More work to be done
School system audit reveals positives and negatives
By Donna C. Gregory NEWS EDITOR

The constructive criticism found in Phi Delta Kappa's 300-plus page audit will be used to make improvements in the management and functionality of county schools.

County schools are on the right path, but there are still some steps to take before the school system is truly walking its talk. This was the crux of a months-long curriculum management audit conducted by education experts from Phi Delta Kappa International.

At the request of Superintendent Marcus Newsome and the school board, 13 Phi Delta auditors converged on county schools and administrative offices in late September with one goal in mind: to find out what Chesterfield's awardwinning school system needs to make it better.

"Most school systems are reluctant to conduct a curriculum audit," said Newsome. "In Chesterfield County Public Schools (CCPS), we are neither reluctant, nor will we rest on our accomplishments."

Lead auditor Sue Shidaker revealed Phi Delta's findings to school board members late last month.

On the positive side, auditors found CCPS to be "student centered" and "forward-thinking." Classroom visits revealed "cheerful, pleasant settings focused on learning." Auditors praised CCPS for engaging parents, the community and staff members in discussing issues critical to learning. Staff members, in general, demonstrated "professional pride" in their work, observed auditors.

Newsome

But Phi Delta's job wasn't to identify CCPS' strengths; it was tasked with picking apart what needs improvement. The group's 334-page document included 117 recommendations CCPS should implement in order to reach Phi Delta's high standards.

"We don't praise the train for running on time," explained Shidaker. "We identify the gaps."

Since Phi Delta began conducting audits in the 1980s, no school system has met all of its standards, which are "based on effective schools research" with "high benchmarks to be met."

In Chesterfield, auditors cited numerous gaps including a lack of policies to manage the school system optimally, a lack of cohesion in planning, differences in the treatment and performance of minority students, and teachers who depend too much on lecturing and not enough on technology.

Most of the shortcomings just involve "tweaking" or formalizing policies and procedures that are already in place, said Shidaker. "Only a few [of our recommendations] are major overhauls," she said. "The quality of what's here is so strong to work from, and we think it's going to be doable [to implement the recommendations], particularly with the quality of staff you have here."

Below is a breakdown of some of the top findings.

Inadequate policies

Phi Delta found there weren't enough policies to guide the management of the school system, and many of those that are in place are too general or aren't known.

"The auditors found that current [school] board policies are inadequate to direct a sound curriculum management system and establish quality control of the educational program and organizational operations. Additionally, auditors found the use of the policies was rarely a practice in determining the basis for decisions except in instances of recent changes in law; often interviewees were unaware of any policies related to curriculum and assessment," reads the audit.

Auditors were given a host of policy documents to review. Some, like the staff communications, principals and performance evaluation policies, dated back to 1988.

Upon interviewing staff members, auditors heard comments such as, "A policy on curriculum and instruction has not been developed for 10 years" and "Some policies are so general that they say nothing and help no one."

Evaluations break state law

The audit team found the school system's employee performance evaluations are not in compliance with state law, because most do not address student academic achievement. "The only criterion approaching the [Virginia] code requirement…is 'sets high expectations for student achievement in accordance with needs and abilities,'" reads the audit.

Of 162 teacher evaluation forms reviewed by the auditors, all of the teachers "met county expectations" and 83 percent included remarks commending the teachers' performance. Only five included suggestions for improvement, leading auditors to conclude evaluations do "not sufficiently indentify performance needs for the purpose of improving instruction… [and] does not, in most instances, provide sufficient and discriminating details about job performances to support sound personnel actions."

In interviews with board members and educators, auditors were told, "Teacher evaluation is something that simply is not happening" and "The teacher evaluation system is antiquated."

"Department chairs questioned the usefulness of evaluation reports as well as the investment of time required to complete them," reads the audit.

When auditors found a required form missing from one school's personnel files, the unidentified principal said, "I keep the information in my head."

Not in writing

Auditors studied the written curriculums of all grades and surmised that they were adequate at the K-5 level, but not at the secondary level.

"Courses are not written down so there can be consistency among teachers and schools," said Shidaker, in presenting the audit's results. "If a student goes from one school to another, he or she should be able to experience similar…learning [at both schools]." To meet Phi Delta's standard, 70 percent of curriculum materials must be in written form, so they can be used to guide instruction. In Chesterfield, auditors found 100 percent of K-5 level curriculum materials were in written form, whereas that number was only 47 percent at the middle and high school levels.

Too much lecturing

During classroom visits, direct instruction, where a teacher lectures a roomful of students, was the most frequently observed teaching method (44 percent) followed by monitoring (21 percent), where a teacher circulates around the classroom supervising students' work. This finding directly contradicts the school system's goal of using various teaching strategies, including small groups and other techniques.

Not enough technology

Auditors also noted that computers weren't being utilized enough in the classroom. Of the 7,788 computers available to students systemwide, only 22.5 percent were being used during auditors' observations. Elementary school students showed the smallest computer usage rate at 13.3 percent compared to high school students at 32 percent.

Racial differences

Auditors evaluated the rate of student suspensions and expulsions based on race, and found "black elementary school students are substantially overrepresented in all categories of disciplinary action. In comparison with other students, they are more than twice as likely to be suspended from classes or from school," reads the audit.

There continued to be higher rates of suspension among black males at the middle and high school levels.

There was also a disparity among elementary male students in general, regardless of race. "They are more than four times as likely to be assigned short-term or long-term suspensions than their female classmates," reads the audit.

This trend of males being suspended more than females continued at the higher grade levels.

Staff members explained the higher numbers among black students by saying, "It's the urban environment - gangs, violence" and "The neighborhoods and families don't appreciate school. It's the culture." One staff member reported, "We have a high suspension rate for minorities because staff is not prepared for handling diversity."

More racial issues

There were also disparities between the number of black students overall and the percentage that's represented in special programs like Center-Based Gifted, the governors' schools and the specialty centers. Black students account for 26.9 percent of all students, but only comprise 5.9 percent of Center-Based Gifted students and 4.1 percent of governors' school students. However, black students are overrepresented in programs that target students who are at-risk or those with learning disabilities. More than 30 percent of black students are in special education programming, and 54 percent of students in Title I programs for lower income, at-risk students are black.

What's next?

Some of the auditors' recommendations have already been included in the school system's recently-adopted six-year strategic plan called the Design for Excellence. Narrowing achievement gaps among minorities is just one of the components of that plan.

The school system is currently moving to document policies and processes for curriculum and staff development and student assessment. The evaluation process for employees is also being improved. School officials are looking for more ways to increase student use of computers in the classroom and are encouraging teachers to become more creative when it comes to instruction.

Shidaker cautioned administrators and school board members to "focus on the quality of work, not the speed of response to the report…We generally say that implementation of the package of recommended actions takes 3-5 years, even though several steps will be easily accomplished sooner."

Newsome said the school system will invite Phi Delta back for a post-audit in a few years.

To view the complete audit, visit www.chesterfield.k12.va.us.