One of the major needs for Rockdale High School is improvement on our English Language Arts EOC exam scores. Improving the passing rate for RHS as well as increasing the number of students who reach the “Masters” level.
This is a difficult test in which students across the state struggle. We have been able to improve our scores a little bit over the past few years by focusing on writing, but this year we wanted to try two other strategies that we feel will give us more success.
First, we have added one more ELA teacher in order to reduce the number of students in each class, and second, we have assigned a more specialized role for each ELA teacher. This allows us to focus on accelerated instruction in some classes and really work on specific needs in others.
With the addition of a fifth English teacher, our on-level English 1 and English 2 classes average 12 students per class. This allows more room to work different stations and really gives the students the individualized attention that they need.
With one teacher for each of these areas, they are able to focus on the TEKS in which the data shows students are struggling. Each class is unique and with fewer students, the teacher can be more specific with instruction.
We also have one teacher designated for our Rockdale Accelerated Program. These classes are a little bit larger but still have fewer students than in the past.
Since this teacher only has accelerated classes, we are able to focus on teaching techniques that will help push these students to the “masters” level. We are also able to add a more intense element to instruction by using resources that come from College Board, which is the company that creates the SAT exam.
Improving our English Language Arts scores has been a primary focus for RHS. We are very excited with the options having a fifth ELA teacher has given us. We believe that with fewer students in these classes, we have been able to create that room for improvement.
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