Central+High+School

 Central High School  Providence School District  Ruqayya El-Asmar



“The mission of Central High School is to instruct students in practical knowledge, foster positive attitudes, encourage commendable behaviors and promote opportunities in order for students to realize their potential to thrive in a global technological society.”

Introduction
Central High School is located in the heart of Providence, Rhode Island. This school includes grades 9-12 and is home to 1,719 students. This report analyzes various aspects of the school including assessments of the students in math and reading, accountability and progress of the school when compared to other Rhode Island high schools, the curriculum and instruction that students are receiving, as well as the student-teacher relationship at Central High School. This analysis can give parents and teachers a better understanding of Central High School, and conveys the school's strengths as well as its weaknesses.

//__Assessment__//


The students in Central High School have very low proficiency levels in all subjects; math, reading, and writing. This is especially true for math, where 80% of the students in the 11th grade are considered substantially below proficiency levels, and only 4% of the students are considered proficient. Students tested better in writing and reading, but still more than half of the students are not considered proficient. Reading is the only subject in which students are considered proficient with distinction, yet this only include 4% of the students. 35% of these students are considered proficient, while 33% are substantially below proficiency. In writing, 17% of students are considered proficient, while 22% of students are considered substantially below proficiency. While students are struggling the most in math, the scores in reading and writing also need improvement.



Based on the characteristics of students, there is a much higher percentage of students who have more difficulty in math, and they have lower proficiency in this subject when compared to reading. When looking at proficiency in math, racial backgrounds does not appear to influence the proficiency levels. 100% of Asian and White students are not reaching proficiency in math, while 97% of African Americans and 94% of Hispanics are not reaching proficiency. These students have similar percentages of proficiency when tested in reading, with only White students pulling slightly ahead with only 33% of students not reaching proficiency. There is no significant difference in the schools of students who are in poverty when compared to those who are not affected poverty. Gender also does not seem to have a great difference in reading, but males have 93% of students not reaching proficiency, while 99% of females are not reaching proficiency in this subject. 100% of the high school students with disabilities who were tested did not reach proficiency in either math and reading, which may be a reflection of a lack of programs to accommodate students with special needs. Racial background, economic standing, and gender all have little effect on the proficiency levels of Central High School students.

//__Accountability and Progress__//




The students in Central High School are not reaching state targets or showing adequate progress performance in index scores. This is especially true for math, which seems to be a subject that these students have particular difficulty with. Regarding the state targets in reading, most students are either above or extremely close to the target index scores. Students with disabilities have significantly low scores, which might be a result of a lack of resources for the students with special needs. The economically challenged students who suffer from poverty do not have lower index scores when compared to other students who have equally below state targets. While Central High School is showing slow increases in index scores in both reading and math, they are still significantly below other Rhode Island high school index scores. The students in Central High School are not making the progress they need in order to catch up to other high school students in Rhode Island.

__//Curriculum and Instruction//__
The curriculum at Central High School is lacking in the advanced placement classes that are offered and the number of students who take the exams. 0% of seniors have taken AP exams. This compared poorly to the Rhode Island state averages off 22% of seniors who take these exams, with 60% of these exams are scored at college-level mastery.



The type of instruction given by Central High School teachers and the methods they use in the classroom are consistently within the maximum and minimum ranges of other Rhode Island High Schools, though they are not always equal to Rhode Island High School averages. Central High School surpasses state averages in the writing instruction given to the students as well as the examination of student’s work and the guidance and instruction given to them by their teachers. In all other aspects, the school scores lower than Rhode Island High Schools, and are close to the minimum range. Students are not taught problem and decision making skills in the classroom, and the materials taught do not relate to student’s interest. There is also not enough revision of the written work done by students, and a lack of students giving feedback to one another in the classroom. While there seems to be adequate student-teacher interaction, there does not appear to be sufficient interaction between students.

//__Student-Teacher Connectedness__//


The student-teacher relationship at Central High School is weaker than it is in other high schools in Rhode Island. A smaller percentage of students in Central High School feel that they can talk freely to their teachers about academic and personal problems when compared to other Rhode Island High Schools. This is especially true for the expression of personal or family problems, where only 9% of students say that they are comfortable expressing personal issues to their teachers. This score is at the very minimum of Rhode Island High School ranges. Only 23% of students say that they feel comfortable discussing academic issues with their teachers, compared to 47% of students in other high schools in Rhode Island that feel comfortable with this openness. This inability to interact with teachers when having difficulty in school may influence the low test scores and slow progress toward improvement. Less than 20% of students say that they receive individual help and advising from teachers, and this is higher than the average for other Rhode Island high schools. Students need more individual attention from teachers and advisors, and are not getting the services they need in order to succeed.

Only 50% of teachers believe that they interact with students in a way that shows interest and respect, and this is significantly below state averages. 50% of teachers believe that they use positive approaches to help children behave constructively, which is again significantly below Rhode Island high school averages. The advisory program in Central High School is also lacking, and they need a program that is led by the teachers as there are in other Rhode Island High Schools. Students need more personal interaction with their teachers and individual guidance based on their needs. They need to feel more comfortable in discussing academic issues in order to improve and show progress in their work.

//__SALT Reports__//
According to the SALT Reports, students are entering Central High School with gaps in their education, and are missing basic skills that are needed to compete with other schools in the district and in the state. Without adequate programs to address these needs, students are not able to succeed at the level that is expected of them, and it leads to poor performance.



From the conversations with teachers and meetings with students, the SALT report concluded that the quality of instruction and the curriculum are inconsistent, and do not meet the needs of the students. Almost several times a month, students are assigned worksheets and have multiple choice or short answer questions. They are also often assigned problems from the textbook and do not participate in enough hands-on learning activities, which occurs only monthly. Peer tutoring occurs a little less than monthly, and there are not many activities in which students can work together and get to know each other. This can also be reflected in only monthly occurrences of group projects. Because most assignments are from the textbook and the exams are in multiple choice and short answer form, 30% of students do homework for less than 30 minutes a night during the week and 39% of students do homework between 30 minutes to one hour. Over the weekend, 46% of students study for less than 30 minutes and only 4% of students study between two to three hours.

The expectation for student performance is very low, not only in the eye of the administration, but it is also affecting teachers. This is leading to an undemanding curriculum that involves teaching basic skills and multiple choice based tests. The students lack class discussions and projects, and there needs to be more emphasis on their critical thinking abilities and incorporating hands-on activities into the classroom.

Conclusion
Central High School is a very racially diverse school located in the center of Providence. These students have difficulty in math, reading, and writing, and are not showing sufficient improvements when compared to other Rhode Island high schools. The curriculum and instruction is more focused on basic skills and multiple-choice based testing, and does not place enough emphasis on critical thinking and discussions. Students need more one-on-one interaction with their teacher and advisers, and students would highly benefit from this attention and this could lead them to improve academically. This analysis of Central High School is important for students, parents, teachers, and administrators to examine and understand. The community can use the information that has been explored in this report to make improvements and progress in Central High School.