KIPP improves MCAS scores

LYNN – KIPP Academy Lynn has maintained its status at Level 2 of the five rating levels under the state’s MCAS system, but students’ scores have improved significantly over last year.”I am very proud of the kids,” said Caleb Dolan, executive director for KIPP Academy, Massachusetts Region. “It’s funny, we have some really great teachers and it’s not like we magically brought in anyone new. We still have the same culture, we’re still having a lot of fun, and have activities and sports.”But the school did do something different to get its top scores. Dolan said they began testing students to determine if they were struggling in a particular area. Once those scores were analyzed, the school could develop one-on-one plans for students targeting the areas where they were weakest, he said.Dolan stopped short of calling it a “data-driven approach.” He said hearing that “can make people’s eyeballs roll back into their head.” Instead, he said it was more about common sense and giving teachers the information they needed on each student so they know who is struggling where and address it.Chief Development Officer Jennifer Parkos said KIPP also hired operation managers for each of its schools to help alleviate some of the administrative burden and give principals more time to focus on both teacher training and working with students.Parkos said the school’s already strong professional development program was also tweaked by building in what she called “shared observation trackers,” which principals and Dolan use to hold teachers accountable. Teachers are evaluated every other week by another teacher or a school leader, or coach. The two then have a one-on-one session where they discuss what worked and what didn’t during the given observation time. Parkos was quick to point out that the observations were all being done by other teachers or administrators and that no one new was hired for the role.The school’s 10-hour day also allows room for teachers to implement some very targeted individual help for students who continue to struggle, she added.Dolan also credits a team of very strong teachers and educators for the improved scores, which are perhaps best reflected in the school’s 10th grade English Language Arts scores, in which 94 percent of students scored proficient or advanced, and the freshman science scores, where 93 percent scored in proficient of advanced.According to the state’s website 10th grade science and math scores also came in significantly higher than the state’s average. KIPP had 89 students score in the proficient or higher category compared to the state average of 80 and 88 students scored in the same category for science compared to the state average of 71.Parkos also noted that KIPP had the second highest growth of any school in the state in seventh grade mathematics and eighth grade English Language Arts.”There is always room to grow,” said Dolan. “The teachers got the results and they celebrated, then they celebrated with the kids and we’ll celebrate a little with the families, but they’re already figuring out how to make #2 in the state #1.”