RAFT

This is an area that I am immersed in, especially at this time of year. I handle the transitioning of our 8th graders into the receiving district's high school. There have been some instances when a parent is not happy with the proposed placement of their child.

Scenerio:

R: Subject Area Supervisor (Me)
A: Parent angered about student placement (Mrs. J.)
F: Phone conversation
T: Supporting school's decision for student (Amy) placement in College Prep vs. Honors class

Me: Hi Mrs. J., I'm glad I was able to return your call. I have a message here that you have some concerns regarding Amy's placement for 9th grade? Tell me the areas or classes, and lets see how we can investigate this.

Mrs. J.: Well, Amy was placed in the college prep course for Geometry; Geometry A, and she has had straight A's every marking period in Algebra this year. Why can't she be placed in the Honors level Geometry?

Me: Give me a minute to pull her files, Mrs. J. I would like to look at her grades and teacher comment history in mathematics, as well as her 7th grade NJASK scores.

Mrs. J.: Why are you concerned with her 7th grade tests?

Me: Typically, we use a few measurements to place students, and the most recent standardized test scores are just one of the areas that we consider. She won't take the NJASK8 until May. As you know, she is taking her midterms this week, and that is another consideration to her placement. Let's see, yes, she was proficient with a 223 in the math portion of the NJASK7. And I do see that she has gotten all A's this year. You must be quite proud of her.

Mrs. J.: So you agree that she is in the wrong level?

Me: Well, not quite, Mrs. J. Although Amy was proficient in math with a 223, for an honors level course, we are looking for a student with a higher level of proficiency, even possibly an advanced proficiency level of 250 or above. Amy is a hard worker, and does earn A's, but the honors level geometry class will have few freshman... mostly sophomores in attendance. It is required that Amy has an advanced knowledge as a spring board in order to achieve success in honors Geometry.

Mrs. J.: Well, what if Amy does really well in the NJASK8?

Me: If Amy meets the criteria set in the coursebook for the high school, and she already has the algebra grades for it... if she achieves the necessary NJASK8 score in math, there is no reason why she couldn't be pushed into the honors class. We won't receive the 8th grade test scores from the State until the summer, but we have a team here, and guidance counselors work at the high school over the summer. We could look into a change then. But, I would also want you to think a bit about the transitioning into a new school. Amy is in a class of 45 here, and will be joining 350 other students in her freshman high school class. We want to balance her academic load with the social component of the transition, so that she is successful in her learning experience.

Mrs. J.: Okay, I guess we need to wait and see on this. I'm not happy, but I can't argue with the data.

Me: Thanks for your understanding, Mrs. J. I wish Amy luck in the midterms this week as well as the State tests in May. We can talk after we see how she has done, and by then she'll have a guidance counselor assigned for assistance at the high school.