You get it by doing well. They greatly increased time spent on writing, every day and in all subjects. CSAP tests have more than traditional multiple-choice questions. Students must write coherent sentences, paragraphs, even essays. It was when the CSAP came out that we realized we needed to teach writing.
Students learn to organize essays using colored strips of paper.
The school didn't introduce its current reading program until fall 1998, after the first big jump in test scores. Students with difficulty understanding what they read learn to visualize. They close their eyes, imagine an object or scene and practice describing it in detail. Alias Montoya isn't the only one who now prefers books without pictures. All students master 1,000 vocabulary words believed to be the most commonly used in written English.