School Improvement Planning

“The problem is not tests per se but the failure…to be results focused and data driven. Coaches regularly adjust performance in light of ongoing results, even dramatically altering their lesson plans in light of unexpectedly poor results.”—Grant Wiggins

School Improvement Team's Role

The job of the school improvement team is to lead the development of a school improvement plan that addresses student achievement needs, to monitor the implementation of the plan, and to revise it when appropriate.

Maryland has established standards for schools that serve as the context for school improvement. School progress toward the attainment of Maryland content standards is measured by MSA in grades 3 through 8 and by HSA in high school. HSA assesses students after they have completed selected courses – Algebra/Data Analysis, English, Government and Biology. The gap between the state standards and current achievement on these assessments provides the direction for school improvement goals and efforts. The school improvement team leads the school improvement process by engaging the entire staff in analyzing the data and making good data-driven decisions to improve student achievement.