The School Administrator

January 2007 Number 1, Vol. 64Measuring Academic GrowthAssessing individual learning and what affects learning

Features

Growth Measures for Systemic Change
by Allan Olson
Through periodic learning assessments, educators can quickly size up how much their students have grown from quarter to quarter or from year to year, allowing decisions about which instructional programs are most effective and how to reallocate resources to areas of need.
Similar Reading: Growth Data: Answerability for Continuous Improvement and Taking a Measure of the Measure
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Separating Growth From Value Added
by Raymond Yeagley
Two academic growth models offer different tools for different purposes – one measuring individual learning and the other measuring what affects student learning.
Similar Reading: Implementing a Growth Model in a School System
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Sound Assessment Through Proper Policy
by Stephen J. Chappuis
Aligning a school board policy manual with the faculty handbook would be an excellent application of systems thinking in support of school district mission and goals.
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Survey Says: Data To Guide Policy Decisions
by Edgar H. Thompson, George H. Stainback and James G. Stovall
Superintendents and school boards should get the most accurate information they can when making policy decisions -- and that means data, not anecdotes and impressions.
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Profile

Early Hours and Contagious Optimism by Paul Riede

When Nancy Golden assumed the superintendency in Springfield, Ore., she announced she would give a half-hour of her time to anyone who had ideas about improving some aspect of the school district. About 100 people took up her offer, and the superintendent heard each one.

Departments

Punchback: Answering Critics

Forcing a Risky Business Model on Us by Robert Brower

Political and business leaders are openly promulgating forced competition among schools, coveting any new idea that comes along to demonstrate anecdotal improvement and using flawed statistics to foist unproven changes on schools. The author is a veteran school district leader based in Indiana.read more

Focus

Working With Difficult Parents by Suzanne Tingley

School leaders today must deal with dreaded “helicopter parents” hovering overhead, ready to swoop in at a moment’s notice with guns blazing if they think their child has been unfairly treated in any way. The author, a superintendent in upstate New York, draws her advice from her newly published book on the subject.read more

Guest Column

The Uncommon Sense of Cell Phones by Steve Singleton

When someone’s cell phone rings in the middle of a meeting or a presentation (as it inevitably does), common sense tends to fly out the window — much to the annoyance of this veteran superintendent.read more

People

People

The latest round of promotions and retirements of AASA members across the country. The Sidelight shines on a Wisconsin superintendent who doubles as a scholastic wrestling referee.read more

Board-Savvy Superintendent

Planning for Your Own Succession by Donald R. McAdams

Rather than face the discomfort, most superintendents let the subject of who will follow them in the role slide by without their input, placing the school district’s future and their own legacy at risk. The author directs the Center for the Reform of School Systems.read more

President's Corner

The National Conference: Back to the Future by Eugene G. White

AASA’s president on a unique opportunity to help a great American city.read more

Executive Perspective

Authentic Accountability by Paul D. Houston

It’s ironic that public education is required to demonstrate accountability in the area of student performance by politicians who have little accountability where they do their own work.read more

Federal Dateline

The Votes Are In, But the Issues Are Unchanged by Bruce Hunter

Just as the central issues in the coming reauthorization will not change, neither will the major players in the Congress who are rewriting No Child Left Behind in the wake of the mid-term elections.read more

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