Tag: Benchmark

In the spring of 2016 and 2017, over 3,600 high school juniors were administered a brief survey commonly used to measure financial literacy among adults across the US. The district administered this survey because education stakeholders have become increasingly interested in—and concerned about—the financial literacy of students as a component of readiness for college, career and citizenship. Results showed that male students demonstrated greater financial literacy than female students. Also, Asian and White students exhibited rates of financial literacy roughly double those of their Black and Hispanic/Latino counterparts. When considering a number of factors together, Academically or Intellectually Gifted (AIG) status, being male, and meeting college/career readiness benchmarks in 8th grade math were the strongest predictors of financial literacy. The results suggest that WCPSS should explore interventions that can help close these gaps to ensure that all students leave high school with a solid foundation in financial literacy.

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The second year (2011-12) of the Formative Assessment with Technology Project in three WCPSS schools was studied to determine the fidelity of implementation of the formative assessment practices and the project's impact on student achievement. Classroom observations and surveys of teachers and students showed that implementation was moderate, and it varied widely across teachers. Certain targeted practices were reported or observed much more often than others. High turnover in the teachers participating in the project likely contributed to the uneven implementation. High school staff had the highest level of implementation of training concepts as well as the highest use of the electronic response tools for assessment. Full implementation and impact on state achievement test scores was expected to take two years to be evident. Since only nine teachers participated and had data for two years, impact could not be reliably assessed. This pilot training model would be too expensive to roll out district-wide in WCPSS. More cost effective models may be used to encourage appropriate use of formative assessment.

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The Relationship between Mid-Year Benchmark and End-of-Grade Assessments: 2010-11

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Student Achievement in WCPSS, 2010-2011

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Comprehensive Assessment Systems: Purposes and Implementation

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'The Wake County Public Schools' (WCPSS) Assessment Item Bank was surveyed to determine the current number of items and to help in developing future plans for the system. First, the Department of Public Instruction's (DPI) goals and objectives were compared to those listed in the WCPSS Assessment Item Bank. The number of items present in the WCPSS Assessment Item Bank was determined for each subject area, by grade and objective. The number of items in the WCPSS Assessment Item Bank was then compared to the state assessment numbers for each objective. This information was used to help determine the areas of need for future efforts to further expand the WCPSS Assessment Item Bank.

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North Carolina Virtual Public School (NCVPS) has changed since summer 2007, with more traditional courses and fewer credit-recovery courses. Total NCVPS initial enrollments of Wake County Public School System (WCPSS) students were much lower in Fall 2007 (139), Spring 2008 (198), and Summer 2008 (430) than in Summer 2007 (1,378). Students were more likely to complete courses after Summer 2007. However, students enrolled in Fall 2007 and Spring 2008 were more likely to drop courses with failure after the deadline than to do so before the cutoff date. Percentages of final enrollments with passing NCVPS course grades increased from 47% in Summer 2007 to 64%, 84%, and 70% in the fall, spring, and summer, respectively. In Summer 2008, pass rates for EOC courses were somewhat lower than for other courses, with relatively low pass rates on EOC tests.

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This report draws together various academic performance results for elementary students in WCPSS. Generally speaking, students in grades K-5 continue to do well on most literacy measures, but there has been a decline in mathematics EOG performance, largely resulting from the State Board of Education's action to create more rigorous cut scores for achievement levels. Analysis of student outcomes is provided at the grade level as well as for subgroups. This report describes demographic trends that impact our student outcomes as well as information about students retained in grade. Finally, the report provides summaries of several research and evaluation efforts related to effective practices for promoting student achievement.

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Looking across various indicators of performance, persistence, and academic rigor for WCPSS high school students, many indicators point toward the relative success of WCPSS high school students. Student achievement remains high compared to state and national results, and an increasing number of students are pursuing rigorous AP coursework in high school. In addition, the skills and abilities that WCPSS graduates obtain appear to serve them well in the UNC system, which is the most common post-high school educational destination for WCPSS graduates. However, significant challenges remain related to changing student populations and rising academic standards which are challenging the system's ability to sustain and increase academic performance for all students.

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WCPSS uses K-5 assessments in literacy and mathematics to monitor student status in their learning, to guide instruction, and to assess whether students and schools are showing typical performance for their grade level. The percentage of students showing grade-level performance is generally between 77% and 87% on the reading and mathematics assessments. Percentages tend to be somewhat lower than those seen on the EOG tests. Increases in the percentage of students reaching grade-level standards in literacy and math at K-2 could help WCPSS reach Goal 2008 at grades 3 and up. WCPSS writing portfolios show more students scoring "at grade level" at K-2 (81%) than at grade 3-5 (62%). At grade 4, 57% of WCPSS students were considered at grade level based on local writing portfolios compared to 47.7% on the state assessment. Writing still appears to be the area where the most improvement is needed to reach state and local standards.

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Project Achieve, a local instructional initiative, was adapted from a Brazosport, Texas model. The program grew from eight to 16 schools in three years, and all 16 schools had a higher percentage of students at grade level in spring 2004 than prior to the program. Third-year results were relatively positive but not as consistently so as in the two earlier years. Nine of 13 (69%) participating elementary schools met the state ABCs High Growth standard (including the new schools), compared to 51% of Wake County Public Schools (WCPSS) elementary schools overall. Thirteen of 16 schools (81%)--compared to 69% of all WCPSS elementary and middle schools--increased the percentage of students at/above grade level in spring 2004. Controlling for student background variables, scale score gains for students in Project Achieve were similar to those of comparable WCPSS students across three years.

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The percentage of WCPSS schools meeting either high growth or expected growth standards reached a new high of 97% in 2002-03. Elementary schools performed the best, with 89% achieving high growth. No elementary or high school failed to meet expected growth standards.

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This report summarizes information provided by the University of North Carolina (UNC) on the WCPSS graduates enrolled in UNC institutions between 1990 and 2001. Statistics from the UNC Office of General Administration show that during that period, a higher percentage of WCPSS graduates applied to and enrolled in UNC institutions, compared to NC graduates overall. Between 1991 and 2002, WCPSS graduates were also more successful in their first year of college, earning higher average GPAs than other UNC freshmen. Further, a higher percentage of WCPSS graduates took advanced courses, and a lower percentage required remedial courses. These data suggest that WCPSS graduates receive a strong preparation for college work, perhaps stronger than their counterparts from other districts, and that this preparation has improved over the past decade.

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For all WCPSS schools: 55% achieved high growth; 33% achieved expected growth but did not reach high growth; 12% did not meet expected growth but showed adequate performance

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Innovations begun in Year 1 were strengthened and expanded in Year 2 and fully developed by Year 3. Project activities have enhanced the magnet schools in ways that will attract and benefit students in the coming years. The CBALC's accelerated learning program has provided students with tools to support academic success in the future. The project focuses on four major purposes and has objectives related to each. Annual benchmarks have been established to measure success in achieving each objective. Each MSAP purpose is listed below, followed by a summary of accomplishments in meeting the Year 3 benchmarks for that purpose.

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Evidence exists of positive progress toward meeting interim benchmarks as the project works toward achieving its major goals. In almost all instances where concerns were noted, appropriate corrective actions are in place or in process. SS/HS staff, partners and contacts meet regularly as appropriate to review progress and receive project updates.

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More kindergarten students in 2000 (37%) than in 1999 (29%) were beyond the early emergent/emergent reading stage by the end of the year. Nonetheless, almost one-fourth of both kindergarten and first-grade students, and one-third of second-grade students, were identified as needing extra reading support at the next grade level because they were behind the majority of students in the acquisition of reading skills. In contrast, fewer grade 2 students (18%) and grade 3 students (9%) were identified as needing extra support in writing. As for mathematics performance, slightly fewer kindergarten students in 2000 (11%) than in 1999 (12%) remained at the pre-emergent stage of mathematics development and were identified as needing extra support in the next school year. However, the percent of grades 1-5 students demonstrating proficiency in none of the mathematics strands or in only one of the four strands ranged from 13% at first grade to 22% at grades 3-5.

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The purpose of this report is to summarize some major trends in WCPSS and provide a set of benchmarks against which progress in the system can be measured in future years.

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