seeing their counselor, that their counselors are too busy, and that counselors don t return phone calls. While the majority of students say their parents expect them to attend college, a few said that their parents leave it up to them. Interestingly, when asked, students not could list the A-G requirements for graduation. But when asked what is needed to apply to San Diego State they responded: 4 years English, 8

10 3 or 4 years of math, 2 or 3 years of foreign language, 2 years of science, and 4 years of social science. Their response shows that students are generally aware of what core content courses are needed but they are unclear how many years are needed for some of the courses. Furthermore, they did not list the one-year arts and the elective requirement. Students also did not know how the requirements for the UC system differed, simply that they would need more classes, higher scores and higher GPAs. In addition, some students who are literate in Spanish are not aware that they may be eligible for advanced Spanish classes. Finally, students also have misconceptions that UCs are much more expensive than the CSU colleges. Both high schools should develop strategies for helping disseminate information about college entrance requirements that do not necessarily take time away from instruction, by providing information or packets at CAHSEE workshops, parent meetings, and after school classes. Teachers Overall, teachers and site leaders have been positive about the involvement of the postsecondary partners in the project. Faculty from UCSD s Algebraic Institute and CREATE project attended all pull-out days this year and they inform schools about in-service opportunities that are related to math and language arts. For example, this year, the math lead at MVHS was made aware of an opportunity to receive training for writing exam questions for CAHSEE. The San Diego Math Project held sessions last summer with teachers that involved doing and presenting algebra problems, which gave teachers new ideas to bring to their classrooms. This year, the plan is to do more advanced algebra problems that spiral up to intermediate algebra, which can be valuable to teachers because they incorporate skills in both areas. In the summer of 2001, the math department at both schools spent three weeks with the San Diego Math Project (from SDSU) working closely, together, to discuss the exit exam and how best to address the standards in the various math courses. In August 2001, four meeting days for each department were set aside to discuss instruction and standards as related to the CAHSEE. Therefore, math teachers had several opportunities to implement some of the strategies and lessons discussed in the summer, try them, and then discuss and work through common issues throughout the year. Teachers at High math department used the 6 th and 7 th grade standards addressed in the CAHSEE to drive the first few weeks of instruction in algebra. In addition, test questions given to students every six weeks have been designed to reflect CAHSEE-like questions. Furthermore, they have linked the standards with specific math courses. Standards that need to be reviewed are turned into warm-up activities. In essence, math departments from both schools addressed the CAHSEE head on, making efforts to support one another with the help of post-secondary partners. 9

11 The math coach from SDSU works with math teachers at the CAPP schools. And as a result math teachers feel that they are engaging in more pedagogical questions such as, What are the challenges of teaching this topic? How do we build connections so that more students are successful? Another teacher added, It s helping them understand what concepts need to be taught rather than simply What s on the test? The SDSU math coach feels that the teachers in both departments are very committed; and administrators want to empower teachers, by finding solutions to the challenges they face. Other partners have helped the schools in the past and continue to do so. Staff from the Mathematics Diagnostic Testing Program (MDTP) provide teachers with data on how students perform on the MDTP. It allows teachers to see which areas need additional support and which areas require less of an instructional focus. Essentially, it trained teachers to look at data closely and use it to drive instruction. The English department also has benefited from working sessions with post-secondary partners. Teachers met during pull-out days to discuss strategies that have and have not worked in addressing the CAHSEE standards. A coach from SDSU worked with teachers to align goals and skills outlined in the coursework with skills on the CAHSEE. She visits the project schools once a week to help teachers with lesson planning, find ways that the school can use the library resources, and in some instances co-teach lessons with teachers in the English department. Her overall goal is to help teachers learn to work with expository texts in the classroom. One teacher talked about how the coach helped teachers learn strategies that reflect backward planning. For example, rather than having students read an article and answer questions, she helped teachers find ways to access prior knowledge, predict the author s intent, and think critically about what they are reading all skills that improve reading comprehension. Teachers learned to give students critical reading questions that mimic questions on the CAHSEE exam, and then have them produce a culminating product. English teachers found these strategies helped their students know what to look for when they are reading, which they think ultimately will benefit students reading and writing achievement. Mar Vista Teachers Interestingly, at Mar Vista some teachers don t see much change in terms of how things have been run at the school this year; and there is still some confusion about the exit exam among teachers. Some teachers say they are not aware of the results of the exit exam and some teachers are not clear what will happen to district writing samples, which are similar to the writing sample on the exit exam. While some districts are phasing out the district writing assessment, there seems to be confusion about what will happen in the Sweetwater Union High 10

12 School District. Teachers also are skeptical about whether the exam will continue to be administered, especially when results are reported and many students fail to pass the exam. To them, it may be yet another test that comes and goes. Teachers in the English departments have focused on writing prompts that are similar to the CAHSEE. For example, last year all 9 th graders were given the writing prompt that was administered two years ago the hummingbird prompt. (Teachers complained the prompt was redundant and obvious and they urged the state department get rid of that particular prompt.) Math department teachers met and received the released items and the CAHSEE standards. In their discussions, they raised questions about how they could fit previously learned material (from 6 th and 7 th grade) into their mandated curriculum. For example, one teacher said, How do we help students review algebra that was taught so far back? Teachers are aware that the exam is aligned with standards but some would like to look more closely at the content of the exam. They would like to sit down as a department and examine test items before the school year starts, so they can better plan what they teach throughout the year. One teacher said, I think there needs to some planning on the front end. Teachers in both departments also discussed how SAT-9 testing seems to receive more attention at schools as compared to the high school exit exam, largely because the testing period takes several weeks and not several days like the exit exam. Teachers anticipate the focus may change as results are reported; but, because schools are evaluated publicly (in newspapers) based on the SAT-9, it receives much more attention. A few teachers also raised questions about which assessments should take priority and on which assessments teachers should focus their attention. When asked how instruction has changed, if any, math teachers in both algebra and geometry have tried to spend some time reviewing basic algebra during the school year. But teachers also face the challenge of being accountable for the standards in their subject; and balancing that with review for the CAHSEE is difficult. Teachers also raised questions about how to deal with multi-level classrooms where some students have passed and some have not, making their teaching and planning very complex. Mar Vista teachers also do not think there have been enough discussions about solutions for helping students who do not pass the exam. Teachers wonder What s the impact on curriculum and are special courses going to be created to address the exam? Finally, one teacher found that students were aware of the exam but were not aware that for some (depending on when they will graduate), they will need four years of math to graduate high school. This finding again shows that students are not clear on college entrance requirements, as also evidenced in the student interviews. Therefore, both schools need to address students lack of knowledge about course requirements. When asked about the most significant challenges they face as a result of the CAHSEE, not surprisingly, teachers report it is difficult to decide how much time should be spent on exit exam 11

13 material versus the mandated curriculum. This is particularly difficult because they are expected to work under a timeline, and with such constraints it is very challenging to fit in other material they should have already learned. Furthermore, teaching to the exam also places things out of context which makes it less interesting for students. Teachers expressed concern over the number of tests students are given, including the Golden State, the SAT-9, district mandated exams, and now the CAHSEE. Finally, one teacher said she was confused about how often students can take the exam and concluded For something that s so high stakes, there s so much confusion surrounding it; that can t be good. Mar Vista High teachers raised some critical questions about instruction, pedagogy, and the exam, questions High teachers are likely to share. It will be important during the next year to identify some of the common concerns and pursue them at SMART meetings, professional development workshops, or department meetings so that teachers are very clear about what direction their school is taking and how best to deal with some of these instructional and curricula dilemmas. Principals The principal at High is in his first year as principal. When asked how the CAHSEE is impacting the school, he feels that students now will have to take the exam more seriously and that students will need to make more of an effort to come to school. He also feels that teachers may be passing on their anxiety to students. But, ultimately, he thinks that teachers will be better prepared to help students pass the exit exam as compared to the SAT-9. The principal also commented on how the exam has had an impact on teaching and assessment. For example, the science department chair now wants to have all 9 th grade students enrolled in biology, thus holding students to higher standards than in previous years. The school has a large Latino population and the administration is considering setting up small learning communities. At the time of the site visit, meetings with teachers of second language learners were to take place to see how they might fit into the learning communities. Mar Vista is also an AVID school; but, unlike, is not an underperforming school. The principal at MVHS believes that the grant has helped the development of lessons and allows time for teachers to meet. Mar Vista is planning to implement small learning communities, starting with 9 th grade teams in the fall. There will be four teachers in each team and teachers will have a common prep period. The principal is very optimistic; thus far there has been little to no resistance from teachers. The principal at Mar Vista thinks that the math department has moved farther along than the language arts department, despite having very experienced language arts teachers. The language arts department chair believes this is due to the need for a three tiered-intervention that 12

14 addresses the needs of ELL, special education, and mainstream students. The principal thinks that the greatest impact of the grant has been on standards alignment, with math moving the farthest along. For example, teachers now are talking about standards much more, even though the district has been aligning standards for years. Furthermore, the math department has aligned grades with mastery of standards, with the help of the San Diego Math Project. In meeting with High they found that, within departments, there was a lack of consistency to grades, part of the problem stemming from district pressure and previous administration pressure to decrease Ds and Fs. As a result, teachers inflated grades with extra credit, more homework and fewer tests. This past year, the Project Director has helped pushed both schools to create common syllabi and create a common grading system. For example, 80% of the math course grade is based on tests and quizzes, as compared to prior years when homework was weighted much more heavily. Summary and Recommendations In this section we present recommendations for action by the project site staff to ameliorate some of the problems encountered in the first year of implementation and to ensure the continued success of the many positive activities implemented, to date, and significant work already accomplished. The CAPP Office should support these efforts by working with project site staff to assign priorities to these, and develop action plans around recommendations that all agree are most salient. The SMART project is led by a very experienced and focused Project Director who works well with the various site leaders and post-secondary partners. The school has several advantages that include prior experience with CAPP grants, heavy involvement from postsecondary partners, clearly outlined goals and objectives, and a wealth of internal data. The Project Director has assembled an abundance of data gathered from post-secondary partners; needs assessments in the form of parent, teacher and student surveys; and minutes from SMART meetings. This data should be used to identify the areas that need most improvement or followthrough this coming year, in addition to documenting some best practices or lessons learned within and across departments. Recommendations for the upcoming year include: Now that common assessments have been created, teachers need to engage in further discussions about how to use results to drive instruction Both schools made significant accomplishments this year in this area. As the project continues, schools need to turn their attention to using results to inform teachers about areas in 13

15 which students need additional support and how, as a department, to modify instruction or curriculum to address student gaps. This is a critical turning point for schools because the results provide valuable information; but if not used, does not result in responsive teaching. Furthermore, high schools may benefit from exchanging common assessments and sharing results. Each school may have developed strategies for addressing a particular skill with which students at the other school struggle. Documenting and sharing results can be useful tools that help move both schools towards the same end goal. Students need more information about college entrance requirements, particularly differences between the CSU and UC system, as well as information about private colleges Based on the student interviews, several myths surround the college application process. Not only are students unclear about the coursework required, but they have an exaggerated sense of college tuition, particularly to the UCs. The Action Research project can serve to help identify profiles of students who successfully enter four-year colleges. This information is useful not only for counselors and administrators, but also for parents and students. In conjunction with the information about CAHSEE, perhaps a series of workshops for parents and students could be offered or field trips to college campuses. Both schools have a strong AVID program but the school may need to make additional efforts to reach students who are not enrolled in the program. Increase the opportunities for formal dissemination about the exit exam Although students know general information about the exam, students are still unclear about when and how often tests are given. The CAHSEE workshops are an excellent forum for disseminating information to students about the CAHSEE, but schools need to find better strategies to increase the number of students who attend. Schools need to ask Are students not attending because they are not aware of the workshops or is it because most do not find it a pressing issue, especially at the 9 th and 10 th grade? Who is attending the workshops? Perhaps information packets and letters sent home could provide additional information to reach the many students who do not attend the workshop (if this has not already been done). A summer workshop for incoming 9 th graders may help to address questions from both parents and students that will help alleviate this gap. Identify teachers concerns and use them for discussion points at professional development workshops with coaches, SMART meetings and/or department meetings 14

16 Teachers still have questions about how to address CAHSEE standards while covering their content area and how to deal with multi-level classrooms where some students have passed and some have not. However, there is a wealth of expertise among teachers, department chairs, and partners; and the Project Director has gathered a wealth of internal data that can help pinpoint areas of need for the upcoming year(s). Schools may want to work with partners to find opportunities to discuss the challenges and find strategies that focus on the underlying goals of the project. Furthermore, teachers, particularly at Mar Vista, are not clear about how the CAHSEE will impact the course curricula and long-range plans for intervention. This reflects a lack of communication between teachers and school administrators. As one teacher stated, For something that s so high stakes, there s so much confusion surrounding it; that can t be good. Although both schools do not necessarily go through the same process in meeting the goals, both schools have shared ideas and should continue to share ideas in meeting the goals of the project For example, sharing common assessments and rubrics may save time for department leads and teachers. Sharing results from the common assessments between schools may lead to sharing of instructional strategies. Both schools seem to be reaching the goals but in slightly different paths, which is not necessarily a detriment. Different strategies should be communicated throughout the year within and across departments so that alternative methods can be offered. Increased collaboration with and involvement of Mar Vista First, the high schools may want to make additional efforts at including Mar Vista Middle, despite their resistance. In the long run, a collaborative relationship will make placement, course alignment, and assessment easier for the high schools, as well as ease the transition for the many Mar Vista Middle students who feed into the high schools. Secondly, if both the middle and high schools share the same courses, such as algebra, for example, the high schools should consider sharing common assessments and rubrics with the middle schools. WestEd has learned through other CAPP projects, that schools often face the dilemma of differences in the grading system; high school teachers complain that an A in middle school algebra is not the same as an A in high school algebra. Sharing course outlines, common assessments, and rubrics may offer opportunities to address this discrepancy, as well as a way to involve the middle school, and increase vertical alignment. In conclusion, the high schools involved in this project have included in the SMART meetings and some professional development activities, but more can be done to better outline the role of the middle school and their contribution to helping students prepare for the high school exit exam. Now that the middle 15

17 schools see the importance of their role, all schools should come together to discuss how middle schools can contribute to enhancing student performance on the CAHSEE and helping students graduate successfully from high school. 16

18 APPENDIX A: Faculty Survey Results: High, Mar Vista High, and Middle vs. All CAPP Schools This section provides combined teacher survey responses for High, Mar Vista High, and Middle as compared to all CAPP CAHSEE sites. High teachers submitted 24 surveys, Mar Vista High submitted 9 surveys, and Mar Vista Middle submitted 10 surveys, for a total of 43 surveys. Output by High, Mar Vista High, and Mar Vista Middle vs other CAPP sites for CAPP Teacher Survey District Raw Total # % Calexico Farmersville Hoopa Jordan Lower Lake Sacramento San Lorenzo Shafter Subject Taught by Teacher: vs Other CAPP sites Other CAPP sites Mathematics English/Language Arts Both Credentialed teacher?: vs Other CAPP sites No Yes Teach ELL students?: vs Other CAPP sites No Yes

19 Teach Special Ed? vs Other CAPP sites No Yes Q1: Familiar with CAHSEE content?: vs Other CAPP sites Disagree Agree Q2: Familiar with CA State Stds: vs Other CAPP sites Disagree Agree Q3: Textbooks used are aligned to CA State Stds: vs Other CAPP sites Disagree Agree Q4: CAHSEE Reflects standards students should learn: vs Other CAPP sites Disagree Agree Q5: CAHSEE is neither too hard nor easy: vs Other CAPP sites Disagree Agree Q6: 10 th Graders had enough oppty to prep for CAHSEE: vs Other CAPP sites Disagree Agree

20 Q7: Teach stds in CAHSEE related to exam: vs Other CAPP sites Disagree Agree Q8: Used results from CAHSEE to modify teaching: vs Other CAPP sites Disagree Agree Q9: Prof Devel experiences help me prep students for CAHSEE: vs Other CAPP sites Disagree Agree Q10: Modified stud assessments based on CAHSEE: vs Other CAPP sites Disagree Agree Q11: Accom have been made for spec ed students taking CAHSEE: vs Other CAPP sites Disagree Agree Q12: Classroom practices in dept have chgd due to CAHSEE: vs Other CAPP sites Disagree Agree Q13: My students will pass CAHSEE: vs Other CAPP sites Disagree Agree

21 Q14: Only selection of CA stds are on CAHSEE: vs Other CAPP sites Disagree Agree Q15: Sch/dist monitoring of who takes exam works: vs Other CAPP sites Disagree Agree Q16: New texts acquired to align to CA stds: vs Other CAPP sites Disagree Agree Q17 With accommodations spec ed students can pass CAHSEE: vs Other CAPP sites Disagree Agree Q18 Recd prof dev on using CAHSEE to modify curric: vs Other CAPP sites Disagree Agree Q19 CAPP has prepared students for CAHSEE: vs Other CAPP sites Disagree Agree Q20 Appropriate to expect all ELL to pass to get diploma: vs Other CAPP sites Disagree Agree

22 Q21 Sch/dist information system re: stud CAHSEE results is helpful: vs Other CAPP sites Disagree Agree Q22 Our school has a clear vision for improving achievement: vs Other CAPP sites Disagree Agree Q23 Students aware of CAHSEE: vs Other CAPP sites Disagree Agree Q24 Aware of subject standards on CAHSEE: vs Other CAPP sites Disagree Agree Q25 Assess students more frequently to prep for CAHSEE: vs Other CAPP sites Disagree Agree Q26 District provided prof devel for CAHSEE: vs Other CAPP sites Disagree Agree Q27 School has assistance plan for 10 th grade students who don t pass: vs Other CAPP sites Disagree Agree

23 Q28 Standardized tests are important: vs Other CAPP sites Disagree Agree Q29 Appropriate to change instruction methods for CAHSEE: vs Other CAPP sites Disagree Agree Q 30 Our students have good chance to pass CAHSEE: vs Other CAPP sites Disagree Agree Q31 Passing CAHSEE will endure as diploma requirement: vs Other CAPP sites Disagree Agree Q 32 Our students take CAHSEE seriously: vs Other CAPP sites Disagree Agree Q33 School will change in response to CAHSEE: vs Other CAPP sites Disagree Agree Q34 Participated in CA Subject Matter Project: vs Other CAPP sites No Yes

24 Q35 Participated in state funded prof devel: vs Other CAPP sites No Yes Q36 Received prof devel to understand CAHSEE: vs Other CAPP sites No Yes Q37 School considering change in response to CAHSEE: vs Other CAPP sites No Yes

25 APPENDIX B: Faculty Survey Results: High and Mar Vista High vs. Middle This section provides combined teacher survey responses of High and Mar Vista High as compared to responses. High teachers submitted 24 surveys, Mar Vista High submitted 9 surveys, and Mar Vista Middle submitted 10 surveys, for a total of 43 surveys. Output by Middle vs High and Mar Vista High for CAPP Teacher Survey District Raw Total # % Subject Taught by Teacher: vs Mathematics English/Language Arts Both Credentialed teacher?: vs No Yes Teach ELL students?: vs No Yes

26 Teach Special Ed? vs No Yes Q1: Familiar with CAHSEE content?: vs Disagree Agree Q2: Familiar with CA State Stds: vs Disagree Agree Q3: Textbooks used are aligned to CA State Stds: vs Disagree Agree Q4: CAHSEE Reflects standards students should learn: vs Disagree Agree Q5: CAHSEE is neither too hard nor easy: vs Disagree Agree Q6: 10 th Graders had enough oppty to prep for CAHSEE: vs Disagree Agree