REPORTS TO THE BOARD

Woodland High School Report

To: Michael Green

From: Phillip Pearson

Date: May 20, 2022

RE: WHS Report

COVID Recovery Showing Up in the Numbers

One of the ways to tell if our students are recovering from COVID-induced deficits in learning is to examine the use of waivers being used to help students to graduation. In the ideal world, very few students would make use of the waivers. In the real world, we would like to see the use of credit waivers reduced year over year as we move away from 2020. This table shows how those numbers stack up from last year compared to this year. Full disclosure - this table was generated by Asha and our student services department. I get no credit.  

SBAC testing and Math Education Next Year

Last fall schools in Washington administered last year’s SBAC exams. Results were down across the state, especially in math. Typically approximately 45% of all WHS students meet state benchmarks in math. This last fall, 21.6% of our students met benchmark standards. The pass rates for five of the high schools near us (La Center, R A Long, Mark Morris, Kalama, and Hockinson) ranged from a low of 15.8% to a high of 38.2%, averaging at 24.5%. While it is somewhat comforting to know that everyone’s pass rates took a hit, a 21.6% pass rate is not a laurel worth resting on.

Fortunately, WHS has a fantastic math department, and this team has been working for many weeks on plans for next year. The following steps are planned:

• Mid-year assessments aligned with our Agile Minds curriculum will be developed over the summer and administered to all our math students at regular intervals to monitor progress and adjust teaching plans accordingly.
• Our math lab/math intervention program is being rebuilt and expanded to include 2-3 dedicated math lab periods to provide students who need it with extra assistance
• A number of staff members - including 2 of our math teachers - are participating in an AVID educator effectiveness summer session which will focus on content-specific strategies to help students stay organized, motivated, and connected. 

Our intention is that WHS students not only return to our previous, state-average pass rates but that those pass rates will soon be in the rear view mirror. This spring, there are already hopeful signs. Compared to enrollment this spring, there are 2.8 times more students enrolled in Pre-Calculus and Calculus for next fall. We’re feeling very optimistic.