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Scores too good! Chicago Board of Education demands audit of inner-city school

At Paul Revere Elementary School, a pre-K-8 school on Chicago’s southeast side, the spring 2002 Iowa Test of Basic Skills (ITBS) in eighth-grade reading and math showed such dramatic increases over the previous year that the Chicago Board of Education requested an audit.

The audit, which required a one-hour retest of the eighth-graders in reading and math, confirmed that the original test scores were accurate. In Cynthia Pates’ eighth-grade class, students scoring at or above national norms increased by 47.1 percentage points in reading and 76.7 percentage points in math. "This is the first year in my five years at Paul Revere that students actually asked for more work," says Pates.

"Reading and Math Renaissance clearly made an impact on our test scores and our entire school culture," says Principal Shelby Taylor. "The targeted instruction plus time on appropriate practice was key."

Paul Revere Elementary implemented Reading Renaissance fully and piloted Math Renaissance during the 2001–2002 academic year, thanks to funding from the Comer Foundation.

The Renaissance programs helped create a culture of success at Paul Revere. "We really began to focus on academics," says Taylor. The school’s Reading Renaissance program became a community effort, he adds. Parents were trained as reading tutors, using the Duolog Reading method to tutor children both in school and at home. Regular Family Reading Nights featured Celebrity Readers—among them, Illinois Congressman Bobbie Rush.

The entire community celebrated the school’s success in late June, with a party attended by almost 2,000. Adds Taylor, "This is just the beginning—our kids have the spirit, and with Renaissance, we have everything in place to see our scores continue to soar."

Fifth-grade Terra Nova reading and language scores climb at Mississippi school

When principal Roger D. Hill went out of his way and fought to bring Accelerated Reader into classrooms at Caledonia Elementary School back in 1997, he was fairly confident that the program would help students at the Title I school further develop their reading skills. Now, five years later, he’s not just confident; he’s 100 percent sure about the effectiveness of Reading Renaissance.

“I’ve seen reading and language skills go up significantly with Reading Renaissance,” says Hill. “Once you get the students reading on the right level, they just take off. The ability to personalized instruction is absolutely critical when it comes to teaching, and it’s easy to do that with Reading Renaissance.”

Caledonia Elementary School, a K–5 school, was the first Renaissance Model School in the state of Mississippi, and now schools throughout the Lowndes School District are using Reading Renaissance techniques.

Since students at Caledonia Elementary started using AR, fifth-grade reading and language scores on the Mississippi-mandated Terra Nova test have increased significantly. Since AR was put into place, fifth-graders scoring proficient on the reading portion of the Terra Nova test have gone from 47 percent to 62 percent, and language scores have gone from 54 percent to 65 percent.

Students at Caledonia Elementary also use Accelerated Math, STAR Early Literacy and Accelerated Vocabulary. AR is used with all grades; STAR Early Literacy is used for kindergarten and first graders; Accelerated Vocabulary is used in fourth and fifth grades; and Accelerated Math is used in grades three through five.

“Our entire curriculum is focused on Reading Renaissance and Accelerated Math,” says Hill. “Reading Renaissance and Accelerated Math are tremendous tools for our teachers as far as holding our students accountable. Being goal-oriented programs, they challenge the students and teach them how to set and meet objectives, which is incredibly important.”

Aligning instruction with state standards now easier at Texas school

Joe Miniscalco, principal at Arthur H. McNeil Elementary School in McKinney, Texas, is concerned with—as are many principals throughout the United States—helping students meet state standards, which is why instructors at McNeil Elementary School use StandardsMaster (Renaissance Learning’s new assessment software) to help students prepare for state-mandated tests.

All teachers (all subjects) in grades three through five have been using StandardsMaster extensively over the past year at McNeil Elementary School. Students at McNeil use StandardsMaster to prepare for the Texas Essential Knowledge Skills (TEKS) test. According to Miniscalco, it is also used for development of flexible groups in class, development of mini-lessons, skill practice, and other in-class instruction.

StandardsMaster assessments, which can be aligned with standards in all states, are focused on performance objective levels in reading, math, and language arts for grades three through ten. A single class, a school, or an entire district can be assessed all at the same time with StandardsMaster, and the instructor has complete control over the report content.

StandardsMaster utilizes web technology to instantly gather scores, record and organize data, and generate reports for all users. StandardsMaster’s assessment data, says Miniscalco, helps instructors identify potential areas of concern, and allows them to quickly shift resources and instruction if need be.

“Having immediate feedback is key to making good instructional decisions,” says Miniscalco. “That immediate opportunity for intervention helps all of our teachers and administrators, and it makes us a more powerful organization.”

The StandardsMaster program analyzes data at every level, including district, campus, grade, teacher, class, student, and assessment items. In addition, data derived from StandardsMaster can be organized using various student characteristics such as minority status, Title I, free and reduced lunch, and others.

“Every day that goes by that we don’t make an instructional decision based on student performance and results is a day lost,” says Miniscalco. “StandardsMaster assures us that we’re making decisions based on solid, complete and accurate data.”

Math, reading increases are “red hot” at North Pole school

There were a number of reasons why North Pole Elementary School principal David Pfrimmer implemented Reading and Math Renaissance in 1998. Pfrimmer, who has served as principal at North Pole Elementary School for eight years, and his staff were looking to not only get the students to read more and to track reading, but also to increased reading independence and solidify its math curriculum.

“The Renaissance program has done everything we’ve wanted it to do and more,” says Pfrimmer. “We now have one of the best programs in the district and state.”

Located in North Pole, Alaska, 491 students are enrolled at North Pole Elementary School in pre-kindergarten through fifth grade. The school uses Accelerated Reader, Accelerated Math, STAR Early Literacy and STAR Math.

The school’s plan for student improvement with the Renaissance programs has been very successful, says Pfrimmer, as is evident on third-grade state benchmark scores in reading, writing and math.

Ninety-seven percent of third-graders were proficient or advanced in seven of eight reading categories on the 2002 Alaska state benchmark examination, while over 90 percent of third-grade students were proficient or advanced in six of seven math categories. Overall, the percentage of proficient and advanced students in reading jumped 8.7 percent on the 2002 test; the number proficient and advanced in writing went up 17.6 percent; and in math proficient and advanced students rose 9.8 percent.

Title I students jump 25 percent in reading, 17 percent in math on Georgia competency test

At Anne Street Elementary, located in Griffin, Ga., the percent of fourth-grade students meeting or exceeding standards on the criterion-referenced competency test (CRCT) has jumped 25 percent in reading and 17 percent in math over the past two years.

“Our fourth-grade test scores have increased yearly, and we attribute the gains to Reading and Math Renaissance,” says Anne Street Elementary Principal Judy Atwater. “With Renaissance, the teachers are using solid data to drive the instruction, and our students are focused on goal setting. Because the Renaissance programs are designed to meet the needs of students on all levels, our students are meeting goals, and that’s had a real positive impact on morale.”

Anne Street Elementary School is a Title I school with 94 percent of its students receiving free or reduced lunch.

According to Atwater, a 32-year teaching veteran, not only are test scores going up at Anne Street Elementary, but at schools throughout the district. Overall, fourth-grade reading achievement levels in the Griffin-Spalding County school system have increased by 20 percent over the past three years, with 80 percent of Griffin-Spalding fourth-graders meeting or exceeding state standards on the reading portion of the CRCT during the 2001–2002 school year.

On the math portion of the CRCT, 65 percent of Griffin-Spalding fourth-graders met or exceeded state standards, and overall math achievement has improved 14 percent in the school system over the past three years.

“The principles and practices of Renaissance are definitely impacting student achievement here at Anne Street Elementary, and throughout the school system, which is evident if you look at our increasing test scores,” says Atwater.

Biloxi third-graders boost math proficiency by 30 percent in one year

Using Accelerated Math, four math teachers at Beauvoir Elementary School in Biloxi, Miss., have teamed up to help third-grade students reach high math marks on the Mississippi Curriculum Test  (MCT).

“Accelerated Math has helped the students score well on the MCT by providing good practice at an individual level,” says math teacher Lisa Suarez. “It not only helped the students who were below grade level, but it also accelerated advanced students even further.”

During the 2000–2001 school year, Suarez joined forces with fellow math teachers Sandra Higgins, Melanie Nelson and Becky Pettigrew to implement Accelerated Math, and positive results soon followed. During the 2000–2001 school year, 44.1 percent of the third-grade students scored in the “advanced proficiency” range, but that number skyrocketed by 30 percent to 70.1 percent just one year later.

“Students have become more skilled in applying the knowledge they gain in class lessons due to the practice they receive with Accelerated Math,” says Pettigrew. “I have several students who didn’t seem excited about math before Accelerated Math, but are now highly motivated.”

One of the best aspects of Accelerated Math, according to Higgins, is that the program helps teachers pinpoint problem areas quickly, thus assuring that class time isn’t wasted.

“Accelerated Math frees up the teacher, allowing them more time to actually teach,” says Higgins. “The student’s work is automatically graded, and the teacher can see both strengths and weaknesses with the immediate feedback from the reports.”

The ability to personalize instruction, says Nelson, is key when dealing with various

curriculum and standards, such as those set by the recently enacted No Child Left Behind Act.

“I believe Accelerated Math helps to set goals that students can accomplish,” says Nelson. “This program is definitely a growth and self-confidence builder.”

School increases 17.1 percentage points in math, 22.8 in reading

As reports by independent researchers demonstrate, Renaissance programs help close the gap between high-achieving and low-achieving students. In North Godwin Elementary School in Wyoming, Mich., for example, students have made steady improvement in reading and math since the school began implementing Renaissance in 1997. 

North Godwin serves 400 students in grades K–6. Almost 68 percent of the students qualify for free or reduced lunch.

Tom Livezy, District Instructional Technology Specialist, Godwin Heights Public Schools, conducted research on the School Renaissance schoolwide improvement process from 1997–2002.

As a classroom teacher, Livezy coordinated the Renaissance program and certified twice as a Master Educator in Reading and once as a Model Educator in Math.

In 2001, North Godwin Elementary certified as a Reading Master School, the highest level of certification available. The following year, seven classrooms achieved Math Model certification. North Godwin also uses Perfect Copy writing skill development and management software and STAR Early Literacy.

A data-driven school, North Godwin uses Renaissance software to personalize every student’s learning. Teachers use the daily feedback furnished by the software to instruct and intervene when necessary.  According to Livezy, North Godwin parents appreciate the detailed information the TOPS Reports provide.

“The TOPS Reports we share at parent-teacher conferences explain why a student did not meet a goal, or exactly when in the quarter a student stopped exerting effort in math class,” says Livezy. “Renaissance software provides task-level information that parents can understand.”

Consistent with Reading Renaissance recommendations, students at North Godwin receive 60 minutes of guided reading instruction daily. They also practice math for 30 minutes daily.

North Godwin Elementary staff use the timely information provided by Renaissance software to improve the instruction each student receives. Their success is demonstrated in the significant increases made yearly on Michigan Educational Assessment Program (MEAP) scores.

Fourth-grade MEAP scores illustrate North Godwin’s upward trend in achievement. In reading, the percentage of fourth-grade students who have scored ‘satisfactorily’ on the MEAP has risen 22.8 points since the first year of Reading Renaissance implementation. In math, North Godwin tenth-grade students have demonstrated a 17.1 increase after only two years of Math Renaissance.

In addition, reports from STAR Early Literacy clearly demonstrate to North Godwin staff that K–2 students are successfully learning phonics, phonemic awareness, comprehension, vocabulary, and the general readiness skills as recommended by the reading first initiative.

Taking the time, guesswork out of meeting state standards

The teaching staff at Twin Oaks Elementary in Rocklin, Calif., was so impressed with the results of their use of both Reading and Math Renaissance that Principal Dixie Richard was eager to pilot StandardsMaster in 2001–2002.

StandardsMaster, Renaissance Learning’s new software program, allows educators to assess a single class, a school, or an entire district―all at the same time. The program, which is aligned with California state standards, can be used by educators to help students prepare for high-stakes tests and to meet state standards.

“StandardsMaster gives teachers the opportunity for an immediate assessment of how well they’re teaching the state standards that our students are required to meet,” says Richard. “Every teacher knows exactly which students need help and where.”

Richard says the program saves a tremendous amount of time and adds a large measure of accuracy. “In the past, we would create our own assessments to determine if our students were meeting the standards,” explains Richard. “It was incredibly time consuming and we never knew for sure if we hit all the standards.” StandardsMaster quickly became popular with her teaching staff, Richard reports. After a short training session, teachers could use the program almost immediately.

“With StandardsMaster, teachers have the instant gratification of knowing they’re teaching effectively,” she concludes.

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