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Creating a Plan
To Raise Test Scores

"I am responsible to my area superintendent to accomplish a 'principal's checklist' of goals. One of those responsibilities is to meet, along with my assistant principal, with each of my Level 1's [students scoring at the lower levels on the state tests] and their parents to discuss test scores and the importance of raising those scores. We talk about the school's responsibility for raising the students' test scores and how the parents can support that effort. That personal attention is a very good idea because, many times, students and parents don't understand how close they are to the next level until we point it out. The district's extra attention to test results has paid off substantially. Our scores have gone up in each of the last five years." (Michael Miller)

Sue Astley sets aside time for teachers in her school to analyze their students' test results. The goal of that exercise is twofold: to identify areas of the curriculum that need to be improved and to identify the strong and weak students in each class. "We are trying to move away from the smile-and-file mode of testing -- the mode in which we get back test results, smile as we share the results with parents, then file away the results and never look at them again. We are also trying to get away from the perception that we're evaluating teachers based on student scores. As we all know, there are many variables in the testing equation. While we want scores to improve from year to year, we're more interested in what they tell us about our curriculum and teaching."

Join the Conversation All school leaders know that raising test scores is hard work and requires a multi-pronged approach. Among the test-related strategies school leaders use to improve student achievement are extensive data analysis, focused teacher training, frequent monitoring of student progress, practice testing throughout the year, student and staff incentives… In your school, what initiative -- among those mentioned or something not mentioned -- do you feel has been the *largest* contributor to improving test scores? Click to join the conversation. Share your thoughts and ideas so others might learn from your experiences.

Sue Astley sets aside time for teachers in her school to analyze their students' test results. The goal of that exercise is twofold: to identify areas of the curriculum that need to be improved and to identify the strong and weak students in each class. "We are trying to move away from the smile-and-file mode of testing -- the mode in which we get back test results, smile as we share the results with parents, then file away the results and never look at them again. We are also trying to get away from the perception that we're evaluating teachers based on student scores. As we all know, there are many variables in the testing equation. While we want scores to improve from year to year, we're more interested in what they tell us about our curriculum and teaching."

Principal Marguerite McNeely helped steer test results on an upward slope at her school. Test scores went up as a result of some commonsense things she and her staff did.