CMS Superintendent , Dr . Clayton Wilcox
CMS Superintendent , Dr . Clayton Wilcox
When grades don ’ t tell the real story
The state of North Carolina has released the annual letter grades given to each school . They ’ re based on performance on state tests ( End-of-Course and End-of-Grade ) and they ’ re are easy to understand : A , B , C , D , F . But I have been wondering if they really show the real progress in our schools ? I don ’ t think they do .
It ’ s a little like the old Paul Harvey radio show about the news behind the news . A single letter grade does not reflect the focus and determination of Meredith Benthall ’ s room full of kindergartners at Winterfield Elementary on a December day . Students were learning phonics by matching small pictures of everyday items to the sounds in the names . A boot and a bed go under the Bb column in the workbook in front of each student . A goose goes under the Gg column . The students lift their heads from the workbooks only when they don ’ t recognize the picture . “ Ms . Benthall , what is this ?”
As the room filled with the rustle of paper pictures sliding into exercise books , Benthall surveyed the room with pride . “ It ’ s December . When they started here , they didn ’ t speak English . Now they ’ re reading words and matching them to sounds ,” she said . “ The amount of progress they make is amazing .” She turned to a student matching pictures and said , “ You speak English and …?” The answer came back with a smile . “ Swahili .” The students hail from Arab countries , Spanish-speaking countries , Nepal , Korea – in all , Winterfield ’ s 624 students come from 33 countries and speak 27 languages .
The school ’ s letter grade also doesn ’ t reflect that Winterfield also recorded the fourth-highest reading growth in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools last year – growth that is almost tangible in the classroom of Juliana Fucci , who teaches fourth-grade literacy . Students are draped on couches , shelves and chairs , heads bent over books . Quiet music overlays the sounds of pages turning as they read . Fucci sits at a curved table with five students who are discussing a book called “ Clementine ” by Sara Pennypacker . The focus is intense . They ’ re reading , thinking and evaluating what they ’ ve read . It ’ s hard to believe that four years ago , they were the kindergartners in Benthall ’ s classroom down the hall , learning English and literacy at the same time .
One letter grade doesn ’ t reflect the dynamic and rigorous learning at Whitewater Middle , which uses a novel-based curriculum to build literacy skills . Four to five novels are part of the curriculum in each of the school ’ s three grades . Classics such as “ Of Mice and Men ” and “ To Kill a Mockingbird ” are paired with contemporary works such as “ Before We Were Free ” and “ The Laramie Project .”
Teachers said the progress was evident after a month of school . “ The first day , nobody likes reading ,” said Alicia Neely , a seventh-grade teacher at Whitewater Middle . “ Four weeks later , they ’ re interested in it … they want more time to read .”
What Neely and her colleagues are doing is hard work . Whitewater is a Title I school , with 85 percent of its 770 students qualifying for federal assistance . Students have a wide range of ability when they get to Whitewater . Some are reading on a kindergarten level ; others on a second- or third-grade level and some above their grade levels . Much of the instruction is re-teaching so that students can fill in the gaps and move up to an appropriate grade level . It ’ s paying off : Whitewater Middle was one of the top two Title I schools in CMS exceeding expected growth .
At Winterfield and Whitewater Middle , the needle is moving . The progress is tangible every day . Kindergartners master phonics . Fourth-graders increase their reading comprehension . Seventh- and eighth-graders master the complex texts of John Steinbeck and Harper Lee . Student progress is also measured in a strategic and intentional series of short , daily assessments that allow teachers to identify learning gaps and address them quickly .
Under the state ’ s grading system , Winterfield and Whitewater Middle both have a grade of D this year . The amazing progress taking place at both schools isn ’ t reflected in the schools ’ grades . Neither is the heroic work and fierce commitment at both schools to moving every student forward .
That commitment to the work doesn ’ t waver . Whitewater Middle came very close to making a C this year . Sixth-grade reading teacher Makenna Waddell says the near-miss was a disappointment but not a deterrent . “ We ’ re going to look at why that didn ’ t happen ,” she says . “ We ’ re really focusing on aggressive monitoring and that ’ s what ’ s going to make a difference .”
Benthall , Fucci , Neely , Waddell and the other teachers at all of our CMS schools aren ’ t giving up , no matter what grade their schools get . That ’ s the right attitude – the one that is going to strengthen our schools . I urge the community and our parents to recognize real progress , not to focus on a single letter grade assigned by someone in Raleigh . Let ’ s honor the progress being made at CMS schools because it ’ s real and it ’ s changing our students ’ lives for the better – and that ’ s what matters most . And then let ’ s work together to make that kind of progress at every one of our schools !
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2 • January / February 2018 • Parent Teacher Magazine