Colchester’s School Improvement Plan for Student Achievement K to 8 2016-2017
COMPREHENSIVE NEEDS ASSESSMENT
Math
Student Achievement:
Contextual Data
Grade 3
 All students wrote the test, 55% were male and 45%
were female, 10% entered the school the year of the
assessment and 90% 3 or more years prior to the
assessment, no students received accommodations and
20 students in total wrote
Grade 6
 All students wrote the test, 37% were female and 63%
were male, 5% entered the year of the assessment, 11%
the year prior to the assessment and 84% 3 or more
years prior to the assessment, 16% received
accommodations and 19 students in total wrote, 5% first
language learned at home was other than English
Achievement Data
Grade 3
 Reading 95%, Writing 90% and Mathematics 95%
 Reading 5% Level 2, 55% Level 3 and 40% Level 4
 Writing 10% Level 2, 85% Level 3 and 5% Level 4
 Math 5% Level 2 60% Level 3 35% Level 4
Grade 6
 Reading 84%, Writing 95%, and Mathematics 47%
 Reading 16% Level 2, 53% Level 3 and 32% Level 4
 Writing 5% Level 2, 68% Level 3 and 26% Level 4
 Math 16% level 1, 37% Level 2, 15% Level 3 and 32%
Level 4
Cohort Data
 Reading 63% met the provincial standard in grade 3 and
6, 21% did not meet the standard in Grade 3 but met the
Perceptual:
 Grade 3 100% of students like to read and do
mathematics most or some of the time
Grade 6 100 % of students like to read some or
most of the time, 5% never like to do
mathematics
 90% of grade 3 students report doing their best
on math activities most of the time
 95% of grade 6 students report doing their best
on math activities most of the time
 95% of students in grade 3 report using
manipulatives only some of the time, 15% never
use a calculator and 10% never use the computer
at home to learn mathematics
 21% of students in grade 6 report using
manipulatives most of the time and 63% use
manipulatives some of the time, 42% use a
calculator most of the time, and 5% use a
computer to learn mathematics
 45% of students talk about the mathematics work
they do at school every day in grade 3 and 26% do
this in Grade 6
Instructional Needs:
 Continuation of number talks in all grade levels with
a focus on strategy building
 Continue to focus on the vocabulary used in
questions to ensure students understand what is
asked and how to complete the questions
 Use of Literacy strategies to make meaning of a
question

Teacher Perceptual:
Difficulty applying math to more than one situation
DATA
 Observation/conferencing
 Evidence from student work
Computational errors and procedures are still evident. Students
make estimation errors hindering them in determining if an answer
is reasonable
DATA
 Test/Quizzes
 Conversations/Observation
 Mental math data
Early Years and Primary grades lack a full understanding of what
words fully means and/or concepts related to math words
DATA
 Students Product, Observations, Conversations
Difficulty making meaning out of a question
DATA
 Conversations/Observation
 Assessment responses
 Need to scaffold simply what the question is asking with
students
 Inconsistent use of strategies to assist in understanding
questions i.e., creating mental images, using graphic
organizers independently
Scores from cohort are different between grade 3 and grade 6 math
 Possible reasons: transient teachers, larger class size, split
classes, lack of teacher PD
More assistance is provided by parents with literacy than with math
 Parents are more comfortable with reading than math
standard in Grade 6, 0% met the standard in Grade 3 but
did not meet it in grade 6 and 15% did not meet the
standard in Grade 3 and Grade 6
 Writing 74 % met the provincial standard in Grade 3 and
Grade 6, 21% did not meet the standard in Grade 3 but
met the standard in Grade 6, 0% met the standard in
grade 3 but did not meet the standard in Grade 6 and 5%
did not meet the standard in Grade 3 and Grade 6
 Mathematics-47% met the standard in Grade 3 and
Grade 6, 0% did not meet the standard in Grade 3 but
met it in Grade 6, 26% met the standard in Grade 3 but
did not meet it in Grade 6, 26% did not meet the
standard in Grade 3 and did not meet the standard in
Grade 6
 Reading and Writing 21% increase in cohort data from 3
to 6
Report card marks are lower than EQAO
 EQAO is a three day test, we can practice examples,
sometimes it is easier to get a higher mark on multiple
choice type questions
Insight/CAT results
 More students are getting lower scoring on the Insight
test than in previous years
 Report card marks are higher than CAT scores
EQAO predictions
 Students did as we expected based on teacher
predictions in grade 3 and 6 on reading, writing and math
these were based on the group and their needs and
learning styles
SERR/LST
 None of the LST or Spec Ed students met the
mathematical standard in grade 6, there were no Spec Ed
students in Grade 3
 Focus on language development of math concepts in
Early Years and ensuring students are developing
conceptual understanding
 Intentional teaching of mental math strategies
 Precision in teaching through assessment (Leaps and
Bounds, ONAP)

Theories of Action (Students)
 IF students are given regular opportunities to engage in
“Number Talks”, THEN students will develop computational
fluency which will help them to clarify and express their
thinking orally and they will become more proficient with
conceptual understanding in number sense
 IF students are provided with opportunities to learn about
and participate in mental health and well-being activities
THEN students will develop strategies to support healthy
lifestyles at school and at home
Theories of Action (Staff)
 IF staff are provided with professional learning time
to examine/create common assessments, THEN staff
will be able to effectively monitor learning and
determine next steps and provide feedback
 IF staff are provided with opportunities to
collaborate, refine and develop consistent strategies
for computational fluency (through the strategy of
Number Talks), THEN students’ mathematical
understanding will improve.
Theories of Actions (Parents)
 IF families are provided with opportunities to participate in
learning with their child, THEN parents will be able support
learning at home and their engagement will increase.
Student Actions
1. Students use of mental math strategies at the beginning of
solving problems and while completing math problem solving
activities
2. Students defending their choice of mental math strategy chosen
when solving a computational problem
3. Students applying the mental math strategy to estimate
reasonableness of their answer
4. Students opportunity to participate in the yoga club, house
league and a variety of physical activities several times a week
5. Students use assessment data to refine their work, plan next
steps and monitor their own progress
Teacher Actions
1. Developing mental math strategies and vocabulary to
enhance students’ ability to use estimation skills and
visualization when solving problems. Resources: Number
Talks-Parrish, Making Number Talks Matter: Developing
Mathematical Practices and Deepening Understanding,
Grades 4-10-Parker
2. Student achievement data is collected and disaggregated
during PLC;s to monitor progress toward school targets and
to determine next steps and provide feedback
3. Develop greater understanding of the GECDSB Math
Vision via support of the in-school math coach and the
‘adopt a staffer’ programs.
4. Presentations to staff about a variety of well-being
strategies that can be used in the classroom at staff
meetings and as necessary-healthy school policies and
programs are implemented (healthy eating, increased
physical activities, injury prevention, mental wellness)
Parent Actions
1.Opportunity to participate in a school wide math day where students
will be placed in their teams and be shown a variety of math activities
that can be done at home to support math
2. School council will be involved in Planning a Parent Night to support
a variety of math activities using the Parent Reaching Out Grant
3 Online communication regarding learning (Twitter, Remind 101,
website, newsletters)
4. Student of the month assemblies will be attended by parents to
celebrate student success and well-being
5. School Council meeting will include a math component to assist
parents in understanding the types of tasks their children are doing in
the classroom
SEF Indicator(s)
School and Classroom Leadership
2.5 Staff, students, parents and school community promote and
SEF Indicator(s)
Assessment For, As and Of Learning
1.2 A variety of relevant and meaningful assessment data is
SEF Indicator(s)
Home, School and Community Partnerships
6.4 Learning opportunities, resources and supports are provided to
sustain student well-being and positive student behavior in a safe,
accepting, inclusive and healthy learning environment
Curriculum Teaching and Learning
4.2 A clear emphasis on high levels of achievement in numeracy is
evident throughout the school
School and Classroom Leadership
used by students and educators to continuously monitor
learning, to inform instruction and determine next steps
help parents support student learning and have productive ongoing
parent-teacher-student conversations
SMART Goal
-to increase the achievement of students in the curriculum area of
math (marker students) over the course of the school year by
using moderation of data during PLC’s
SMART Goal
-to increase the number of classrooms using number talks 3
times a week to 100%
-to increase the number of strategies being used by
students throughout the year as measured by a baseline
checklist
SMART Goal
-to increase the number of parents attending school events related to
curriculum over the year as measured by attendance at Math Day,
student of the month assemblies, interviews, twitter (we will track
these over the course of the year to set a baseline)
Instructional Strategies/Learning Supports
 Small Group Instruction (Number Talks)-daily/teachers
 Triangulation of Assessment Data (Observation,
Conversations and Products)-ongoing/teachers
 Continued Use of a Problem Solving Model and Strategies,
iPads and technology (Show Me)-ongoing/teachers
 Posting of Math Problem of the Month/Number Talks
Strategies for each class in main hallwaymonthly/teachers
 Math Day for Students with Parentsonce/teachers/principal
 Increased Time on the Timetable for Math, LST support
during math block if appropriate-yearly/principal
 Math Word Wall-ongoing/teachers
 Implement Literacy Strategies in Mathematics
(visualization)-ongoing/teachers
 Library Resources- mathematical literacy-ongoing
principal/librarian
 Increased use of manipulatives-ongoing/teachers
 Integration of Technology-ongoing/teachers
 Continuation of Descriptive Feedback-ongoing/teachers
 Use of real world math-Dan Meyer-ongoing/teachers
Monitoring Strategies/Measures
 EQAO-students
 Diagnostic Data-Leaps and Bounds, problem solvingmarker students (visualization pre/post test)ongoing/teachers/students
 Student Surveys-individualongoing/teachers/principal/students
 Observation Checklists and Strategy Checklist for Number
Talks-ongoing/teachers/principal/students
 Videotapes of Number Talks –ongoing teachers/students
 Class surveys-Math Day/Number Talks-2 times per
year/teachers/principal/students
 Report Cards-2 times per year/teachers
 Checklist to determine whether students are capable of
Instructional Strategies/Learning Supports
 Weekly 50 Minutes per week with Colleagues, and
Principal
 Classroom visitations within the school in
conjunction with math lead teacher
 ALP discussions to ensure staff have the resources
that they need Number Talks by Sherry Parrish K-3, ,
Making Number Talks Matter: Developing
Mathematical Practices and Deepening
Understanding, Grades 4-10-Parker
Instructional Strategies/Learning Supports
 Math Day with Students and Parents
 Monthly Newsletters with math resources and curriculum
focus (mental math strategies)
 Community Math Night with School Council (Jump 2 Mathapproved PRO grant)
 Online math help website
 Classroom blogs and websites
 Speak Up Grant-student you tube channel for math from
Colchester
 Take home math activities (manipulatives and books)
 Ministry Documents/Board documents sent home with
suggestions
Monitoring Strategies/Measures
 Teacher Surveys-2 times per year/teachers/principal
 Number Talk Implementation-ongoing/teachers
 PLCs with moderation of student work-number talks
checklist, Leaps and Bounds, sharing of work from
marker students at each PLC-ongoing/teachers
 Minutes from PLCs-ongoing/principal
Monitoring Strategies/Measures
 Attendance at Math Day and Community Night-parents/school
council
 Feedback from School Council Meetings-at meetings/school
council/principal
 Feedback journals from take home programs (kindergarten
take home bags, primary/junior take home activities with
books)-ongoing/teachers
 School Climate Survey
 Parent Interviews-term (formal) regularly (informal)teachers/parents

using various mental math strategies effectively
(estimation, visualization)-ongoing/teachers
Gathering perceptual data from marker students to
determine if there has been a change in their ability to
explain and utilize different mental math strategies-2
times per year/teachers/students/principal