TIENET® Helps Eatontown, N.J., Schools Circumvent "Educational Roadblocks" and Focus Day-to-Day Instruction Planning for a Dramatic Boost in Test Scores
EATONTOWN, N.J. - TIENET®, a leading Internet-based learning management system, was chosen by the Eatontown, N.J. Public School District to help improve student performance in the face of "educational roadblocks" ranging from high student mobility to serious budget constraints.
The results were rapid and dramatic, thanks to the TIENET®'s ability to help the staff focus their instructional efforts on documented student needs. TIENET® leveraged existing resources to provide teachers with the information they needed to make informed instructional decisions. Robert Soprano, Superintendent of Schools in Eatontown, reports that following implementation of the TIENET® system, students in his district scored in the top third of rankings on the New Jersey State mandated tests (ESPA and GEPA), up from scores in the lower third in its county just a year earlier. The gains were particularly impressive, says Soprano, given the fact that upwards of 30 percent of Eatontown's 1,500 students come from transient military families, there are a significant number of Eatontown students speaking English as a second language, and some 25 percent come from families with serious financial challenges. Added to this set of circumstances was the fact that the district was facing its own budget constraints, forcing it to eliminate the position of curriculum coordinator, a position that is normally thought of as essential for any curriculum initiative to be successful. The roadblocks facing the district seemed almost insurmountable.
Aggressive Solution
Despite the budget constrains, however, the school board responded by supporting a plan that included directing available funds to greater availability of computers, expanded staff training, expanded use of a district-wide computer-based instructional system for students and the application of TIENET® to keep those efforts focused on being able to document success. Soprano, who had successful experience with an earlier version of the TIENET® system, in another school district, says that TIECorp's product played a critical role in the aggressive solution the staff implemented.
As a first step, TIENET® was used to assure that the district's curriculum development efforts were being aligned to the measures being used to assess the district's academic performance. Using TIENET®'s curriculum tool to align Eatontown's grade level expectations to the State's test specifications and to the standardized test used in Eatontown to report student achievement to parents did this.
During the course of the school year, a "TIE" committee composed of teacher representatives, computer teacher facilitators, the four school principals and the superintendent worked to formulate a plan for incorporating into the TIENET® system the information they needed to create instructional focus and encourage informed instructional decision-making. Teachers worked with the materials they used in the classroom to develop a grade level curriculum guide that reflected their understanding of the assessment specifications being used by the community to judge their proficiency. In addition, the district's existing curriculum committee worked on developing benchmark assessments that were aligned to the district's evolving on-line curriculum guide. These benchmark assessment were then used on a quarterly basis to help inform teachers on the progress their students were making in meeting the identified instructional needs of their students. To kick off implementation of the program for the entire school district, student test results from standardized testing that had been done in the spring were downloaded into the district's new on-line curriculum guide. Teachers were able to see immediately where their students were in relation to meeting mandated standards. In an easy to read graphical report, teachers were able to see at a glance where their instructional focus for the current school year needed to begin. No longer was chapter 1 in their basal series determining the starting point for instruction.
Next, TIENET® was used to help staff track ongoing progress on the four benchmark assessments in math and language arts formulated by Eatontown's curriculum committees. By using the system, teachers quickly realized the value of doing benchmark assessment and recognized the need for defining some standardization around this process if they were going to be able to work together as a team to improve instructional results. The examination of results became the focus for grade level meetings where teachers could build on their professional expertise to help students and each other to do better.
Soprano also encouraged implementation of technology into daily lesson plans by providing workshop experiences for teachers that occurred within the context of monitoring student progress. This progress was determined by criteria developed by the staff that used TIENET® to facilitate the process of scoring and analyzing results into easily read reports. Soprano could see his staff moving more and more in the direction of informed instructional decision making and the final results validated his perception.
Saving Valuable Instruction Time
"The assessment focus," says Soprano, "helps teachers not to waste valuable time teaching students skills they had already mastered." It also helps them individualize instruction because an individualized plan for each child can be generated from TIENET®. The information is also "rolled up" into grade level, school and district reports for administrative review and analysis. This information helps administrators to be more supportive of their staff needs as it relates to student performance results.
After a district-wide, in-service training program, teachers were pleasantly surprised at how easy it is to generate and read TIENET® reports. One teacher commented that, "TIENET® made the interpretation of test results so much clearer," adding that "my experience with the program has changed my teaching format, allowing me to focus on the specific learning needs of my individual classes."
TIENET® is helping Eatontown educators meet the spirit as well as the letter of the "No Child Left Behind" legislation that became law on January 8, 2002. They still face the issues presented by mobility, poverty, and English literacy. Now, however, they have a tool that helps them make a difference despite the challenges.
About TIECorp and TIENET®
TIECorp, the founding company of the web-based TIENET® Instructional Management and Special Education System, provides educators with a technology tool that uses one database, one source code, and one user interface to help educators organize resources, assess student needs, report progress, strategize instruction, and complete local, state, and federal reporting requirements in regular and special education.
TIECorp was founded in the early 1980s by a team of professional educators. Their mission was - and is - to assist schools and educators in managing their resources for better results. Over two decades, TIECorp has worked with hundreds of schools across the US using the company's TIENET® product to achieve documented results. In 2002, when many companies were reporting disappointing results, TIECorp's revenues grew by 20 percent over the previous year, and net profits rose by more than 21 percent.
