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High school details spring instructional supports, clarifies purpose of predictive benchmarks
Summary
Carlton County High School staff told the board Tuesday that a mix of instructional coaching, weekly PLCs and predictive benchmarks will guide spring end-of-course (EOC) support; presenters said the benchmarks are predictive tools, not state tests.
The Carlton County High School presented the district board Tuesday on plans for spring instructional supports and how predictive benchmarks will be used ahead of end-of-course testing.
The presentation, led by Lydia Culler, instructional facilitator at Carlton County High School, outlined coaching cycles, peer learning walks, weekly professional learning communities (PLCs) and a guaranteed viable curriculum (GVC) that staff say will be used to target standards and remediate gaps. "We have 5 broad outliers that I wanted to specify for you, and they include our instructional learning walks, instructional coaching, professional development sessions, and weekly PLC meetings and GDC revisions," Culler told the board.
Why it matters: the district uses benchmark data to inform instruction and to identify weaknesses before state end-of-course reporting. Culler said the predictive benchmarks purchased by the district are specific to the end-of-course (EOC) programs and are intended to forecast likely student performance so teachers can adjust instruction.
Culler described a multi-pronged approach. Instructional learning walks let teacher teams observe veteran colleagues and discuss takeaways; instructional coaching offers one-on-one cycles guided by observations and professional development; and PLCs provide weekly team time for common course work and data review. The district's "GDC" (guaranteed viable curriculum) was described as a living document that aligns pacing guides, assessments and state blueprints.
On benchmarks and test preparation, Culler said the district uses a mix of common formative and summative assessments across all courses and that the predictive benchmark product is used for EOC courses only. "The predictive assessment benchmarks ... are only specifically purchased for our EMC courses. The reason being is because that's where we are reported off in the state report card," she said, adding the benchmarks are cumulative and intended to predict spring performance so teachers can reteach or enrich where needed.
Culler also explained the district's data-analysis protocol: teams disaggregate results by grade bands and by letter-grade equivalents, identify trends and select reteaching or intervention strategies, then measure subsequent growth. "We then identify what weaknesses are addressed, and then we identify any trends across the board ... and as a team, decide on what ways to reteach," she said.
Board members asked clarifying questions about common planning time and whether teaching to the test was a concern. Culler said only end-of-course classes have weekly common planning and reiterated that the assessments are standards-focused tools, not state tests. "So the only courses that actually have common planning are our end of course classes. So those 4 4 sections have common planning and they meet weekly," she said.
The board thanked Culler and district staff for the detailed explanation and for outlining how professional development and coaching tie to the benchmarks and classroom practice. The presentation will inform the board's work on curriculum and accountability this spring.
