My Plan

Students completing high school are more likely to be employed, have benefits, and participate in political issues which are key components of the campus vision. My research will focus on improving the campus completion rate through TAKS tutoring and Credit Recovery courses. Approximately 40% of the students will need to recover 1 to 5 credits in the 2010-2011 school year to complete the graduation requirements, and 20% will need to retake the TAKS exit exam to receive their diplomas. Since the mid 1980's when the state instituted the testing component of high school graduation, research findings suggest that because of this requirement some 40,000 of Texas's 1993 sophomores dropped out of school (Clarke, Haney, Madaus, Lynch 2000).
In forming a plan of action some questions to be considered include: What are the barriers to graduation for most students? How can we serve all students to complete the requirements for graduation? What challenges prevent students from this goal?
The research will concentrate on two programs to assist students in meeting the requirements for graduation. First students who have not met the standards for the TAKS exit exams will be identified and targeted for tutoring programs to fill gaps in the needed areas of individual weaknesses. The second program will focus on students who are lacking all the required course credits to graduate. This is the first year students in Texas will be accountable for a 4th credit in science and math in addition to the standard courses for the recommended diploma. Students will be provided the opportunity to recover the missing credits through computer based instruction for most courses and direct after school classroom instruction for courses not available on the software program.
Data collection will be on-going and take multiple formats. Student success on TAKS retests and credit recovery courses will be collected in conjunction with tutoring attendance records. In addition to this data, students will be surveyed to understand what components of the programs were most and least beneficial to their success or failure. Faculty and administration will meet to discuss the effectiveness of the programs and identify areas in need of improvement at the conclusion of the first semester and again at the end of the school year.
I will be reporting my data to the associate principals involved in each of the targeted programs in the form of written reports. The TAKS team meets 4-6 times a year, and we will share the data from the tutoring programs and identify areas for improvement at these meetings. I will continue to share my accomplishments and deficits on my blog with my colleagues throughout the school year. I will compile a final report for my site supervisor and campus principal in May.

Areas of Action Research

The more I read about the nine areas of educational passions for research, the more topics I considered for my process. Social justice has been an area of interest for my entire teaching career. It is enlightening to examine the patterns of learning of students with diverse backgrounds. However, I will focus on the area of school performance in my study of the campus completion rate. I feel this is an area of high need and connects with some of my current responsibilities. I am eager to begin the project and take the next steps in the process.

My research will begin with the current list of students that should have graduated in 2010. I will review campus and district records to confirm all information is current and accurate. This will then provide an updated working document to pursue students in need of assistance. As classes begin in August, I will meet with the students in need of TAKS tutoring to be prepared for the October test date. After I assess the needs of the students, I will design a tutoring schedule to provide the best support for their areas of weakness. This will begin the cycle of research, application, and evaluation to guide my process.

How educational leaders can use blogs...

Blogging is an effective self reflection tool which allows an educational leader to examine his or her own plan of improvement. By creating a public journal a person can share his or her process with other educators and collaborate on new ideas.

Action Research is...

I have come to an understanding of the term action research through the readings of this course thus far. The process involves identifying a problem or issue to investigate, gathering information through observation and traditional readings, forming a plan of action, and continually scrutinizing and refining the process. I believe the cyclic nature of the process melds with most current educational initiatives. Assessing one's actions and examining data is good practice for teachers and administrators. Data analysis needs to be taken beyond the numbers and explored for the reasons and implications behind the results. I believe it is important for the administration to exhibit the practices expected of the faculty, and this provides an excellent opportunity to grow as educators and leaders.

I will use this process as a basis for my campus improvement project as well as the various other initiatives and processes I am involved with at the campus. As Science TAKS Coordinator I am constantly reassessing and analyzing methods to assist students in preparing for the TAKS. I plan on formalizing the process using the tools of action research to improve my approach. I am also part of a team introducing strategies to the campus to reach our economically disadvantaged students. I would like to use the action research process collaboratively to monitor this process.