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Annual Reports Analysis of Variance 2008
SCHOOL OBJECTIVES 1. NAG 1 Curriculum Delivery. Provide an excellent balanced curriculum in accordance with the New Zealand Curriculum Framework and the relevant curriculum statements. While seeking balance, there was a focus on Literacy and Numeracy. Literacy (writing) has been the major school-wide focus for professional development following two years of a focus on reading. The school has a clear process for identifying and assisting students at risk of educational failure. A team of teachers and teacher aides implemented this Pupil Support programme. For some students this involves withdrawal from classes for extra reading and for others it involves in-class support.
2. NAG 5 Safe Environment. Engage in creating a safe and secure environment with a student focus. The focus for this is our Student Rights and Responsibilities. Student surveys show this on-going objective was achieved in 2008. These student surveys, along with our guiding principles, are key components. Only one student was stood down in 2008 and none suspended.
3. NAG 3 Personnel. Budget for the provision of appropriate professional development. Operate a staff appraisal system to enhance teaching practices. Encouraging staff to seek new opportunities to enhance learning for students. Profession development was undertaken appropriate to the needs of staff as identified in the appraisal system. This involved many one day courses following teacher interest and identified needs. Staff members were given extra help and support as identified. In one case the appraisal wasn’t signed off because of concerns about classroom practice. The school wide professional development was in Literacy (writing). This will continue in 2009.
4. NAG 4, Sect. 1 Finance. Set operating budget for the following year in November. Regularly review expenditure for year to ensure budget is maintained. Work with Education Services to ensure appropriate documents are available for audit. Ensure funding is available to meet our other objectives. Budget operated in appropriate manner according to best practice. Funding was available to meet our objectives although money is always tight since we are a high decile school but have many students for whom English is a second language.
5. NAG 4, Sect. 2 Property. Follow and implement 10YPP. Implement procedures to ensure environmental hazards are identified and a safe environment is maintained. Operate the Programmed Maintenance scheme. All aspects of Property objectives were achieved. Our greatest challenge is the age of the buildings and the maintenance required to keep them sound.
6. Community Involvement. Communicate regularly through newsletters and other information forums. Conduct an annual Year 8 survey. Communication objective achieved with newsletters and the survey of Year 8 parents. The whole community was consulted from time to time on a wide range of issues, mainly through the newsletters. It has been decided to report more often to parents on curriculum matters and student achievement through the newsletter. This was implemented later in the year. Maori and Pacifica communities communicated with via special newsletters outlining achievement levels. Parents made increased use of email to communicate with the school. The principal was in regular contact with individual parents through home visits where clear home-school communication was required.
7. NAG 2 Self-Review. Follow the self review programme for policies, procedures, delegations and terms of reference. Create and follow an annual development plan. All self reviews completed according to the Charter schedule. This involved reviews of Administration in term one, Treaty of Waitangi and Finance in term two, Curriculum and Self Review in term four.
8. NAG 6 Administration. Comply with legislative requirements. All legislative requirement complied with.
9. International Students. All international students at our school had appropriate immigration status. Their living conditions were monitored and all other regulations were complied with. We had very low numbers of these in 2008.
DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY 1. Literacy. To develop, implement, monitor and review programmes and practices that strengthen literacy throughout the school. The school-wide professional development area in 2006, 2007 and 2008 saw strong development in Literacy (Reading) with very pleasing ‘value added’ to students learning according to achievement data. Professional development in Writing began in April 2008. Further school-wide professional development in Literacy (Writing) will continue in 2009. $12,000 was budgeted for this.
2. Mathematics. To embed and sustain the Numeracy programme throughout the school. Miss Sangster, as curriculum leader attended update courses in Numeracy and informed staff through staff meetings. Further Numeracy teaching resources were purchased during the year. New staff members are supported to be proficient in Numeracy through professional development.
3. Property. To implement a school-wide Sunsmart programme. A Sunsmart Health programme was taken throughout the school. The plan for increasing shade areas around the school remains a priority for the Board. Funds will again be applied for in 2009 to support this.
4. New Curriculum Initiative. Through EHSAS the school is undertaking an action research project examining Key Competencies, particularly Managing Self. We received $3,400 in 2008 as part of a South Wellington cluster initiative and are working to develop research projects that assesses ‘Managing Self’. This will continue until 2011.
5. Technological Development. To investigate technological developments to further enhance teaching and learning. A study of technological developments was undertaken in 2006 and it was found using interactive whiteboards in classrooms would enhance learning. In late 2006 we began the process by installing one in room 2, with a teacher skilled in using technologies. In late 2007 room 12 was also fitted with an interactive whiteboard. Three further interactive whiteboards have been fitted for the beginning of the 2009 school year. 6. Physical Environment. To further enhance the attractiveness and appeal of the school environment. In 2008 we concentrated on maintaining what we have and planning for enhancements to be implemented in 2009 with the next instalment of 10 YPP funds. We have decided on an area of Astroturf because the asphalt needs resurfacing, replacing curtains and carpets in classrooms and remodelling the foods Technology room.
GOVERNANCE STRATEGY SELF REVIEW
Triennial self review of Administration, Treaty of Waitangi, Finance, Curriculum and Self Review were completed.
SCHOOL LEARNING GOALS
Note: All students, including our students new to New Zealand, were included in these results. This would cause a natural skew downward. In spite of the multi-cultural nature of our students, our literacy and Mathematics academic goals were still achieved.
Goal 1: LITERACY. (i) By the end of 2008 over 80% of students will be reading at or above their age level. (Stanine 5 and above). (STAR test February and October). (ii) For students new to New Zealand, at least 18 months progress in reading age will be made in 2008.
Teachers began professional development in the teaching of writing this year. Support in the teaching of reading is also available to teachers from Senior management.
Students have the STAR test twice a year, in February and in November. This report compares data from the February and November tests.
The Stanine (ST) results show a comparison of reading levels against a National Reference Group. The NRG has 60% of students achieving at ST.5 or above. Our November test showed 78% of students are at ST.5 and above compared to 69% in February. Our target for the end of the year is to have 80%of students reading at ST.5 and above. At present we are 2% below our expected target.
The 31% of students who were reading below ST.5 in February, and the 22% of students reading at that level in November made little progress because
a) the test is not suitable for ESOL students who have very little English,
b) the test is not suitable for students who have delayed intellectual development.
These tests require quick reading to locate answers, many of the subtests need to be completed in 4 minutes. Slow readers cannot cope with these timeframes and will soon give up. These students only need to have Probe testing and 'running records' where they have more time to think about their answers.
Students who scored at ST. 1, 2 and 3 had extra reading with Ms Elesoni, twice or three times a week. Many of these students moved up at least one Stanine. Our target was for ESOL students to improve in their reading age by at least 18 months. We also had new students in the latter part of the year who were poor readers and thus scored low Stanines.
The overall STAR results of the November test show a very pleasing outcome. The National expected results show a typical 'bell curve'. In February, the curve peaked at ST.7, fell sharply at ST.8 and levelled off at ST.9. In November, it peaked at Stanines 6, 7 and 9. This shows excellent achievement for so many students to reach the highest Stanines.
At the lowest Stanines the results show that out of 255 students who sat the test...
* 10 students (4%) are at ST. 1. This equates with the National average.
* 8 students (3%) are at ST. 2. Like St. 1, these students are evenly divided between boys and girls and are mainly of 'other' ethnicities. This is fewer than the National average.
* 14 students (6%) are at ST. 3. These students are almost divided between boys and girls and comprise of almost half Maori students. This is also fewer than the National average.
There are slightly more boys than girls in these lower Stanines. Out of all the students in Stanines 1, 2, and 3 many (24) will go to college next year and the rest (8) will remain at SWIS for another year. These students, along with our new-comers who are slow readers will be targeted for intensive reading. Our priority next year will be to lift the reading level of all students, especially our low stanine students.
Although we did not quite reach our target of 80% of our students reading at ST. 5 and above, we still have impressive results compared to the National average. Our target for 2009 is to have 80% of students reading at ST. 5 and above. In order to do this, we will develop reading programmes to cater for the needs of all students.
Details of STAR. The STAR reading test is designed to supplement the assessments that teachers make about their students’ progress and achievement in reading. The test is designed for pupils in Years 7 & 8. It consists of six short sub-tests which measures six different reading skills. These are: word recognition, sentence comprehension, paragraph comprehension, vocabulary range, the language of advertising and reading different genre or styles of writing. The STAR test provides teachers with useful supplementary information about how well their students have mastered a range of ‘close’ reading skills. Its main aim is to identify and assist students who need extra help in reading. The raw scores are converted to stanine scores which are age related scores on a nine point scale from 9 down to 1. This indicates how well each pupil achieved on this testing relation to others of the same age in NZ schools. Stanines 4 to 6 are classified as the average band according to the STAR test documentation.
Improvement Target for 2009. Although we did not quite reach our target of 80% of our students reading at ST. 5 and above, we still have impressive results compared to the National average. Our target for 2009 is to have 80% of students reading at ST. 5 and above. In order to do this, we will develop reading programmes to cater for the needs of all students.
Mary Tristram English curriculum leader
Goal 2: MATHEMATICS. By the end of 2008, 80% of all students will have improved by at least one stanine on the PAT Maths test. This would represent a very significant improvement related to age although a repeat of the test in November cannot be nationally referenced.
As we did last year, we administered the PAT Maths test in late October. This year we have used PAT Test 4 for the Year 7s, PAT Test 5 for most of the Year 8s, and PAT Test 6A for the two highest Year 8 classes. Test 6A specifically targets Years 8, 9 and 10, and is designed as an overlap to Test 6, which is used by secondary schools. Using different level tests has made the graphing of data more difficult.
The comparison of graphs (following) showing distribution in February and November display a marked trend towards the upper levels. This is also borne out by the stanine summary, which shows fewer students achieving at stanines 1 to 4 (27% in November, compared with 41% in February) and more at stanines 7 to 9 (41% in November, compared with 23% in February). This shift definitely demonstrates that at least 80% of the students have improved by at least one stanine since the beginning of the year.
I looked at a breakdown of areas of concern according to the PAT summary sheets by identifying areas where students had achieved under half marks for that particular mathematical strand. The Year 7 students are tested on Number Knowledge, Number Strategies, Geometry and Measurement, and Statistics, and the Year 8s add Algebra to the mixture.
For 2009 I would recommend that teachers focus on teaching Number Strategies and also Geometry and Measurement, as these appear to be the weakest strands in the test for the current Year 7s. Most of those who rated as needing help in these areas are students from the lower groups, although there were some in the higher groups who showed a need in one or two areas.
With the publication of the new curriculum document, I intend looking at implications for the implementation of the new mathematics curriculum in the school within the next year. There have been some substantial changes in it, and the integration of these into the school programme will need to be carefully considered. This will impact on the programmes offered within the mathematics groups and the skills to be taught. It is an exciting and practical document, with plenty of scope for high interest units for the students.
Improvement Target for 2009. I recommend that by the end of 2009, 80% of all students will have improved by at least one stanine on the PAT Maths test. This would represent a very significant improvement related to age although a repeat of the test in November cannot be nationally referenced.
Christine Sangster Mathematics curriculum leader |
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