Student Achievement... Who's measuring?

Student Achievement

Two words that will generate a completely different definition depending on who you're talking to regarding the topic.  

Student Achievement - Academics (core subject area teachers)

The age of student achievement being measured by Partial Proficiency, Proficiency, and Advanced Proficiency are on their way out, as the era of Student Growth Objectives becomes the new norm (or SGO's as the popular educators refer to it).  As educators the goal has always been  that students would know more walking out of their classroom at the end of the marking period / year than they knew when they first walked into their classroom (pretty simple, right?).

Student Achievement - Arts / Extra- Curriculars 

When discussing the arts, student achievement is measured in a students ability to express themselves.  In the area of art I can hold my own with a fresh pack of crayons.  However, when it comes it music I have not excelled (although I would like to think I am able to hold a tune - my wife says otherwise). 

Student Achievement - Parental Perception

Listening to parents talk about their children, I have noticed that they always go to accomplishments.  Of course, as a parent you're going to speak to the areas where your child has found success.  The conversation usually revolves around such topics as: academics, arts, athletics, and social involvement to name a few.

Are any if these definitions of student achievement incorrect?  They are not.

The definition of achievement is a thing done successfully typically by effort, courage, and skill.  Looking at the examples above, everyone is correct in identifying achievement in the ways listed above.  

As educators, it is our responsibility to ensure that we have a defined definition within our own setting on what ACHIEVEMENT is and how it is accomplished!  If we are expecting students to show achievement we need to be able to articulate what achievement looks like in our classroom.  Once this is defined, it MUST be shared with the STUDENTS.  

As a teacher, I always started by asking my sixth grade students what they wanted to be when they grew up.  I was astonished the first year I did this, that a good majority of my students told me they didn't have goals or ideas of their future goals /occupation.  Growing up I wanted to be a police officer (... Until I realized I could be shot), then I wanted to be a doctor (..... Only to find out I would have to be in school for a REALLY long time - the irony), and finally I decided to go into education, (I get summers off, hysterical since I haven't had a summer off since I was in 8th grade) because I enjoy seeing students have that moment of realization.  I define this as the moment where you can actually SEE that they understand what was taught.  

After explaining my definition of achievement in my own classroom, I had student create long and short term goals for themselves.  A long term goal revolved around what they thought they wanted to be when they got older - a great cross curricular research project.  I told students, just as my goals changed, they could change their long term goals throughout the course of the school year as their interests developed.  When looking at short term goals, students looked at the expectations for my classroom and identified their perceptions of personal  strengths and weaknesses within my class (students had test scores and pre-assessments to develop their goals for my class.  

During parent conferences, I stayed away from the report cards (parents can read), but I felt it was more important to share with the parent their student's goal sheet, allowing us to have a conversation about how we could work together to help their student find achievement.  This conversation is all based on what the student had identified as their own personal goals - essentially a student led conference.  

The final step necessary is to have students go back to their goals and review / revise the goals they had created.  It is at this point that they need to ask themselves if they hold the same goals as they did when they started the year.  Students need to understand that it is OK to modify their goals (I'm constantly modifying my goals as an educator).  

Action Steps for Meaningful Goal Setting

1. Identify achievement within your classroom

2. Have students create long term goals (career / life) and short term goals (achievement in class) 

3. Share student goal sheet with parents to discuss goals and other needs

4. Have students periodically reflect and modify their goals throughout the course of the school year / as needed

Arriving at one goal is the starting point to another.  - John Dewey

When we look at measuring student data it is essential to meet with students  where they are and come up with an action plan (goal setting) to identify the steps necessary to move them forward.  It is when we step back and identify what our purpose is as educators, that we can truly begin focusing on student achievement.