Saturday, April 16, 2011

School Success Story

Teaching can be very frustrating sometimes. I often wonder how big of an impact I am actually making on my students. Am I really helping them? Am I really doing something to make my school a better place?
Last week, I got a tangible result that showed my success.  6 out of 9 of my 8th graders passed a prestigious private high school entrance exam. The test is very difficult and has a ridiculously low pass rate. Last year, one student passed. Zero the year before, and zero the year before. This year, 2/3 of the students passed.
This is the ultimate satisfaction for a teacher. Students improving and students succeeding. Admission to this private high school puts them on a fast track to success. Needless to say, I am overwhelmingly excited. In just a short time, I have already been able to have a significant impact on my students.
The teachers and community have been showering me with compliments and applauding my efforts, however credit should also be given to my predecessor Ben who worked with these same students for 2 years. Together, our efforts have produced a graduating class that is more successful than any other in recent memory.
I attribute the success on this test to two reasons. First, I made every single person take the test. I even forced my 7th graders to take it to practice for the next year. Immediately, the chances of success are higher because there are simply more test takers. Secondly, I held special test preparation classes after school. The math teacher and I would hold the 8th graders after school and get them ready for the series of high school entrance exams. Test taking strategies and exam specific theories were stressed during these classes. The students were actively involved in the classes and seemed to appreciate our effort.
The final product: most of our students admitted to a fancy school. I am really happy and my confidence in ability to improve my school has skyrocketed. Improvements can happen, and this is proof. 

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