Dramatic Academic Growth
Academic gains are the ultimate door opener – they are the foundation of a truly transformational teacher. Students make dramatic levels of academic growth (that is measurable and rigorous). Families know the level of rigor necessary for college and career readiness in the 21st century.
Teachers are the most influential school-based factor on student achievement. Academic growth is essential of a successful classroom. Overall, my students have grown in a variety of ways, both quantitative and qualitative. The progress that my students have made in these snapshots and samples is just one window into the dramatic academic growth they have made in my classroom. The symbol of an effective teacher is the ability to motivate and lead students to achieve high standards. By using the cycle of assessment, I gauge where students are at the beginning of the year in relation to classroom goals for where they need to by by the end of the year. My classroom goals are structured around Common Core State Standards for reading and writing. I use the date I collect from the assessments to strengthen my teaching practice and push my students towards mastery of the standards. My students' dramatic academic gains will build a strong foundation for a transformational learning experience that will last long after they leave kindergarten. My students show growth in measurable data that is quantitative and qualitative. In this section of the students' growth portfolio, I demonstrate dramatic academic growth through an analysis of writing samples and Amplify assessment data.
Quantitative
I use Amplify, an online diagnostic assessment, as the primary source of data to track the dramatic academic growth of my students. Amplify is an adaptive diagnostic test in early literacy skills and reading for grades K-3 that scales scores and determines a grade level equivalent for each student. In this section of the students' growth portfolio, I demonstrate the dramatic academic growth through Amplify's Text Reading and Comprehension (TRC) and Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS). These two assessments measure phonemic awareness, reading fluency, reading level, and reading comprehension. I will demonstrate quantitative growth in student scores from the beginning of the year (BOY) to the Middle of the Year (MOY) and gains made by the End of the Year (EOY).
Qualitative
Writing is an essential tool for understanding and intellect in all subjects, putting students on the path of being college and career ready. Since Common Core State Standards have been introduced there has been a notable increase in expectations for writing skills of students, beginning in kindergarten. Among the most recent writing standards for kindergarten are expectations for students to write about experiences, stories, people, and events by composing informational and explanatory texts with a topic and relevant facts. Growth in writing has implications far beyond the classroom, and it is a priority for me to teach the skills and appreciation for writing. In this evidence, you will see three students’ growth over time using writing samples from a journal entries made in three different quarter of the school year. Each student has a section on the Qualitative page which explains how their writing has improved, referencing rubrics.
Conclusion
My students have come a long way from where they were. At the start of the year, they were entering the emerging stage of writing where they strung letters together to create words. By the end of the year, students have moved into the transitional phase where their writing is readable and approaches conventional spelling. The process of writing flows gradually in my classroom, as students have time to explore and experiment with it. This is similar to the stages of reading and the growth they have made moving from aspiring readers who were beginning to grasp the basic concepts of books and print to emergent readers who have developed an understanding of alphabet, phonological awareness, and command of high-frequency words. Literacy is the most critical foundation for success in school and life and my students are on the right path to be college and career ready as they enter their next stage in education. The growth that my students have shown in this year alone inspires me for their future and the potential they have, and for their ability to continue to progress in reading and writing.