Second-graders in Deborah Spake's Banoak Elementary School class compete for treats earned by reading books and answering test questions about the stories for points. Students are reading much more than they did before the competition started, she said.
Test scores have motivated school staff as well.
Two years ago Banoak students' academic performance was fine, according to test scores, but there wasn't enough improvement to meet state ABCs of Public Education Accountability standards. That was a jolt. The latest round of math and reading scores was so much higher that the school had the highest growth rate of the 127 schools in its grade category in the Charlotte region. Like the second-graders at Banoak who were a lot more motivated to read when they could measure their progress, compete and even get rewards, changes that had been started at the school were kicked into high gear when scores showed not enough growth. That means less of the teacher standing in front of a classroom of children, and more focused individual instruction.