School District of South Orange and Maplewood

Language Arts Literacy Program         Assessment

2003 - 2004

Language Arts Literacy Program Assessment Committee

June 21, 2004

COMMITTEE MEMBERS

Patricia Barker - Director of Planning and Assessment

 Pieta Belizia - Language Arts Teacher,

Maplewood Middle School

Rowland Bennett - Parent, Community Member

 Shira Birnbaum - Parent, Community Member

 Tracy Carroll - Parent, Community Member

 Robert Cohen - Language Arts Teacher,

                 Maplewood Middle School

Katie Costello - Kindergarten Teacher, South Mountain Annex

Marilyn Davenport - Assistant Superintendent for                                                                                                             Elementary and Secondary Education

 Cathrine Evans - Parent, Community Member

Nancy Gagnier - Board of Education Liaison

 Kristopher Harrison - Principal, Maplewood Middle School

Michelle Harth - Grade 1 Teacher, Clinton School

Beth Johnson - English Teacher, Columbia High School 

Eve Kingsbury - Language Arts Teacher,

Maplewood Middle School

Marci Koltenuk - Grade 5 Teacher, Seth Boyden School

Tina Lehn - Multiage Teacher, Seth Boyden School

Line Marshall - English Teacher, Columbia High School

Christy Lisiura - Grade 3 Teacher, Tuscan School

Jim Memoli - Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction

 Jane Rauen - Library Media Specialist, South Orange Middle School

Bill Rhinehart - Principal, Clinton School

Suzanne Ryan - Grade 3 Teacher, Jefferson School

Shelley Slafkes - Board of Education Liaison

Alice Solomon - Special Education Teacher, Tuscan School

Anna Mae Stefanelli - Project Ahead Teacher/Assistant to the Principal,

Seth Boyden School

Rhonda Pope Stephens - Parent, Community Member

Kerry Tilden - Parent, Community Member

Connie Trautman - HSPA Prep Teacher, Columbia High School

Sharon Williams - Parent, Community Member

Susan Wilson - Supervisor Language Arts K-8

Lisa Winkler - Language Arts Teacher, South Orange Middle School

 Robert Young - English Subject Chair 9-12, Columbia High School

 The committee met on October 17, 2003, December 10, 2003, February

 5, 2004, March 25, 2004, May 18, 2004, and June 2, 2004

TABLE OF CONTENTS

                                                                 Page

List of Tables

Appendices

 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The 32 member Language Arts Literacy Program Assessment Committee, consisting of Board Members, district administrators, teachers, parents, and community representatives, met six times over the course of the 2003-2004 school year.  The committee defined the Language Arts Literacy Program mission, goals, structure, and current assessment tools used in the district.  Through review of existing quantitative data and recently solicited qualitative data, and in accordance with the Language Arts Literacy Program mission, the committee developed recommendations to address current program weaknesses and bolster program strengths.

General Information

¨      The primary purpose of the Language Arts Literacy Program is to enable all students to become effective learners and communicators by equipping them with the communication skills, strategies, habits, and attitudes needed to be successful in their careers and daily lives.

¨      The Language Arts Literacy Program serves students in grades K-12.

¨      All high school students must complete four years of language arts to meet State and District graduation requirements.

Assessment Observations

These observations resulted from review and analysis of various quantitative and qualitative data sources.  Detailed data is provided in the Results section and the Appendices of the report.

¨      At the K-2 level, multiple measures of assessment are used to indicate student progress and student needs.

¨      Based on the grades 3-5 Progress Report indicators, students are demonstrating progress in mastering the learning objectives of the language arts curriculum.

¨      Seventy-seven percent of students in Project Ahead Language Arts in grades 1-7 exit Project Ahead after two years of service with the largest number (54%) exiting after one year of service.

¨      The percentage of students scoring at the proficient level or higher on the grade 4 Elementary School Proficiency Assessment (ESPA), and the Grade Eight Proficient Assessment (GEPA), has been stable over the last three years. 

¨      In spite of the increased difficulty of the new High School Proficiency Assessment (HSPA) administered for the past two years in grade 11, 87% of our students continue to pass this assessment after the first administration in the spring of their junior year.

¨      While generally our students are doing well on all of the State tests in language arts, specific subgroups score significantly lower (Special Education, Economically Disadvantaged, Black).

¨      While there is an achievement gap in language arts, each of the subgroups in our district do as well as or better than like districts in Essex County.

¨      Survey data show that a majority of parents are satisfied with the District Language Arts Program, with teachers at the 3-5 and 6-8 grade level clusters expressing the greatest dissatisfaction.

Recommendations

Committee members established the following recommendations addressing specific areas of need identified in the assessment (the recommendations are in no priority order):

¨      Review and revise, where appropriate, the following components of the Language Arts Program:

ü      The K-12 curriculum content for structure and consistency;

ü      The grades 3-8 curriculum guides to improve their organization and make them more user friendly;

ü      The process for monitoring the implementation of the curriculum district wide;

ü      The grades 3-8 writing component and its implementation;

ü      The availability and quantity of a wide range of student materials grades

     K-12; 

ü      The implementation of the grades 6-8 Middle School Style Sheet and the grades 9-12 CHS Style Manual;

ü      The grades 3-5 handwriting component and its implementation; and

ü      The word study program regarding its effectiveness in assisting students in grades K-5 with decoding, in grades K-2 with spelling, and in providing enrichment spelling activities for all students, especially those in grade 3.

¨      Identify additional effective approaches/strategies/materials to address the needs of struggling and highly able readers and writers in order to improve their performance. 

¨      Investigate assessment tools to provide teachers with a more comprehensive means to identify student needs and differentiate instruction, especially at grades K-8.

¨      Better align the grades 3-5 language arts progress report with the language arts curriculum objectives.

¨      Investigate ways to make communication between teachers and parents more effective, especially regarding the grades K-2 component of the language arts program and the grades 3-8 writing component.

¨      Provide professional development for all teachers so that they can more readily use the curriculum in their daily planning and implement it effectively (e.g. reading strategies to deal with special education and ESL students; differentiated instruction; word study; 6+1 Traits; literature circles).

¨      Examine the language arts component of Project Ahead to determine if more time is needed for the delivery of these services, and if the use of different approaches and materials may better meet student needs.  Strategies to better coordinate instruction for Project Ahead students between classroom teachers and Project Ahead teachers must also be addressed.

¨      Improve articulation among grade level clusters, (K-2, 3-5, 6-8, and 9-12) to smooth the transition students make between kindergarten and grade 1, grade 2 and grade 3, grade 5 and grade 6, and grade 8 and grade 9.

¨      Coordinate and integrate the special education and language arts programs (e.g. professional development, materials, curriculum).

¨      Work with administrators at the elementary level (grades 1-5) to provide 120 minutes daily of uninterrupted language arts instruction, and work with administrators at the middle school level (grades 6-8) to increase daily language arts instruction from 60 minutes to 90 minutes.