Analysis of Data at South Paulding High School from 2008 to 2010 Kim Huett, Anne Roycroft, Gina Smeeton, and Robin Wofford

Purpose O South Paulding High School (SPHS) has not made Adequate Yearly Progress for the past two years. O Our group reviewed school data and improvement plans for through school year. O Math was identified as being an area in need of greater focus for school improvement at SPHS.

Study Provides… O Contextual information about student, staff and community demographics O Overview of relevant S. I. goals and objectives O Assessment data - how the school is evaluated O Renewed focus on strategies: math and achievement of all students

Demographic Characteristics O Atlanta metro. area O Mix of rural and planned communities O Growing population over 142,000 O School District is largest employer O Many commute to Atlanta for work O Third fastest growing county in the United States (74% over last 10 years) O School District student population increased by 36% between 2005 and 2010

School Community O County residents median income: $63,000(2009) O Over 60% residents relocated to area O 77.7% White, 17.1% Black, and 5.1% Hispanic and/or Latino O 85.8% of residents hold high school diploma O 20.1% hold bachelor's degree

School (students) O Children under the age of 18 comprise 30% of Paulding county residents. O In 2009, Paulding County Schools served 28,000 students in 33 schools. O Five of the District's elementary schools are Title 1. O The District did not meet AYP in O Paulding County Schools were designated as in need of improvement by The Georgia Department of Education.

South Paulding High School O Opened 2006 with 1165 students (grades 9- 11) O Redistricted from Hiram and Paulding High O First senior class graduated in 2008 (208 students) O school year, enrollment 1,893… 2,096 the following year

Staffing O 116 teachers O Eight administrators O Seven support personnel O Teachers average 7.77 years experience O Student-teacher ratio is 18:1 O Staff absence increased since the school opened (seven days per teacher in in 2009)

Improvement Objectives O SIP Math achievement sub-goal: meeting or exceeding on Math GHSGT will increase annually by 1%. O Paulding County School district goal: Decrease identified achievement gaps that exist among subgroups of students as described by NCLB. O Our group chose to focus on math achievement.

School Climate Data O Letter home to parents of all students in the county, urging parents to work with faculty and staff to ensure optimal academic performance O Parents invited to visit schools to discuss questions or concerns

Summary of School’s Performance O Did not make AYP in part as result of math scores of Georgia High School Graduation Test O and school years, all SPHS students scored below state average (within 4 percentage points.) O Across State of Georgia, sufficient number of students met or exceeded Annual Measurable Objective in , but fell short fell short in O Both years, White students scored between half a point and four points above AMO O Both years, White students at SPHS score approximately ten points below average percentage for white students across State of Georgia

Table 1

Summary of School’s Performance O Sample numbers of both Hispanic and students with disabilities do not support prudent analyses O 56.8% of Black students met or exceeded expectations in O 54.9% in met or exceeded O State of Georgia saw a five-point decline in the meet/exceeds rate of Black students (SPHS = 2%) O Economically disadvantaged students at SPHS met and/or exceeded expectations below AMO level both years O Scored higher than statewide counterparts by several points

Table 2

Recommendations O More detailed reviewed of math performance O Look at change over time (middle school-high school) O Develop better understanding (teachers) of specific weaknesses in instruction, delivery, and student performance (all grades in all math-related subjects) O Lack of readily available school climate data or obvious attempts to survey or involve parents, students and community in identifying areas of concern

Recommendations O Morale and community involvement are worthy of further investigation at South Paulding High School. O Rapid community growth can create barriers, but also opportunities for new partnerships and financial support not always present in other Georgia school districts. O We recommend an in-depth study involving collection of both qualitative and quantitative data from all stakeholders, including families, students, community and business leaders. O An additional recommendation is that SPHS consider initiatives to embrace math achievement with the assistance of the business community and the entire student and faculty populations.

References O Alliance for the Study of School Climate. (2011). Change from the inside: Examining K-12 school reform using the ASSC School Climate Assessment Indicator. Retrieved from O Georgia Department of Education. (2010a). School reports: Paulding County Schools. Retrieved from &CountyId= 710 &PID=62&PTID=213&T=0&FY=2010 O Georgia Department of Education. (2010b). School reports: South Paulding High School. Retrieved from SchoolId=21802&PID=63&PTID=214&T=0&FY=2010 O Georgia Department of Education. (2010c). School reports: State of Georgia. Retrieved from =0&FY=2010 O Hill, Y. (2010). Paulding County School District AYP letter to parents. Retrieved from O Paulding County School District. (2010). Paulding County School District website. Retrieved from O South Paulding High School. (2010). South Paulding High School school improvement plan Retrieved from /files/1426/ SPHS School Improvement Plan pdf O South Paulding High School (2011). South Paulding High School website. Retrieved from O U.S. Census Bureau. (2010) census: Paulding County, Georgia. Retrieved from