How to be an ‘A’ School: Celebrate your success!
by Jan Barrick, Alpha Plus CEO
We hope this newsletter finds you well on your way to summer vacation after celebrating your students this year. We also hope you have seen us on social media celebrating you!
Oklahoma’s only data-driven awards are back after a hiatus during the pandemic years. “Success with OAS Awards” honor students and educators for progress in teaching and learning the Oklahoma Academic Standards (OAS) in mathematics and English language arts (ELA). We notified 48 Alpha Plus Model Teachers of their awards during Teacher Appreciation Week.
“Every April, the Alpha Plus team analyzes current-year interim assessment data of schools using our tools to improve instruction,” CEO Jan Barrick explains. “This school year was another difficult one for students, parents, and educators, so it may be more important than ever that we celebrate success. Our awards crosswalk formative and summative data to find the best results in instructional pace and student proficiency.”
Classes and teachers at 56 schools in 69 districts qualified for this year’s awards from among 108 schools in 76 districts using Alpha Plus Online. More than 19,010 students were using OAS-aligned assessments as of April 15 when we evaluated data for the awards.
OAS GOALS-MET AWARDS go to each class completing instruction and short formative quizzes on all OAS Objectives by mid-April with at least 75 percent of students proficient. Just 248 classes (among 1,489 statewide) met these instructional goals for their grade level before the state-test window opened. See all winners here.
OAS BENCHMARK AWARDS go to each class with more than 50 percent of students proficient on the spring summative benchmark in ELA or math. There were 135 classes that achieved high benchmark performance this spring. See full list here.
MODEL TEACHER designation is for classroom educators who lead classes qualifying for both OAS awards by utilizing the Alpha Plus Model of School Improvement. We are honoring 48 teachers from among 945 teachers using these assessments. View lists here are by district and in alphabetical order by teacher name.
“Alpha Plus Model Teachers are the best of the best yet we are truly proud of all 1,300 educators and administrators statewide who are working to improve success with the state standards,” Barrick said.
The OAS Benchmark Awards are new this year to reflect Alpha Plus’s goal of at least 50 percent of students proficient on state tests. This benchmark is the state of Oklahoma’s goal for 2030 and, if achieved, could move Oklahoma into the top ten in education nationally. However, in 2019 (pre-pandemic), an average of just 33% of all Oklahoma students in Grades 3-8 were proficient in reading or math compared to 44% in schools using the Alpha Plus Model of School Improvement.
Certainly, we have a lot of work to do but we know Oklahoma's public schools ar up to the challenge. We are proud to see the progress of so many schools every year!
News release and PDFs of lists are at: https://alphaplus.org/educational-systems/school-results/students-teachers-honored-success-with-oas-awards
Alpha Plus News Participation form link
In May, your Alpha Plus team focuses on planning and preparing for next school year. In that regard:
Version 3.0 of Alpha Plus Online software will be in beta testing in June. If you are helping with summer school this year and would like to pilot the new system with students, please complete the Google form LINKED HERE and we will contact your principal to follow up. We expect to launch the up-graded system by mid-July.
Because the state has delayed transition of the state test to the new ELA standards until spring 2024, we will not be realigning our summative (benchmark) tests this summer. Yet, to better support educators’ transition to the new standards, we are realigning Gr. 3-8 formative quizzes for 2021-22 to match Success with OAS books.
Teachers: Time to analyze your Alpha Plus data to start planning any adjustments needed in pacing or lesson plans for next year. Let us know how we can help you more!
Administrators:
Let us know and end-of-year reporting needs or if you want us to help analyze your 2022 preliminary state test scores in June.
Schedule fall in-service training dates ASAP, as many days are already booked!
If you don't have a proposal for 2022-23, call (405) 842-8408 and we will get back to you ASAP.
Have a great summer!
-CEO Jan Barrick &
the Alpha Plus Team
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