My action research project is in full swing. In June, I analyzed the fifth grade Science STAAR scores from my new school that I would be teaching at this school year. Overall, our scores were at a 75% which is a drop from the previous year. I compared our scores to the fifth grade scores in our district. The district overall scores for 2013 was a 73.
After speaking with the Science Coordinator for grades K-6, she said that the school board is questioning what is happening in Science at these grade levels. I attended a school board meeting and there was quite a bit of discussion concerning how to raise the science scores across the district. I worked closely with the Science Coordinator to get a proposal for a new science curriculum and the district approved it. So we are now vertically aligned grades K-6 which should help with our scores. My school also increased the amount of time students spend in Science daily from 45 minutes to 65 minutes. We are back in teams but right now the focus is on intervention with our Math and Reading students. I will be planning an interdisciplinary unit with the focus on Science for the beginning of November.
I created a curriculum-based assessment that all fifth grade teachers will be giving their students this week. That will be my first data point that I will be collecting. I will also be sending out a survey to the teachers to see if the new curriculum is working for them and for their students, as well as if the increase in the time given to Science is making a difference in the students' success in their classrooms.
I have written six curriculum-based assessments that will be taken throughout the year and will continue gathering the data from these. I will also continue to survey the teachers on the progress in the classroom with their students. I will continue to research districts in the area that have already moved in this direction. Of course in the Spring, I will be collecting the Science STAAR scores for my school and the district to analyze and see if the programs put in place have had a positive effect on the scores of the test.
