Sixth in a series
Re “How Should School Respond When Students Are Not Learning?”
[img]1457|right|David LaRose, Kenny Gatlin Photo for the Port Orchard Independent.||no_popup[/img]In School District Supt. Dave LaRose’s overview of the most critical questions at the outset of a new term with the neon introduction nationwide of Common Core, it was time for the finale.
“Question Four is, what do we do if kids already know that?” asked Mr. LaRose, who often speaks in huge-wave sentences.
“How are we being very thoughtful and strategic about enrichment and acceleration for our students who have already mastered the standard?
“I am excited about that because it is relevant if you are working with 3- and 4-year-olds, all the way up to our students who are 17, 18 years old and in Advanced Placement. We must be very explicit about what they need to know. We must be collaborative in making sure they know, and we intervene if they don’t.”
As for the every-year dispute over test scores, Mr. LaRose, already in his quick-paced third year, believes “they are a critical measurement.”
He inserted a caution sign to avoid excessive emphasis.
“It is a measurement,” Mr. LaRose said. “If our fundamental purpose, the reason we even exist, is to ensure that all children learn at high levels, then we better be measuring it.
“The emphasis is on learning,” said the superintendent. “If our focus is on that which is essential, and our way of going about that is collaborative, and that intervening in real time if students struggle, the test scores take care of themselves.
“If the goal is to improve test scores, then I think we are a bit misguided.”
(To be continued)
