A Year in the Life of an Elementary School: One School's Experiences in Meeting New Mathematics Standards
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A Year in the Life of an Elementary School: One School's Experiences in Meeting New Mathematics Standards by Karen Dorgan — 2004 This qualitative research project studied the efforts of a small public elementary school over the course of 1 academic year to meet higher standards imposed by the state. The state's department of education defined school success in terms of the percentage of students passing a set of multiple-choice, standardized tests in four core areas of the curriculum. The study looked particularly at strategies the school applied in an attempt to raise students' mathematics test scores. Interviews, classroom observations, and document analysis were used to analyze the effects of new standards and the accompanying testing program on teachers. The project showed the effects of the state testing program on classroom practices, both positive and negative, and it raised questions for further study. In our state, it is difficult to discuss education these days without reference to the SOLs. Educators, parents, students, legislators, and citizens have all become aware of the state’s Standards of Learning, adopted in 1995 (Board of Education, Commonwealth of Virginia, 1995). This state curriculum framework, coupled with a rigorous plan for assessing student progress, is frequently the subject of newspaper articles, PTA panels, and conversation in supermarket aisles. While the state has long provided a list of grade-by-grade goals by which school divisions are to develop their local curricula, the addition of standardized testing to the mix has raised the level of concern and seriousness about this latest reform movement. The linking of these test results to graduation requirements and state accreditation, placing the state testing program in the category referred to as high stakes (American Educational Research Association, 2001), has increased pressure on students to perform and on teachers to align their instruction with
Page 1 of 14
A Year in the Life of an Elementary School: One School's Experiences in Meeting New Mathematics Standards by Karen Dorgan — 2004 This qualitative research project studied the efforts of a small public elementary school over the course of 1 academic year to meet higher standards imposed by the state. The state's department of education defined school success in terms of the percentage of students passing a set of multiple-choice, standardized tests in four core areas of the curriculum. The study looked particularly at strategies the school applied in an attempt to raise students' mathematics test scores. Interviews, classroom observations, and document analysis were used to analyze the effects of new standards and the accompanying testing program on teachers. The project showed the effects of the state testing program on classroom practices, both positive and negative, and it raised questions for further study. In our state, it is difficult to discuss education these days without reference to the SOLs. Educators, parents, students, legislators, and citizens have all become aware of the state’s Standards of Learning, adopted in 1995 (Board of Education, Commonwealth of Virginia, 1995). This state curriculum framework, coupled with a rigorous plan for assessing student progress, is frequently the subject of newspaper articles, PTA panels, and conversation in supermarket aisles. While the state has long provided a list of grade-by-grade goals by which school divisions are to develop their local curricula, the addition of standardized testing to the mix has raised the level of concern and seriousness about this latest reform movement. The linking of these test results to graduation requirements and state accreditation, placing the state testing program in the category referred to as high stakes (American Educational Research Association, 2001), has increased pressure on students to perform and on teachers to align their instruction with