Setting Us Apart

Each year, I watch the 8^th graders blossom and transform…from middle school students to high schoolers! There are many things they take with them – confidence, character, the ability to clearly communicate, written expression, mathematical abilities, the understanding of our past and present, the ability to hypothesize, and so much more. I know Oakhill provides a solid foundation for what is to come.

When I watched the 8^th grade perform at last month's Holiday Concert, I watched their unique personalities come out on stage. In many middle schools, there are a select few who choose to participate in drama and music…maybe they choose this as an elective and maybe they don’t! Maybe they are chosen by the music and drama teacher, and maybe they aren't! At Oakhill all of our 8^th graders have the opportunity to shine on stage…to share their talent in front of family and friends…to let their confidence grow even more. Those moments are important to me as an administrator…we are producing students who believe in themselves and know who they are!

Of course, hard evidence is just as important. As parents, I know you are always looking for evidence of value…and, you should be!

I want to take this opportunity to share with you some remarkable statistics. On Wednesday, November 7^th the eighth grade students took the EXPLORE test, which is part of the ACT family.  It is written for the 8^th or 9^th grade level with a goal of getting a head start on ACT testing and making sure students are on track for high school.  Via an inventory, it also suggests careers and course direction that match the student’s interest.  The test consists of a section in English, Mathematics, Reading, and Science with a high score of 25.  The English section has two components, usage/mechanics and rhetorical skills with a high score of 12.  Each student also received a composite score with 25 being the highest.  The charts below show how our students at Oakhill compared to the national norm group. Quite impressive AND expected!

Some interesting points: (For each of the following the high composite score is 25.)

In English our students average composite score was 21.6 compared to a national average of 14.7.

In Mathematics our students average composite score was 20.8 compared to a national average of 15.5.

In Reading our students average composite score was 21.1 compared to a national average of 14.6.

In Science our students average composite score was 20.8 compared to a national average of 16.6.

Overall composite:  our students averaged 21.2 compared to a national average of 15.5!  100% of our students scored ABOVE the national average!

We are excited to share our results with the entire community.  We understand that Oakhill is an investment.  The performance of our 8^th grade students on the EXPLORE is just one of many way we can show you the dividends.

Suzanne

Read, Read, Read!

I read for information…to stay current with regards to educational best practices...and, to gain knowledge, but rarely do I make time for a good book just for reading’s sake!

In this month’s Educational Leadership Journal, I enjoyed an article about addressing reading concerns early. The article made many great points including the importance of alphabetical and phonetic awareness, but to summarize, the answer to good reading is to have your child read, read, and read some more!

This particular paragraph struck me.

A student in the 90^th percentile of reading volume (who reads 21.1 minutes per day) encounters 1.8 million words a year, whereas a student in the 10^th percentile (who reads less than one minute per day) sees only 8,000 words a year. Put another way, the first student sees more words in two days than the second reads all year (Cunningham & Stanovich, 2001). It’s no wonder that students with limited practice in reading (and, thus limited vocabularies and general knowledge) often struggle when they are expected to progress from reading relatively easy passages to increasingly difficult texts that require larger vocabularies, greater fluency, and more prior knowledge.

Know how important reading is to a child’s successes in school and in life. I challenge you to turn off the DVD’s in the car, lessen TV time at home, take time to help your child find a good book, and spend time reading together as a family. Whether you and your child read for fun, read for knowledge, or read to gain information, the important thing to do is read, read, read!

Bryan Goodwin’s article “Address Reading Problems Early” from March 2012 Educational Leadership

Oakhill Day School students from Toddler (Age 2) to Eighth Grade participated in the Read Across America Event this month. Everyone enjoyed the opportunity to Stop, Drop, and Read!
(click on the image to see our readers in action)