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Home > Welcome to Manchester High School
What is the purpose of the Proficiency Initiative?
The purpose of Proficiency is to help ensure that all MHS students benefit from high expectations and are given the necessary time and support to meet those expectations. Proficiency will change the way in which grades are derived and it will also change the way in which students view class projects.
What is the background / history of Proficiency at MHS?
In the 2003-2004 school year, MHS Principal Don Sierakowski approved a small pilot of the Proficiency model in the World Language department. This pilot was monitored by MHS administration, the Manchester Board of Education, and district administrators. The process of piloting and learning about Proficiency continued through the next two school years. The model that will be implemented next year has been examined and approved by the Board of Education, the Superintendent of Schools, MHS administrators, and the MHS Program Council which is a group of department and program leaders at the school.
Has there been enough time to properly prepare teachers and curriculum?
Because the Board of Education and Superintendent of Schools have shown strong support for the Proficiency Initiative, MHS faculty have been given unprecedented time to develop new approaches to existing courses. Last year, teachers used four half-days to work together to develop Proficiency units of learning and assessment. This will continue in the 2006-2007 school year with teachers having one half-day per month to collaborate.
Are all MHS courses involved in the Proficiency Initiative?
Because we want to ensure that Proficiency is done in a way that teachers, students, and administrators can feel confident about, not all courses will be done in the Proficiency model this year. Each department will do one to three courses using Proficiency. Teachers will inform students whether each course is using the Proficiency model or not.
Where did this idea come from?
Proficiency is not a new idea. Examples of proficiency assessment are everywhere in our society. Doctors, lawyers, teachers, soldiers, secretaries, and even drivers all must pass assessments that judge whether they have met a determined level of skill or not. If they have not, they are expected to go back, re-study, and re-practice their material until they are ready to re-attempt the proficiency assessment. We will take this same approach to assessing the most important skills for each student’s success.
How does grading work?
Not every quiz or test will be considered a Proficiency Task - only the 1-to-3 most important concepts in a marking period will be measured with a Proficiency Task. On these assessments, there is no such thing as a mediocre result. Students will be judged as Proficient, or Not Yet Proficient. If they are judged to be Not Yet Proficient, they should immediately seek extra support from their teacher to help ensure Proficiency. Students will have as many attempts at Proficiency as they would like within one semester – without penalty. This means that, for Proficiency Tasks, students should give their best effort on their first attempt, but the score for Proficiency will be the same whether the student needs one attempt or many. In this way, we feel that Proficiency will be one important step to ensuring all students are given a chance to demonstrate high achievement in learning.
If a student does not reach Proficiency on the first attempt, it is very, very important that he or she seek help and guidance from the teacher immediately. Teachers are available to help every day after school and by appointment.
For courses in the Proficiency model, 30% of the student’s grade will be based on whether or not he or she has met the Proficiency Standards for that marking period. For example, if there were three Proficiency Tasks in a marking period and the student demonstrated proficiency on all three – the proficiency score would be 100. This would comprise 30% of the overall grade. If 2 of the 3 proficiencies were demonstrated, the proficiency score would be 67%.
These new methods and higher expectations for all children are our school’s moral, ethical, and legal responsibility to the community of Manchester. By holding high expectations for all students, regardless of background or history, and providing more support to those in need, we feel that each student will have the opportunity to learn at the highest level possible.
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