ABSTRACT

Goals are the outcomes of the vision. Goals are stated in broad, general, abstract, and non-measurable terms. Big River High School teachers decided to use a problem-solving cycle to uncover root causes since not enough of their students were scoring Proficient and/or Advanced on the High School Standards Test. In open-ended comments, however, teachers mentioned other teachers not teaching to the standards and the need for professional learning in teaching to the standards. Teachers also wrote a lot about needing the time to communicate and collaborate about the standards. Classroom observations, communication, and collaboration on what teachers are teaching need to be major pieces of their school improvement plan. After reviewing the data from students, staff determined teachers need to conduct some focus group interviews with students to get a deeper understanding of what students need in order to improve their learning.