A charter school board must measure, track and improve student academic achievement to fulfill its schools mission.

1. Copyright, Texas Charter Schools Association 2014
Academic Achievement for Governing
Boards
Annual Conference 2014
Linda Murphy, Texas Charter Schools Association
Jason Sarsfield, National Charter Schools Institute

2. Goals for the Session
1
2
3
4
Discuss student achievement at your school
Review strategies for examining student achievement
Learn about the Texas Accountability Rating System
Learn from each other and have fun!
Copyright, Texas Charter Schools Association 20134

3. Copyright, Texas Charter Schools Association 20134

4. Quick Table Exercise
Share the following with the colleagues at your table or
by your side. Facilitators will ask for examples from the
group following a quick discussion.
• How well is your school doing academically?
• What data and information do you use to answer
that question?
Copyright, Texas Charter Schools Association 20134

5. Habit #2: Begin with the End in Mind
“Sometimes people find themselves achieving victories that are empty--
successes that have come at the expense of things that were far more valuable
to them. If your ladder is not leaning against the right wall, every step you take
gets you to the wrong place faster.”
Translation to school governance:
• Work toward the goals in your charter.
• Prepare all students for college, work and life.
Copyright, Texas Charter Schools Association 20134

6. Copyright, Texas Charter Schools Association 20134
Key Renewal Questions
“Keeping the End in Mind”
Is the academic program a success?
Is the school financially viable?
Is the school organizationally sound?

7. Habit #3: Put First Things First
“You have to recognize that not doing everything that comes along is okay. All it
takes is realizing that it's all right to say no when necessary and then focus on
your highest priorities.”
Translation to school governance:
• Discuss student learning and achievement at every board meeting.
• Do not confuse activity with accomplishment.
Copyright, Texas Charter Schools Association 20134

8. Copyright, Texas Charter Schools Association 20134
Habit #4: Think Win-Win
“Win-win means agreements or solutions are mutually beneficial and satisfying.
Many people think in terms of either/or: either you're nice or you're tough.
Win-win requires that you be both. It is a balancing act between courage and
consideration.”
Translation to school governance:
• Know the expectations contained in your charter and in state
and federal regulations.
• Embrace and measure these expectations not out of fear, but
as a benefit to your kids.

9. Copyright, Texas Charter Schools Association 20134
Habit #1: Be Proactive
“Instead of reacting to or worrying about conditions over which they have
little or no control, proactive people focus their time and energy on things
they can control.”
Translation to school governance:
Ensure the effective use of an interim assessment system, as
appropriate, by:
• The school
• The board

10. Habit #5: Seek First to Understand; Then to Be Understood
“Communication is the most important skill in life. If you're like most people,
you probably seek first to be understood; you want to get your point across.
And in doing so, you may ignore the other person completely, pretend that
you're listening, selectively hear only certain parts of the conversation or
attentively focus on only the words being said, but miss the meaning entirely.”
Translation to school governance:
• Ask wise questions.
• Listen until your questions are answered.
Copyright, Texas Charter Schools Association 20134

11. Example #1: Are your school’s longtime students performing better? If so, why? If not,
why not?
Copyright, Texas Charter Schools Association 20134

12. Example #2: The average scale score for each grade level is far below the college
readiness target. How many students have actually met the target and how many are
below the target?
Copyright, Texas Charter Schools Association 20134

13. While average scores are simple and intuitive,
Copyright, Texas Charter Schools Association 20134
they have inherent flaws!
On average, I’m feeling pretty good.
In reality, I have big problems!

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Habit #6: Synergize
“To put it simply, synergy means ‘two heads are better than one.’ Synergy lets
us discover jointly things we are much less likely to discover by ourselves.”
Translation to school governance:
• Work together.
• Avoiding placing responsibility for academic oversight on one
board member, regardless of background and expertise.

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Habit #7: Sharpen the Saw
“Sharpen the Saw means preserving and enhancing the greatest asset you
have — you. It means having a balanced program for self-renewal.”
Translation to school governance:
• Regularly participate in activities that continue your learning
about accountability expectations.
• Participate in board development sessions and retreats to
further your knowledge of governance practices.

16. Texas Accountability
Copyright, Texas Charter Schools Association 2014
Issues for Consideration

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19. 2014 STAAR Data….What do you think….
READING MATH
All AA H W EcDis
78% 76% 80% 78% 76%
All AA H W EcDis
60% 73% 56% 62% 58%
Copyright, Texas Charter Copyright, Texas Charter Schools Asso Sciactihono o20l1s3 Association 2014
All AA H W EcDis
58% 53% 62% 57% 55%
All AA H W EcDis
65% 62% 65% 64% 64%

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…Initial concerns are how many students passed and that has
become entrenched in our mindset because of the single cell
concerns of past accountability systems. The 4 index system is
going to force a change in mindset in regards to how we view
scores and ultimately success inside this system.
ESC 17 Instructional Leaders Blog
More Than Just Passing!
Jun 08 2014
http://www.esc17.net/default.aspx?name=blog.instructionalleaders&from=6/1/2014&to=6/30/2014

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22. Central Question…
How sophisticated is intervention and acceleration we are
providing every student in the system?
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ESC 17 Instructional Leaders Blog
More Than Just Passing!
Jun 08 2014
http://www.esc17.net/default.aspx?name=blog.instructionalleaders&from=6/1/2014&to=6/30/2014

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Districts and campuses that excel in
the future will be the ones who
create and schedule interventions
and train every teacher to
challenge students every day.
ESC 17 Instructional Leaders Blog
More Than Just Passing!
Jun 08 2014
http://www.esc17.net/default.aspx?name=blog.instructionalleaders&from=6/1/2014&to=6/30/2014

24. Questions…for board members, district leaders, campus leaders,
teachers….
• What group of students could fail STAAR and count as passers in Index 1?
• How many students met standard at..
o Phase 2 standards?
o Level III standards?
• What support systems are in place for students who score at the Level III
standard, missing only 2-3 questions?
• How many EcoDis students were at Level III? (Why is that important?)
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25. Did you know…
• For math only, there is no 2014-15 SSI; therefore…
o no STAAR retests for 5th & 8th students
o first administration is the ONLY administration.
• For 2014-15 only, Algebra I EOC scores count in district accountability even
though the data is NOT used for campus accountability for Index 2 (there is
no Index 2 Student Progress measure for high schools for 2014-15).
• Some schools will be IR due to a drop in Level III scores.
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26. Level III questions to ask ourselves….
 Which students and student groups exceeded
growth expectations toward Level III Advanced?
Why?
• Which students did not meet progress toward
Level III Advanced? Why?
• What do teacher, grade level, department,
subject, and campus data indicate?
• What is the scale score growth?
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27. • For students and student groups that exceeded
growth expectations and met Level III Advanced
performance, what do the reporting categories
and student expectations indicate? Where are
the strengths and weaknesses?
• What does the student achievement data in
Index I reveal about student achievement
patterns/trends?
• How is rigor addressed in the curriculum and
instructional delivery?
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• What is it we want all students to learn?
• How will we know when each student has
acquired the essential knowledge and skills?
• What happens in our schools when a student
does not learn?
After working with more schools and districts,
however, they added a fourth:
• How will we enrich and extend the learning of
students who are proficient?
Whatever It Takes…..DuFour

29. BIG questions
• How do teachers integrate knowledge of standard
types (process – readiness – supporting) into
planning and delivering instruction?
• How do we analyze data to focus our instructional
improvement efforts?
• What are ways we can link our data analysis to
teacher evaluation, the campus improvement
plan, and our professional development plan?
• How do we move to action?
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30. Copyright, Texas Charter Schools Association 20134
Academic Achievement for Governing
Boards
Questions and Comments
Thank You!
Linda Murphy (lmurphy@txcharterschools.org)
Jason Sarsfield (jsarsfield@charterinstitute.org)

31. Copyright, Texas Charter Schools Association 2014
Think Break
GLOW
As you depart from the
conference, write the one
glowing practice of your
Board that demonstrates
your commitment to
academic achievement.
GROW
As you depart from the
conference, write the one
growth area for your Board
to ensure academic
achievement.