What:
The “plan-do-check” cycle, derived from the Total Quality Management business literature.
Who:
Teachers at Freeport Intermediate School in Freeport, Texas—and throughout the Brazosport Independent School District—use the process to plan and carry out instruction for students.
Contact:
Clara Sale-Davis, principal
(979) 233-7285
Return to the main story, Put to the Test
Process:
- Teachers obtain students’ scores on the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills, or TAAS, on computer diskette from the Texas Education Agency and break them into five groups reflecting their levels of mastery. Based on the data, the teachers identify the areas that each group needs to work on in order to improve.
- Teachers craft a schoolwide “TAAS timeline” that spells out what they will teach and how much time they will spend on various objectives, based on the needs of the students.
- Each teacher gets an “instructional focus” sheet stating the objectives to be taught, the dates for teaching each objective, and the dates when students will be assessed on them.
- Students are assessed to identify those who have mastered an objective and those who have not.
- Students who don’t master an objective are given extra help during “team time” after school or during an extended-day program.
- Those who do pass the assessments take part in electives, such as helping to put together the school yearbook, or take enriched courses, such as advanced mathematics.
- Teachers receive “maintenance booklets” and plastic transparencies to help them reteach key concepts and keep students on track.
- The principal monitors the instructional process by visiting classrooms regularly, meeting with teachers and students to discuss assessment results, and meeting with departments and teams of teachers to discuss students’ progress.
