Because of the desire to improve the Long Beach Schools, in the year of 2001, the Long Beach School Board began a district-wide process of self-evaluation and goal settings know as Strategic Planning. A core group of personnel and community residents established a mission statement, beliefs, and objectives. As a result of this information four strategies were outlined and committees representing each of the four strategies were formed. Committee members were selected from the staff of each elementary school, the middle school, and the high school as well as the business community and parents. Each committee met over the course of several months to create a basic outline for the implementation of various strategies to enable the district to meet the objectives outlined by the core group. Plans of Action were developed and Action Steps were defined to achieve the desired results. This year the Desired Results for Student Learning Committee (DRSLC) consisting of members of the high school faculty, business community, and parents formed to further investigate our district goals for student learning.

Because the mission statement developed for the Strategic Plan reflected our districts desire to produce globally competitive graduates the Curriculum and Standards Committee was charged to develop Plans of Action and Actions Steps, which would coordinate and align academic subjects K-12 to represent state, national and international standards. With specific attention being given to vertical and horizontal alignment, the committee overwhelmingly decided to place greater influence on the development of advanced and occupational curricula in the high school. This committee more closely represented the concerns in the area of student learning than the other three committees, Business and Industry, Facilities and Faculty, and Character Education, Safe Schools and Social Services.

DRSLC began their work by using the LBSD Strategic Plan as a resource. Because all types of stakeholders were represented in the Curriculum and Standards Committee and the committee had spent many hours gathering information, brainstorming and defining the needs of the district in terms of the curriculum, we reviewed its findings first. We then reviewed the "Schoolwide Goals for Student Learning" that are described in the NSSE's Indicators of Schools of Quality, based on the interdisciplinary review of the national standards for student learning. We also discussed the district beliefs, mission statement, and objectives as set forth by the LBSD Strategic Plan as well as the committee who developed the beliefs and mission for this study. We collected input from 57 high school faculty members and administrative staff using NSSE's "Survey of Goals for Student Learning" to determine their perception of our present achievement and our priorities for focus.

The results of this survey revealed that the three goal areas which the faculty and administration perceived as lowest in present achievement are Interpersonal Skills, Thinking and Reasoning Skills, and Learning to Learn. The three goal areas perceived as most important for the students during their education are Communication Skills, Thinking and Reasoning Skills, and Learning to Learn. The goals were discussed and it was decided to focus on the last three.

Once priority areas had been determined, we began to research each area. For the area of Communication Skills, statistics were analyzed reflecting student scores on:

The draft statement of desired results for student learning and performance indicators was based on the results of our analysis of the data, our brainstorming in our group meetings, and our analysis of samples provided by members of the faculty. We distributed this draft to three additional stakeholders and three additional parents, as well as the faculty for comments and suggestions. After reviewing their recommendations we wrote our final copy. A summary of the desired results for student learning can be found following the charts.

Extent of Student Achievement Based on the NSSE

Rating

The three goal areas chosen in order of most important to least important are below.

A review of student scores does not show any significant trends that could help us establish areas of focus. Also, there is not sufficient differentiation in the absolute scores to provide much guidance. Based on the Survey of Goals for Student Learning eighteen of nineteen scores ranged from 2.61-2.96 with only one score above 3 (3.19). These scores indicate progress, but not full achievement; however, the lack of deviation failed to provide a focus area. Teachers examined both the survey of goals for student learning and the survey of priorities for improvement. While interpersonal skills were viewed as the lowest area in student performance, teachers valued learning to learn skills the third area upon which to focus. Therefore, we have relied on the assessments of our teaching staff who are the closest to student performance and proficiency in the school on a day-to-day basis and are in the best position to evaluate the improvement opportunities. They determined a need for improvement in each of the areas of student learning below.

Department chairmen interviewed teachers to determine the level of quality work students complete in the classroom with reference to assigned projects, to determine their ability to manage time effectively, to determine their capability to work in teams, and to determine the amount of self-discipline they have developed. Structured interviews with teachers indicated that students often do not make a personal commitment to creating quality work or striving for excellence in completing assigned projects. The interviews also revealed that students demonstrate a limited ability to apply learning to learn skills, such as effectively using personal skills (e.g., adaptability, flexibility, perseverance, self-discipline).

Structured interviews with teachers on students’ ability to effectively apply thinking skills yielded a substantial collection of comments and concerns about student’s lack of ability to effectively solve problems or apply thinking and reasoning skills. Teachers found that students struggled with analyzing and synthesizing information and with justifying conclusions. Also students were unable to apply multiple strategies to solve a variety of problems. Moreover, students were reluctant to take risks when generating new and creative ideas in a variety of contexts.

When asked about what areas of communication skills needed improvements in their classroom, teachers reported students had trouble communicating with clarity, purpose, and understanding of audience. Their findings also indicate students fail to use a variety of communication forms to complete projects. During interviews teachers expressed concern about the increase in the percentage of students entering the high school without a mastery of reading, writing, and speaking skills.