Appointment to the Professional Educator Preparation & Standards Commission (PEPSC)

I am humbled to have been appointed to the Professional Educator Preparation & Standards Commission (PEPSC), as included in SB733.

As an advising body to the SBE, this commission has some incredible NC educators and I look forward to collaborating with them soon. #nced #ncadmin pic.twitter.com/aiQJs3jOKr

— Craig Smith (@CSmithGoBlue) September 17, 2021

My Ten Most Popular Blog Posts from 2016

The following is a list of my 10 most popular blog posts composed in 2016, based on blogger page-views.  Listed with each post is the original posting date:

1.  Proud to Lead at LNC
March 3, 2016

2.  E-Learning Day Pilot
February 12, 2016

3.  "Shadowed by the Principal" & #NoOfficeDay
May 11, 2016

4.  New Morning Dual Drop-Off Procedure
August 21, 2016

5.  Beginning of Year Letter to LNC Families
July 28, 2016

6.  E-Learning Day Pilot - Student Survey Data
February 23, 2016

7.  The Year of 'First's'
June 13, 2016

8.  Appreciating Dr. Tulbert's 'Gutsy' Post
January 25, 2016

Advanced Placement Testing: What a Difference One Year Makes

In alignment with our School Improvement Plan, I have spent the past two-years analyzing and studying our Advanced Placement data, specifically the low-participation of Advanced Placement testing compared to the high-participation of AP course enrollment.

The North Carolina General Assembly provided all North Carolina high school students an immense opportunity for 2014-2015 by covering all testing fees. (Related blog post from October: Advanced Placement Test Participation and Opportunity in North Carolina)

At Ashbrook High School, we utilized alumni, teachers, guidance counselors, and parents to share the vast benefits of taking and succeeded on Advanced Placement exams during Parent-Teacher Conferences throughout the school-year.

Advanced Placement Test Participation & Opportunity in North Carolina

2014 Advanced Placement Test Data for North Carolina:

• 23.4% of North Carolina public school 11th and 12th grade students took at least one Advanced Placement exam in May 2014.  The nation figure was 21.9%.

• NC ranked 16th among the 50 states and the District of Columbia in the percentage of 11th/12th grade students taking at least one Advanced Placement exam.

• North Carolina ranks 14th in the nation on the percentage of public high school students scoring a Level 3 or higher on AP exams.

• Hispanic student participation increased in 2014 by 32.1%.  Black students posted a participation rate increase of 26.8%.  Participation also increased for White, Asian, and American Indian subgroups.

Data was taken from http://www.ncpublicschools.org/newsroom/news/2014-15/20141007-01.

The following information should result an even larger increase in participation:

BIG NEWS NC students: All AP/IB exam fees will be covered for ALL students by DPI this year. #nced #ncadmin #gcsk12 No excuses, @AshbrookHS!
— Craig Smith (@CSmithGoBlue) September 28, 2014

From the NCASA School Law Symposium, as shared by DPI:

#ncga has allocated over $12 million to be used for Adv. Placement testing fees this year. (1 of 2) #ncadmin #nced
— Craig Smith (@CSmithGoBlue) October 8, 2014

DPI will be billed directly from College Board for AP exams and will pay CB directly. (2 of 2) #ncadmin #nced
— Craig Smith (@CSmithGoBlue) October 8, 2014

North Carolina public high school students need to take advantage of this opportunity.

Thank you for reading,

CS

The opinions shared in this blog belong to Craig Smith and do not represent the school or district in which he works.

Student Safety #NCed Chat: 1/28/14

Release of School Data Resources

Legislation: Fact vs. Myth Pre-Assessment (Part I)

This is the Pre-Assessment for my "Legislation: Fact vs. Myth" Presentation, which occurred with the Ashbrook High School Faculty and Staff on August 22, 2013.

Legislation: Fact vs. Myth Popplet Presentation (Part II)

Following the Pre-Assessment of "Legislation: Fact vs. Myth", I facilitated the presentation using Popplet.  This presentation occurred at Ashbrook High School on August 22, 2013 to the Faculty and Staff:

Cultivating Capacity Collaborative

EVAAS-The difference between projections and predictions

The implementation of Standard VI (and Standard VIII for administrators) through the use of EVAAS Data has created some confusion between student projections and student predictions:

1) Student projections on the EVAAS website project a student’s likelihood (as a percent probability) of achieving a performance level on a test. Those projections are calculated basically by looking at the testing history of the most recent set of completers of a given test and comparing those histories to those of students who have not yet taken the test. Projections are made assuming the students who have not yet taken the test will receive the average schooling experience for the projected subject/year, and all of the students’ prior testing history is considered.

2) Student predictions on the EVAAS website, which are not available until a student has tested in a given subject/year, predict a scale score for a student which can then be compared to the student’s actual scale score. The predicted scores of a class of students are compared to their actual scores such that if the mean actual score is higher than the mean predicted score, the class of students will have shown a higher than average level of growth. Also, the scores are predicted assuming that your students receive the average schooling experience with the average teacher in NC.

Thanks for reading,

CS

Reproduced with permission from Jessica Garner

Jessica Garner

Regional Professional Development Lead
jessica.garner@dpi.nc.gov

http://region6pd.ncdpi.wikispaces.net/EVAAS