- How and when are students identified to be in accelerated math at the elementary level?
- What test are students given and what score qualifies them for the accelerated math class at the elementary leve.?
- . How many 4th graders need to be accelerated in math in a school or connected pair of schools to make an accelerated math class for them (not waiting until they are in 5th grade)?
- Please provide examples of how the QUEST teacher works together with the regular classroom teacher or other teachers whose class the students miss during QUEST (science, social studies, math teachers for schools where students switch teachers for those subjects)?
- Do you have a written plan of communication and scheduling between the QUEST teacher and other teachers?
- Can you please work out a plan so that important classes that students cannot redo on their own (like science with hands on experiments, for example) are not scheduled for QUEST days?
- Why do the students not bring their completed QUEST work home to discuss with their parents? Do they do this for Critical Inquiry?
- Have you found any of the material to be too challenging for the students? Are they able to understand the primary source documents, or do you expect the students to sometimes not understand a document?
- Will 4th and 5th graders be in the same QUEST class together again next school year?
- This year QUEST curriculum was an expansion / enrichment of regular 4th grade curriculum topics (American Revolution, electricity). Will next year it be an expansion of 5th grade curriculum topics or will it cover 4th grade again?
- Would it be possible to switch the lunchtime for the QUEST students at Shatekon to an earlier time? (They currently eat after all other students at Shatekon and after they have recess and by that time the students are starving.)
- Is it possible to set up a QUEST classroom in every connected set of schools plus Okte and Chango so that the students will not need to take the bus to class?
- Will a screening test be given to 3rd graders in order to be placed in the 4th grade Quest program? If yes, will the SCAT be used again? If no, what test will be used and when?
- Will there be a retesting for 5th grade Quest students to determine eligibility for Critical Inquiry?
- If a child already tested for QUEST, but did not score high enough for eligibility, can they retest for QUEST, or if in 5th grade, retest for Critical Inquiry?
- Does being in the QUEST class this year automatically qualify these kids for the Critical Inquiry class next year?
- How much time are the students expected to spend a day doing Critical Inquiry homework?
- If a child is in Critical Inquiry do they automatically qualify for the LA/SS 7/8 acceleration, or is additional testing required?
- Is a specific grade average required in both LA and Social Studies classes in order to take the 7/8 course? Any other criteria?
- Is the grade average calculated any differently or any consideration given to grades, for a child taking higher-level classes?
- How about grade averages for students taking designated high school classes that will appear on high school transcripts? Is there any way to indicate acceleration on transcripts?
How and when are students identified to be in accelerated math at the elementary level?
Please refer to the district's math acceleration procedures that can be found
online at www.shenet.org
What test are students given and what score qualifies them for the accelerated math class at the elementary leve.?
Students are evaluated using multiple critera. The NYS Standardized Math test
is one. Students working at higher math levels are given the TOMAGS (Test of
Mathematical Abilities for Gifted Students). Teacher evaluation and
recommendation is also used.
. How many 4th graders need to be accelerated in math in a school or connected pair of schools to make an accelerated math class for them (not waiting until they are in 5th grade)?
If warranted, students may be accelerated in math at any grade level. Kristen
Schram is the district's accelerated math teacher who was hired to provide 6th
grade instruction to 5th grade students.
Please provide examples of how the QUEST teacher works together with the regular classroom teacher or other teachers whose class the students miss during QUEST (science, social studies, math teachers for schools where students switch teachers for those subjects)?
The QUEST teacher is in contact with the 4th and 5th grade teachers on a
regular basis via email. The regular education teacher is aware of the
scheduled QUEST days at the beginning of the school year.
Do you have a written plan of communication and scheduling between the QUEST teacher and other teachers?
The QUEST teacher is available to meet with teachers on an as needed basis
each week. The QUEST teacher has attended district grade lavel meetings to
address teachers' questions and concerns.
Can you please work out a plan so that important classes that students cannot redo on their own (like science with hands on experiments, for example) are not scheduled for QUEST days?
The QUEST teacher and the regular classroom teachers have a good working
relationship. If you have a specific concern, please address this with your
child's teacher and/or building principal.
Why do the students not bring their completed QUEST work home to discuss with their parents? Do they do this for Critical Inquiry?
Students writing and daily work is kept in their composition notebooks.
Students keeping their composition notesbooks in the room for their
convenience and to ensure they are prepared from week to week. However, they
are free to bring them home at anytime.
Projects are generally group-based, and one group member gets to bring hoem
the poster/book/whatever it may be. The group decides who will bring the work
home.
Individual projects are displayed in the room and then distributed to students
after a few weeks.
Have you found any of the material to be too challenging for the students? Are they able to understand the primary source documents, or do you expect the students to sometimes not understand a document?
The primary source documents are very challenging. The documents are read with
teacher guidance to ensure student understanding. Strategies are taught to
help students better understand the documents (highlighting, note-taking in
the margin, paraphrase, etc.)
Will 4th and 5th graders be in the same QUEST class together again next school year?
Yes
This year QUEST curriculum was an expansion / enrichment of regular 4th grade curriculum topics (American Revolution, electricity). Will next year it be an expansion of 5th grade curriculum topics or will it cover 4th grade again?
Please see the QUEST PowerPoint presentation and the outline below:
ELA Year 1: Patterns of Change
ELA Year 2: Literary Reflections
Social Studies Year 1: The World Turned Upside Down
Social Studies Year 2: A House Divided? The Civil War, Its Causes and Effects
Science Year 1: Electric City: A Problem-Based Unit
Science Year 2: Acid, Acid Everywhere
Would it be possible to switch the lunchtime for the QUEST students at Shatekon to an earlier time? (They currently eat after all other students at Shatekon and after they have recess and by that time the students are starving.)
All students in Shatekon eat after their scheduled lunch/recess time. Due to
the limited number of days that QUEST takes place in Shatekon and the shared
kitchen facility in Arongen, the students need to be scheduled for lunch at
this time. The QUEST teacher does provide a snack period in the morning to
accommodate this situation. Children are encouraged to bring additional
nutritious food for snack time.
Is it possible to set up a QUEST classroom in every connected set of schools plus Okte and Chango so that the students will not need to take the bus to class?
Not at this time.
Will a screening test be given to 3rd graders in order to be placed in the 4th grade Quest program? If yes, will the SCAT be used again? If no, what test will be used and when?
The CogATs will be used this year (Cognitive Abilities Test). This test will
be given in late Feb./early March 2010.
Will there be a retesting for 5th grade Quest students to determine eligibility for Critical Inquiry?
No.
If a child already tested for QUEST, but did not score high enough for eligibility, can they retest for QUEST, or if in 5th grade, retest for Critical Inquiry?
Yes.
Does being in the QUEST class this year automatically qualify these kids for the Critical Inquiry class next year?
If the child was successful in QUEST, they will automatically qualify for
Critical Inquiry.
How much time are the students expected to spend a day doing Critical Inquiry homework?
Depending on the content the student is working on in class, up to 30 minutes.
For example, students are currently working on problem based learning so 99%
of the work is done in school. When they are reading novels or reading for
seminar, the amount of homework grows and varies depending on how fast of a
reader the student is or the effort put into the reading. There are also
writing assignments associated with these. For novels, usually 2-3 chapters
per night are assigned. During the 2nd semester, students are also given long
range assignments. All due dates are given to students in January. Students
are responsible for managing their time and turning these projects in each month.
If a child is in Critical Inquiry do they automatically qualify for the LA/SS 7/8 acceleration, or is additional testing required?
Since Critical Inquiry is an honors reading class--not an advanced level
social studies and language arts program--students in Critical Inquiry do not
automatically qualify for the ELA/SS 7/8 Acceleration Program. Students
taking Critical Inquiry would need to be evaluated and qualify for the ELA/SS
7/8 Acceleration Program in order to be enrolled in the Program. In the
evaluation process, the grades for students enrolled in Critical Inquiry are
weighted to reflect the challenging nature of the course.
Is a specific grade average required in both LA and Social Studies classes in order to take the 7/8 course? Any other criteria?
The following criteria are used to determine which students qualify for the
ELA/SS 7/8 Acceleration Program:
• Grades in LA, SS, & Reading/Critical Inquiry
• Teacher Evaluation
• Gr. 5 NYS Test Results in ELA & SS, along with preliminary results on the
Gr. 6 NYS ELA Test.
No specific grade average in LA, SS, & Reading/Critical Inquiry is needed to
qualify for the ELA/SS 7/8 Acceleration Program, as a sliding scale is used to
determine eligibility. For example, a student that had an A- average in these
courses (with a weight assigned to students enrolled in Critical Inquiry)
would need to have better results in the other criteria than a student with a
higher average in order to qualify.
Is the grade average calculated any differently or any consideration given to grades, for a child taking higher-level classes?
Students enrolled in honors or accelerated courses are graded/measured
according to the standards of those classes. Students taking honors,
accelerated, or college-level high school courses receive a weight for those
classes when determining class rank.
How about grade averages for students taking designated high school classes that will appear on high school transcripts? Is there any way to indicate acceleration on transcripts?
Information that a student accelerated in a course is not specifically spelled
out on a HS transcript, but can be easily identified as the transcript
indicates the grade level in which students took a particular course. Again,
students taking honors, accelerated, or college-level high school courses
receive a weight for them when determining class rank.
