Hello AP/IB Boosters!
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Curriculum Night
This Tuesday, 9/16/03, is JHS’ Curriculum Night. We encourage parents to attend and learn about their children's teachers and classes.
Mill Creek Elementary
We have had many folks inquire about Mill Creek's (MC) 2003 WASL Scores. There is a very healthy competition between Mill Creek and Cedar Wood (CW). Wow! CW just blew the doors off the WASL test . . very impressive effort . . sincerely . . Great job CW!
The student populations at MC and CW are not directly comparable. So, when we see the WASL scores in the morning newspaper, we usually take the raw WASL numbers and decide if "our school" is, great, good or poor, in addition we like to award first, second and third place to local schools, based upon the raw WASL numbers. In one short and sweet phrase . . Statistically, it ain't valid folks!! . . . the comparisons are quite meaningless. Its like comparing CW or JHS to the WA State averages or Everett Public School Averages . . these comparisons are also meaningless. The phrase, apples to apples rules here. In order, to have a meaningful comparison, the student populations need to be somewhat similar . . apples to apples. CW and MC are apples and oranges. Just like Cascade High School and JHS, again apples to oranges. Just like comparing JHS to Washington State averages . . . quite meaningless. Soooo, how do we get our arms wrapped out the subject of "School Performance?" How do we know if our local school is great, good, or poor, if comparing schools WASL/ITBS numbers are invalid? Keep reading. The Gates Foundation and Washington Mutual Bank have an answer for us.
The Gates Foundation and Washington Mutual Bank funds a local nonprofit, "Just For The Kids" (JFTK), whose charge (one of many) is to make valid apples to apples school comparisons. They cover eight states. Some EPS administrators have attended their seminars on this issue . . . apples to apples comparisons. Just for the Kids | US Home The selection criteria JFTK uses to compare school populations are % Low Income, % Bilingual, % Gifted, Grade Size, % Continuously Enrolled (3 years), % Not Tested. I need to double check with JFTK, but I believe they also use % Special Ed.
JFTK calculates the "Opportunity Gap" for each grade in each core subject for both the WASL and the ITBS. The "Opportunity Gap" is how valid school to school comparisons are made. And how we can better determine if our school is great, good or poor. The "Opportunity Gap" as defined by JFTK is: The difference between the selected school's "met standard" percentage and the "met standard" average percentage of the 10 comparison schools is called the opportunity gap. Using the WASL results as an example, if the selected school reported that 70.3% of the students met the standard in reading on the WASL, while an average of 79.2% of the students in comparison schools met the standard, the opportunity gap would be fairly small - only 8.9%. If the two figures were further apart, say 30%, the opportunity gap would be much larger, indicating a greater opportunity for increasing academic achievement at the selected school.
I hope the above wets your appetite, a tad bit for valid school to school comparisons. Don't get all happy or all sad when you see "raw" WASL/ITBS scores . . quite meaningless. Quite meaningful though, is answering the question, "Did MC 4th grade Writing "Opportunity Gap" narrow between 2003 and 2002, or 2003 and 2001?
For those of you who love this kindof stuff (numbers, stats, etc.), have fun on the JFTK site. Its not this newsletters charge to anoint or chastise top/bottom schools in EPS. Buttt, sincerely, the best and I feel, the only valid way to compare schools is by using the "Opportunity Gap," as voiced by Just For The Kids.
If you were the manager in charge of Christmas Bonuses, would you use the "Opportunity Gap" has one of your key factors? Yup, you sure would.
The AP/IB Boosters used to calculate school comparisons based on our own methodology . . We have now adopted (made our lives so much easier) JFTK's numbers. Unfortunately, they currently do not compute "Opportunity Gap" for High Schools.
Sometimes, this kindof stuff, promotes very healthy discussions. As usual, we encourage our community to submit guest articles. If you have specific questions, please contact me directly . . . great stuff, but a tad bit confusing a first.
Please write to your Principals, Administrators or School Board to encourage them to report "Opportunity Gap," when they issue the annual, "Report Card on Everett Public Schools." "Opportunity Gap" is a valid indicator of school performance. Is comparing JHS to State averages meaningful and valid? Would you like to see the "Opportunity Gap" for your schools WASL scores?
PTA/PTSA Membership Drive Support
The PTA has been very supportive to our group over the years. We strongly encourage students, parents, and teachers to join their local PTA. Becoming an active PTA member is another way to help bring improvements to our schools.
AP English Literature and Composition
The following sample AP English Exam question is available at the College Boards web site: http://apcentral.collegeboard.com
Morally ambiguous characters—characters whose behavior discourages readers from identifying them as purely evil or purely good – are at the heart of many works of literature. Choose a novel or play in which a morally ambiguous character plays a pivotal role. Then write an essay in which you explain how the character can be viewed as morally ambiguous and why his or her moral ambiguity is significant to the work as a whole. Avoid mere plot summary.
Choose a work from the list below or another or play of comparable literary merit.
The Age of Innocence
Henry V
All the King’s Men
The Mayor of Casterbridge
Anna Karenina
The Merchant of Venice
The Autobiography of An Ex-Colored Man
Mrs. Warren’s Profession
The Awakening
Pere Goriot
Billy Budd
The Picture of Dorian Gray
Crime and Punishment
The Plague
Faoust
Poccho
Fences
The Scarlet Letter
The Glass Menagerie
Silas Marner
Great Expectations
Sister Carrie
The Great Gatsby
Sula
Heart of Darkness
The Turn of the Screw
Hedda Gabler
Typical American
See you at Curriculum Night!
Thank you,
Todd Aagard
Chairperson
AP/IB Boosters
Advanced Placement Opportunities for
All Students