Accomplishment Case

As a 8th grade Reading Teacher at Tunica Middle School, a goal of mine was to move the 22 students in my 3rd period reading class from proficient to advance by the end of 3rd nine weeks. These students were placed in my classroom because of their 2011 Mississippi Curriculum Test 2nd edition (MCT2) scores. At the conclusion of the 3rd nine weeks, students are required to take a test, ELS Benchmark Exam, which provides teachers and administrators with a good idea of how well students will perform on the 2012 MCT 2.

This goal was ambitious for a myriad of reasons. First, the goal is ambitious because the students are already working on grade level with their proficient score, and they might not see the need to improve. Next, the goal is ambitious because these students' contributions will result in a high Quality Distribution Index (QDI) which will assist our school in receiving a Successful rating status by the Mississippi Department of Education.

I took a series of steps to accomplish my goal. Initially I provided the students with pre-assessments to assess their prior knowledge. I created assessments for each objective

taught to ensure mastery of the skill. If the student mastered the objective, I provided them with enrichment activities such as a learning game, book, or puzzle to reinforce knowledge of the skill. I provided additional instruction and peer tutoring for students who had not mastered the objective.

To motivate students I set up a spread sheet to track their progression for each skill assessed. Students were given individual and class goals to attain. Incentives were given for students meeting the goal. I created graphs for the class so they could have a visual target of how well they were progressing. This process also served as an indicator for me to know which skills I needed to re-teach.

As a result all 22 students scored advance according to the ELS Benchmark Exam.