FAQ's
Sometimes a network school will ask a question that AIMS then sends throughout the Illinois Middle Grades Network. The responses to those questions from the network are recorded here.
MATH
Tim Daley, Mannheim Middle School
READING
From what class do schools pull students when testing for services with the reading specialist?
Kathleen Schneiter, Roselle Middle School
TESTING
Do you administer semester (final) exams to sixth, seventh, and/or eighth grade students?
If no, how did you come to this decision?
Allyson Thorne, Springman Middle School
WEB-BASED SCHOOL ADMINISTRATION and GRADEBOOK SOFTWARE
Sue Catt, Nuttall Middle School
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MATH
Tim Daley, Mannheim Middle School
Ames Middle School uses the Connected Math 2 Curriculum from Pearson Education.
Lorraine Cruz, Ames Middle School, Chicago
Hill Middle School has a program called Math Plus that is done during the school day as an extra math class. Students lose an encore class to participate in this program. The class is co-taught with a math teacher and a special education teacher as well as some teachers who push in to offer extra support. The class is taught on a rotation basis with the rotations being: Compass Learning, Otter Creek, Buckle Down, Review of current math work. We also have been incorporating Study Island a little. We have had good success.
Allan Davenport, Hill Middle School
Granger Middle School follows the same program that Hill Middle School does with a Math Plus class. Since we are especially concerned with the math achievement of our IEP students, we have looked at their AIMSweb benchmarks and ISAT scores to create a list of any students with IEP's whose math scores are below standards. These students are all placed in math interventions. Most students are in the regular math class and a Math Plus class. We use the same materials as Hill but for the lowest achieving students we will start using SRA Connecting Math Concepts as well. We are just starting to use Compass Learning.
Mary Kelly, Granger Middle School
We have found Glencoe's Mathematics texts to support RTI in and out of the classroom. We use Connected Math in our Exploratory Math class. This supports the regular Math class instruction when the backward designed curriculum requires [the] math class [to] move forward. The Exploratory class helps both remediate and/or enhance and enrich. This Exploratory class is 9 weeks.
Dana Isackson, Macomb Junior High School
Saxon Math is great!
Graciano Ortega, J.C. Locke School
READING
From what class are students pulled when testing for services with the reading specialist?
Kathleen Schneiter, Roselle Middle School
Our reading specialist acts as an exploratory teacher. Our students have three periods of explo. (e.g. PE,Art, Music) [Students] in the Reading Class would have PE, Art (or music) and Reading. We try to give these [students] a choice in the explo schedule rather than assigning.
Jim Parker, Jack London Middle School, Wheeling
We are using a new approach for servicing below level readers and writers this year - a class we're calling Academic Support. It's actually an additional LA class (in addition to an 86-minute block) that students take in place of foreign langauge. Students are recommended for the program based on MAP scores and teacher input. Classes are small - 8-10 students - and taught by a regular LA teacher. The curriculum for the class was developed over the summer by members of our LA dept.
Chris Dransoff, Hadley Jr. High
At Kennedy Junior High School, we began our year by doing a reading survey and assessment of all sixth graders to determine who the "at risk students" are and we did that during Langauge Arts time. Druing the course of the school year, we progress monitor our "at risk students" during various times such as exploratroy time and supervised study time. We also use Langauge Arts time. It varies.
Don Perry, Kennedy JHS
If students have an IEP or 504, we are testing these students one-on-one. The student is pulled from a class as per the testing schedule. The person testing them will be hand-picked due to the positive relationship that they have with the child. It could be the one-on-one does not do anythng, because the student only has extended time for the test. The comfort level with the adult is key.
We also administer Reading tests in the Reading room. We target always having the Reading teacher administer the test to the student.
Practice ISAT test days have also been a large piece of our success, scoring in the 90+% for four years. Our counselor is a scheduling 'guru' who has helped many schools craft their practice and real ISAT testing schedules to find success. It does cause inconveniences, but the outcome is incredible. All of this takes time, team support, and student buy-in. It is not uncommon for the administrator to say "No way". We can help paint the picture using research based strategies. It can be done. We are happy to help.
Dana Isackson, Macomb JHS
We do it quite similary [to Jack London Middle School] in Antioch. Students are pulled from one of their two exploratory classes and are put into Read 180 with our Reading Specialist. This is a Tier 2 Intervention and is in addition to their 84 minutes of Reading and Language Arts. We use scores from NWEA and teacher recommendation for placement into the program.
Jim Kallieris, Antioch Upper Grade School
TESTING
Do you administer semester (final) exams to sixth, seventh, and/or eighth grade students?
If yes, how did your school/district make the decision to begin administering them? In what courses are exams given? How is the exam weighted in students' grades?
If no, how did you come to this decision?
Allyson Thorne, Springman Middle School
Emerson Middle School and Lincoln Middle School (both District 64) do not administer semester exams. We do, however, have a cumulative test for Algebra students that places them in our out of AlgebraII at the High School. It is safe to say there are many developmentally appropriate ways we use to assess students and that we feel we have the info we need without final exams. The MAP scores seem to serve the HS well without finals, too. Also, personally, the time a summative smemster or final exam would take does not seem worth it when we already have over two weeks of standardized testing with MAP twice and ISAT.
Vicki Mogil, Emerson Middle School
Kennedy Junior High School does not administer mid-term or final exams. We look at what students should know and be able to do; grading is based on meeting standards.
Don Perry, Kennedy Junior High School
"Final" exams are typically NOT given as part of a larger end of the semester exam. We encourage teachers to evaluate students over shorter periods of time, progress monitor, and provide a variety of methods for students to demonstrate what they have learned. There are a couple of exceptions to this. For us this wold include our 8th grade Spanish class that is the same class offered in the high school, and our Intermediate Algebra class...same stiuation as Spanish. These are used tothen help evaluate the student for high school.
Stephen Maciejewski, Sam Rotolo Middle School
We do not administer semester exams at Cooper Middle School. We do administer an exam in Spanish twice a year as it is a two year course that is the equivalent of Spanish I.
Maureen Reilly, Cooper Middle School
We do not administer final exams.
Chris Dransoff, Hadley Junior High School
Gail Mason, Charleston Middle School
We administer semester exams to 8th graders, in an effort to preapre them for the at the HS. The exams together count as about 10% of the final grade for the year.
Mike Bleich, GCMS Middle School
WEB-BASED SCHOOL ADMINISTRATION and GRADEBOOK SOFTWARE
We want to be able to keep demographic information, generate state reports, monitor grades and attendance, run the cafeteria program, and allow our parents to monitor their child's progress and lunch accounts from home. Are there any products that are recommended by other network schools?
Sue Catt, Nuttall Middle School
We are very pleased with Grade Quick.
Ron Jones, Huth Middle School
Skyward.
Chris Becker, Glenwood Middle School
Skyward has worked well for Macomb CUSD 185.
Dana Isackson, Angie Schauble, Macomb Junior High School
We are currently using Powerschool. There are glitches with every program, but we have been able to work through them. We have been satisfied.
Deb Brennan, Central Middle School
We [District 64]find [Powerschool] acceptable for all uses, although we don't use the lunch pre-pay feature.
Vicki Mogil, Emerson Middle School
Jim Blouch, Lincoln Middle School - also in district 64
District 21 is using Power School. It interfaces with PowerTeacher and PowerGrade. Several schools in the northern suburbs use this. It has a parent portal that allows parent access.
ANY new system is going to take time to get used to. Hardware support is key. Training is key. Low expectations for all to be up and running helps. And finally, having one key person with a competent assistant may help to organize the whole thing and to trouble shoot. This can't just be an added responsibility of a line administrator who doesn't really know technology and who does not have the time and resources to implement the change.
Jim Parker, Jack London Middle School
We at GCMS are using SDS for our student data base. Gradequick for grading and edline for parental grade monitoring. We dump our grades from Gradequick to edline weekly and from Gradequick to SDS for report cards at the end of the quarter.
Mike Bleich, GCMS Middle School