Warwick announces Springfield's 2014-15 attendance was highest ever

Sept. 2, 2016 | G. Michael Dobbs
news@thereminder.com

SPRINGFIELD – School Superintendent Dan Warwick conveyed some good news to the School Committee at its meeting on Aug. 25.

Warwick had attendance figures for the 2014-2015 school year that indicated attendance is now at 93.5 percent – “the highest attendance that’s ever been in the district,” he added.

Truancy is also a historic low of 2.6 percent. He added there has been a 74 percent decrease in arrests made at school – to 80 and a 40 percent decline in out-of-school suspensions.

The School Committee also received a report from Paul Foster, chief information officer for the School Department’s Information Technology & Accountability, about feedback from students from grades 3 through 12 about their teachers.

Foster said the results of the Measure of Effective teaching project – the survey used – can indicate several findings:
• “Student’s perceptions of a given teacher’s strengths and weaknesses are consistent across the groups of students they teach.”
• “Student perceptions in one class or one academic year predict large differences in student achievement gains in other classes taught by the same teacher.”
• “When students report positive classroom experiences, those classrooms tend to achieve greater learning gains.”
• “The information received by the teacher [about student perceptions] is more specific and actionable than value-added scores or test results alone.”

Looking at the responses to specific questions can give a teacher guidance on how to improve, Foster said.

For instance among the highlights in surveys from third through fifth graders, the statement with the most favorable response (93 percent) was  “My teachers asks me to improve my work when he or she knows I can do better.”

The answer with the least favorable response for that age group was 97.05 percent “I look over my classmates work and suggest ways to improve it.”

For grades 6 through 8, the statement with the greatest agreement (89 percent) was also “My teacher asks me to improve my work when he or she knows I can do better.”

The least agreement (65 percent) “In this class, students are allowed to work on assignments that interest them personally.”

For high school students the statement with the greatest agreement (89 percent) was “After I get feedback from my teacher, I know how to make my work better.”

Three questions with the least agreement tied for that position: “In this class, students review each other work and provide each other with helpful advice on how to improve. In this class, other students take time to listen to my ideas. Students push each other to do better work in this class.”

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