In the field of education, we are constantly trying to figure out how to improve our underperforming schools. We’ve even created a term for people who change schools: Change Specialists. We have developed committees to investigate how we can make changes and have sent leaders to schools in hopes of finding a way to change a school. Sometimes we’ve been successful and sometimes we haven’t, and sometimes we just overthink the problem. This article shows how a simple approach by a first-year principal ended up increasing test scores by more than 50 percent within one school year.

The school district did nothing different when the new principal was hired, other than informing him that his school was one of two schools within the district that were scheduled to close if test scores did not increase by 50 percent by the end of the year. school year. The school’s test scores were at 28 percent at the time. Unfortunately, test scores were the only factor the state used to determine a school’s success, although there are many factors that determine a successful school.

The new principal was very positive and confident that the school could improve its test scores. He was a former athlete who believed that teamwork is the best way to improve a school. He had a plan and now he needed to gain acceptance of his new staff.

So, he went to work on the first day of school and rounded up all the staff, including secretaries, janitors, etc. She was very frank with them, explaining what was at stake if students didn’t score 50 percent on the standard test in February. He explained how it was possible to improve test scores, but he needed everyone’s support, including the custodians, secretaries, and teachers. The staff seemed upbeat, because his previous administration adopted dictatorial policies and never asked for their help. However, the new principal immediately assigned the entire staff a task: He asked each one to start thinking of ways they could help students improve their test scores and bring those strategies to the next board meeting. staff.

Immediately after the meeting, some staff members became so excited that they started forming their own groups to come up with strategies to improve student achievement. What seemed to be happening was a complete change in the attitudes of the staff. Staff members met to discuss the academic needs of the students and how they could meet the needs of those students. Even the secretaries and custodians talked about how they could help. This staff collaboration was exactly what the new principal needed if student achievement was to improve.

The next staff meeting was very rewarding for the principal as everyone came up with ideas to help improve student achievement. Some of the ideas included the janitor making sure the building is clean and encouraging students to get to class on time, the art teachers decided they would help students with vocabulary words that might be on the standardized test, while the gym teacher developed assignments that had to be turned in each week. The principal could begin to see the transformation of the school in just a few weeks.

Academic teachers worked together to come up with different strategies that would benefit students, such as getting students to write more and teaching them how to analyze what they wrote. Some teachers decided to work on vocabulary and some were working on test taking strategies. Additionally, some teachers took their students to a computer lab once a week, where they worked on a software program that was aligned to the state test. The administration even had academic quizzes that were aligned to the material that students might see on the test. In addition, the teachers offered to work with any students who needed extra help. The collaboration that was taking place was remarkable and very beneficial for the students.

Once that phase of change was moving in a successful direction, the principal turned his attention to the students. He met with the students and explained the same problem to them, telling them that they did not want to be the class that caused the school to be closed. Once again, the principal gave the students an assignment and asked them to work on improving their test scores by listening in class, doing their homework, reading more, and preparing each day. He also provided many incentives for the students, such as: t-shirts after passing the exam and the opportunity for the students who had passed to have the school activity of their choice.

Parents were also notified about what they were doing and how they could help. Homework packets containing test taking strategies and recommended reading material were sent home. The idea was to include the entire school community. No one person can turn a school around.

The school worked hard over the next few months with the strategies listed above and any additional strategies they felt were important. Some of these included having a pep rally the day before the test, with the vice principal singing a rap song, which was very motivating for the students. Others included having a good testing environment by organizing students into small groups on test day and reviewing test-taking strategies whenever possible before the test date.

After all the preparation and hard work, the school received the test scores a couple of months after the test. When the director announced at a staff meeting that the score was 55 percent, there was not a dry eye in the room. The director told all the staff that he should bow for a job well done.

This approach to improving test scores can be developed by any principal who is willing to work collaboratively with their staff. Schools that work as a team are generally more successful. Also, the staff like to work in those environments. Due to the principal’s restructuring approach, test scores at that school increased as much as 72 percent in two years; and this was a school with 90 percent of its students receiving free or reduced-price lunch. This confirms that success occurs in schools that work as a team.