[ OUR OPINION ]
Tailored reviews of
progress aid school
success
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The Hawaii Educational Performance System being used by a complex of schools on the Big Island appears promising in that it can be tailored to monitor each school's goals and assess quickly the effectiveness of its educational techniques. If a program isn't producing desired results, educators get fast feedback, enabling them to retool or make changes. Assessments can also be used to keep parents and the community more closely informed about a school's performance.
The system was developed by a Florida businessman, Mark Hunter, who points out that, like commercial enterprises, schools need swift assessments of their functions if they are to be successful. They also need recognition of accomplishments to motivate students, teachers and administrators and to get parents and the community to buy in.
The approach is in line with giving principals more control of their campuses. As the Star-Bulletin's Susan Essoyan reports, Hunter's system allows each school to choose the data it wants to track, such as homework completion, student progress in reading or math, disciplinary matters, good behavior, teaching methods, parental contacts and a host of other focus areas.
Teachers and other staff submit information every Friday. The following Monday, Hunter provides results in charts and graphs with notations and remarks so schools begin the new week with a clear evaluation of where they stand, what worked, what didn't and where fixes should be made. They need not wait a whole year to see how productive or nonproductive their programs have been.
The Big Island schools began using the tracking system in January after a pilot period in 2003. This year, seven of the complex's 14 schools earned good grades in the annual No Child Left Behind tests administered in April, two more than last year. School officials say it's too early to gauge the effects of the system, but are encouraged by the improvements.
Hunter designed the system and has been providing analysis on his own dime, but hopes to recover his expenses in the future. The Department of Education should explore the costs of making the program available to schools that want it. Administrators could also partner with businesses who may be willing to sponsor the program since businesses benefit from an educated population, too.
The system correctly recognizes that short-term success eventually translates into long-term accomplishments. It provides educators with an agility to boost a school's strengths and to attack weaknesses. It should be added to the public schools' tool box for education improvements.
