RUMFORD – SAD 43 administrators outlined some tentative plans at Monday’s directors’ meeting to address a state report showing Mountain Valley High School juniors haven’t been working up to state standards in reading for the past three years.
The determination was made from the Maine Educational Assessment tests administered in March.
Curriculum Coordinator Gloria Jenkins said the state requires 50 percent of 11th-graders to meet or exceed standards in reading, and as a group they did. One subgroup, unnamed, did not, she said.
“That’s a part of No Child Left Behind that I like,” said Superintendent Jim Hodgkin of the inclusion of all subgroups in a class assessment.
In the short-term, high school Principal Matthew Gilbert said several teacher workshop days will be devoted to improving instruction, beginning with a three-district workshop on Friday focused on differentiated learning, which is the belief that not all people learn in the same way or with the same methods. The instructional staffs from SADs 21 and 44 will take part in the day with SAD 43 teachers and educational technicians.
He also cautioned the district to not eliminate all the good that has been done.
“We’re talking about a subgroup so I don’t want to throw out everything we’ve done,” said Gilbert.
In the longer term, he said he is seeking grant money that could fund a staff member to offer a Jobs for Maine Graduates program. Part of the national Jobs for America’s Graduates program, the program has enjoyed considerable success in other districts, he said. One of its primary goals is to prevent dropouts by raising student aspirations.
Along the same idea, district administrators are also looking at a federally funded Gear-Up Program (Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs) that also aims to raise student aspirations.
Also being considered is beginning a Title I program at the high school to help improve reading.
Jenkins said this year’s juniors, statewide, will take college Scholastic Aptitude Tests instead of Maine Educational Assessment tests to determine whether they are meeting state standards.
She’s said she believes switching tests could be a big mistake.
“I’m not sure how they are aligned with the Maine Learning Results,” she said. “We’ve never required all kids to take the college boards before.”
Students must be prepared for the SATs, she said, and 95 percent of students must take the test. Also, such testing is offered on a Saturday.
Board member Mike Papsadora asked whether its was fair to use the SATs rather than the MEAs because not all students are preparing for college.
Jenkins said the state would have to take that into account.
Gilbert suggested that some students may take the SATs more seriously than the MEAs.
“There is a lot of MEA apathy,” he said. “Now, an average of 60 kids, or half a class, take the SATs.”
MVHS is slated to be an SAT testing site. All students who take it will not be required to pay a fee, as they are now.
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