When Kids Share Responsibility for their Learning

Sparta Middle School in Sparta, MI is one of 38 middle schools that have been implementing the S.M.A.R.T. system for 3 years. Supported by a grant obtained by the Kent ISD regional staff, the schools are focusing on improving math as their GAN (Greatest Area of Need).  Sparta MS is a good example of the kind of transformation that happens once teachers adopt S.M.A.R.T. tools and methods.For this story, we’ll focus on the 7th grade classrooms.

Examining several years of standardized test scores, the 7th grade math team discovered that historically “algebra,” “estimation” and “problem solving” had been weak areas for their students. They also saw that only 60% of students had been achieving mastery on the total battery. They then set a S.M.A.R.T. goal: 85% of our students will have achieved mastery of 7th grade math concepts by the end of this year. The teachers targeted the % of students they committed to moving into each zone during the year: 15% of students in green, 70% in blue, 10% in yellow, 5% in red. [For a description of how to use zones with specific targets, see The Power of SMART Goals, chapter 4.]

During the first week of school, the team administered a common assessment (based on their textbook) to every student that assessed skills and concepts from every major unit for the year. To their surprise they discovered that 95% of their students had mastered “numerical operations”—a unit they had always (because it was at the beginning of the text) taken at least two weeks to cover every year. They had immediately gained 10 full days of teaching time!

The teachers posted the S.M.A.R.T. goal in tree diagram format at the front of their individual classrooms and told their students, “When 85% of our class achieves mastery on any unit this year, we’re going to move on. For those of you who need more time, we’re going to help you but not during whole-class time. And the good news is that 95% of you have already mastered numerical operations, so we won’t be covering that in class. In fact, we’re going to start with our weakest area which is algebra!”

After considerable discussion about trust and accountability, the teachers encouraged the students to start managing their own learning. The students began a process of self assessing daily quizzes using the answers at the back of their text books. They scored themselves according to the 4 zones using sticky dots: green=100% correct, blue=80%, etc. After large and small group lessons, the teachers worked with individual students according to their needs as indicated by these self-checks. At the end of each day’s lesson, the students handed in their “exit cards” with their colored sticky dots; the teachers then tallied up the totals and checked them against the S.M.A.R.T. Goal targets. (These quiz “grades” were never entered in grade books because these were truly formative assessments; the teachers and the students were using them to make adjustments to learning, not evaluating how much had been learned.)

When the classes began to get close to the 85% mark of unit, the teachers announced time for the “big assessment.” The students studied by examining their notebooks according to the sticky dots they’d placed on their quiz pages—if a page had a green dot, no need to review; a blue dot, they’d review with a friend; a yellow or red dot, they’d see the teacher.

Results for the 7th grade math team have been improving:

Grade 7 Math
70% (2008)
60% (2007)

Results for the 6th grade math team, following the same protocols, have been even more impressive:
Grade 6 Math
85% (2008)
68% (2007) 56% (2006)
The state average for Math was 73% in 2008. Source: MI Dept. of Education, 2007-2008

One of the veteran 7th grade math teachers, Susan Schut-Koning, comments, “It has been amazing for me to see how implementing the S.M.A.R.T. Goals process has changed the way I plan and teach. Even more amazing to me has been the kids' excitement in their learning as they rise higher academically.”

For more information about Sparta Middle School go to http://michigan.schooltree.org/public/Sparta-Middle-044600.html