Examining Stakeholder Expectations for Guiding School Reform: Including Students.

ABSTRACT Improving the quality of secondary education in public schools requires involving all stakeholders in identifying and applying appropriate expectations. Many adult stakeholders are seeking action to eliminate the disparity between state and federal estimates of student achievement and to enable comparisons between the performance of students and schools in different locations. There are also critics who believe that, because of their understanding of the cyber tools that will be used for learning in the future, adolescents' opinions should be solicited and given careful consideration. This article describes a strategy for using online polling to assess students' perceptions about the conditions of learning at their schools and reporting poll outcomes to stakeholders. This strategy supports more active community monitoring of school effectiveness. Key Words: School Reform, Student Polling, Community Participation, School Improvement Committees, Underperforming Schools, Student Proficiency A decade ago, evidence began to emerge that many teachers did not expect enough of their students. Grade inflation was soon recognized as a problem at all grades from kindergarten through college (Hunt, 2008; Johnson, 2003). Using high school marks to elevate the self-esteem of low-achieving students was criticized because it prevented detection of students' learning needs, condoned mediocrity, and ignored the accountability of students and schools. If grades are not reliable indicators of achievement, some other strategy should be applied to detect student strengths, deficits, and progress. This was the reasoning of Congress when it passed the No Child Left Behind Act in 2002 (Abernathy, 2007). The plan was to mandate testing pools of students throughout the nation in reading and mathematics at specified elementary and secondary grade levels. It was believed that most students are capable and must be prepared for competition in a global economy. The path to this goal begins by establishing high expectations. Therefore, the federal guidelines require monitoring individual students, examining at-risk groups, and tracking schools to detect whether they meet adequate yearly performance goals. All states were mandated to administer annual achievement tests but were permitted to develop their own measures (Collins and Halverson, 2009; White, Loker, March, & Sockslager 2009). Soon after the No Child Left Behind Act was implemented, however, confusion arose over differences in the way states defined proficiency. Common expectations about the skills needed for proficiency is important because the standards set by each state shape the curriculum and dictates how instructional time is used. Expectations should also be used to provide feedback to communities regarding the quality of schools. All stakeholders, including secondary students, can be involved in identifying and applying appropriate expectations for schools. This article will examine how combining the schools' expectations for students with students' expectations for schools can provide a more comprehensive perspective on school improvement. MONITORING EXPECTATIONS FOR STUDENTS Parents seek assurances that the state where they live maintains high standards instead of low expectations that make students and schools appear more successful than is the case. Parents are confused when informed that the students in their child's school are making progress while poor performance is common among other schools and districts. Concern over whether administrators are willing to be transparent in acknowledging the limitations of their schools is reinforced by public interest groups encouraging citizens to demand accurate data about student achievement, quality of schooling, and reforms. Reports of exaggerated progress has motivated action groups to provide a wakeup call to the public by issuing their own report cards that implicate local institutions. …