But testing dates vary from school to school according to each school's needs. Doing shorter, more frequent assessments ensures that teachers catch problems early and correct them, she said. Students who fail an assessment attend a short-term daily tutorial with no more than 12 students. Those who master an objective go to an enrichment class that is typically about 30 students. All teachers have either a tutorial or an enrichment session.
Teachers switch about every month so that no teacher has a steady stream of one or the other.
In intermediate and high schools, electives have become a privilege that students earned after mastering the basics, Davenport said. That has kept older students focused on learning and on the testing and has won widespread parental support, she said. Two-minute maintenance activities are sprinkled throughout each week to help students retain what they learned during the instructional focus times. If a teachers teaches summarization, for example, during the first four weeks of school, she has to maintain what they've learned up through the testing date. This technique has been particularly helpful for economically disadvantaged children.