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WMS will increase standard for passing courses
By Ainslee S. Wittig/Arizona Range News
The Willcox School Board unanimously approved increasing the standards for passing courses at Willcox Middle School by five points at their Nov. 6 meeting.
The board approved the change in the grading scale to be in line with Willcox High School's standards, which requires at least a grade of 65 percent to pass with a D. That means any grade at 64 percent or lower would be an F (not passing).
Currently, WMS has a passing grade of 60 percent, with anything below that not passing.
The changes will take place at the beginning of the 2008/2009 school year.
"We did not think it would be fair to make these changes in the middle of the school year," said Principal Doris Jones.
Jones told the board her reasons for wanting to change the grading scale:
€ To better prepare students to meet the more rigorous grading scale at the high school. She said this will also be beneficial when grades are posted online, because the middle school and high school will present a uniform grading scale, which is less confusing to parents than two different scales.
€ To be aligned to the eligibility standards of the high school
€ To better align the middle school with the high school in student expectations. She said staff believes this change will, in the long run, be better for students in setting higher standards for performance.
WMS improvement plan
Jones also gave a presentation on the middle school's School Improvement Plan, required after failing Adequate Yearly Progress in last year's sixth grade for math and reading. The school is in "warning" status.
Jones said she researched the correlation between attendance and achievement on the Arizona Instrument for Measuring Standards (AIMS) and found that students who missed more than 10 days of school tended to score lower on the AIMS test.
"In the fifth grade, we had 40 students who missed more than 10 days of school, and those same 40 children were the students who fell far below the standards for fifth grade. There is a high correlation between achievement and attendance," she said. "We need to be sure parents and students understand how important it is to be at school."
The school has also begun required tasks within the school improvement plan, including writing a grant for school improvement for between $30,000 and $42,000; notifying parents of the status of the middle school and available programs such as tutoring, supplemental service, special AIMS classes and instruction and staff development aimed at improving progress.
Jones added that, among other goals, the school is working to increase the percent of current seventh-grade students meeting and exceeding standards on the AIMS in the area of math from 32 percent to 42 percent this year, and in reading from 40 to 50 percent.
She said teachers have analyzed test scores for reading and math and have tailored AIMS reading and math classes to intervene with those students and increase student achievement. After-school tutoring has also started.
The board approved the change in the grading scale to be in line with Willcox High School's standards, which requires at least a grade of 65 percent to pass with a D. That means any grade at 64 percent or lower would be an F (not passing).
Currently, WMS has a passing grade of 60 percent, with anything below that not passing.
The changes will take place at the beginning of the 2008/2009 school year.
"We did not think it would be fair to make these changes in the middle of the school year," said Principal Doris Jones.
Jones told the board her reasons for wanting to change the grading scale:
€ To better prepare students to meet the more rigorous grading scale at the high school. She said this will also be beneficial when grades are posted online, because the middle school and high school will present a uniform grading scale, which is less confusing to parents than two different scales.
€ To be aligned to the eligibility standards of the high school
€ To better align the middle school with the high school in student expectations. She said staff believes this change will, in the long run, be better for students in setting higher standards for performance.
WMS improvement plan
Jones also gave a presentation on the middle school's School Improvement Plan, required after failing Adequate Yearly Progress in last year's sixth grade for math and reading. The school is in "warning" status.
Jones said she researched the correlation between attendance and achievement on the Arizona Instrument for Measuring Standards (AIMS) and found that students who missed more than 10 days of school tended to score lower on the AIMS test.
"In the fifth grade, we had 40 students who missed more than 10 days of school, and those same 40 children were the students who fell far below the standards for fifth grade. There is a high correlation between achievement and attendance," she said. "We need to be sure parents and students understand how important it is to be at school."
The school has also begun required tasks within the school improvement plan, including writing a grant for school improvement for between $30,000 and $42,000; notifying parents of the status of the middle school and available programs such as tutoring, supplemental service, special AIMS classes and instruction and staff development aimed at improving progress.
Jones added that, among other goals, the school is working to increase the percent of current seventh-grade students meeting and exceeding standards on the AIMS in the area of math from 32 percent to 42 percent this year, and in reading from 40 to 50 percent.
She said teachers have analyzed test scores for reading and math and have tailored AIMS reading and math classes to intervene with those students and increase student achievement. After-school tutoring has also started.
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