The level 2 results in 2018 (Massey High School) were extremely disappointing and contrasted sharply with student success back in 2017. Much of this was due to changes in staffing and there were also issues with the level 2 cohort being significantly weaker than the cohort from 2017.
Having said, that the aim in 2019 is to improve the pass rate at level 2 so that it 80% (or higher).
Plan of Action
- Use Google classroom and a google site to ensure that students can easily access teaching materials
- Set up regular checkpoints and an incentive system to encourage classwork completion
- Contact parents / deans / tutor teachers where students are lagging behind / not meeting their potential
- Ensure that students have access to the computer lab outside of class hours so that incomplete work can be completed
Year End Reflection
The results for 2019 are best described as ‘mixed’. The Year 11 cohort achieved pleasing results and students who completed classwork on time were successful in their internal assessments. The external results were slightly disappointing with fewer E’s than hoped although there was a pleasing number of A’s and M’s and relatively few N’s.
The Year 12 students did well in both the web and database topics but generally struggled with the programming internal as many had no prior experience in Python programming. In addition, the programming topic was done towards the end of the year when many of the students had already earned enough credits to pass level 2 so motivation was an issue. The external results were mixed but most students who completed their reports passed the standard.
The Year 13 students also had mixed results with those who submitted work on time passing all the internals. The external results were both amazing and terrible at the same time. The were terrible because very few students submitted the work meaning that there was a disappointingly high number of ‘absent’ grades. This is partly due to the fact that students already had their 80 credits and were reluctant to complete the external. On the plus side, three of the four students who submitted the external earned an Excellence grade for their efforts (the remaining student Achieved that standard).
In summary, this goal was only partially met. Whilst students did do better than in 2018, there is still a long way to go. The plan going forward is to shift programming to the start of the year as this is worth a large number of credits. I’m also looking forward to having students sit the DCAT rather than having to complete a longer report and am hopeful that this will see more students attempt the external assessment at level 3.