1. How to Increase Academic Performance
Sarah Ackerman & Patricia Doty
EDUC 4800
Action Research Project
Georgia Gwinnett College
School of Education
Fall 2012

2. Introduction Need: Academic Rigor
Causes: All student’s at Puckett’s Mill Elementary will increase academic performance in all content areas as measured by local, state, and national standards.
Solution: Puckett’s Mill teachers and students will increase academic performance in literacy, mathematics, and science for all students by exceeding annual targets through the application of critical thinking and creativity skills.

3. School Improvement Plans: Puckett’s Mill Elementary School
Analysis of School Improvement Plan: Academic Rigor is one of the main goals for improvement.
Topic Selection: To focus on establishing creativity for each lesson to increase the richness of ideas and originality.
Benefit: To increase academic performance in literacy, mathematics, and science for all students through the application of critical thinking and creativity skills.

4. Description of Action Plan
Mill Creek Cluster Gifted Vertical Team
Putting the Pieces Together
Renzulli
Common Planning Time - Technology
Math-Science Staff Development
Professional Learning
School Improvement Team Planning

5. Relevant Literature
Blackburn, B., & Williamson, R. (2009, March). Retrieved November 3, 2012, from Blackburnonline.Com: ectations+copy.pdf
When it comes to rigor, less is more. If we expect students to learn at a high level, we must focus on depth of understanding, not breadth of coverage. Teachers often focus on increasing quantity rather than quality of learning, which results in students perceiving rigor as punishment. 
Daggett, Ed.D., W. R. (2005, September). Retrieved November 3, 2012, from
 A rigorous and relevant education is a product of effective learning, which takes place when standards, curriculum, instructions, and assessment interrelate and reinforce each other. The value of state assessment is undeniable, but we cannot view them as the definition of academic excellence.

6. Relevant Literature
Gray, C., & Sams, R. (2010). Before and After the Walkthrough: What to Do to Improve Instructional Rigor. Edvantia, Inc.
This article describes balancing challenge and support to lead a change in schools. To increase rigor in schools, principals need to understand instruction that focuses on diverse cognitive processes, especially the more complex processes of analyzing, evaluating and creating. To increase academic rigor without increasing student failure, requires balancing challenge with support.
Tienken, C., & Wilson, M. (2001, February 23). Practical Assessment, Research & Evaluation. New Jersey, United States.
This article discusses how it is important for teachers to understand how standards-based tests are constructed and being able to use them to guide and improve instructions. Teachers must teach toward an understanding of the subject area while they align and calibrate their classroom activities, resources, tests, and instructions with the specifications and skills required by each state standard.

7. Relevant Literature
Siri, Diane K., Jane Zinner, and Nicole Lezin. (2011). Blending Rigor and Relevance. Leadership
This article provides several case studies regarding how collaboration ,throughout several sites across the state of California, offers evidence of how successful learning can be linked and connect academics to real-world work. When one student was shown how algebra can be connected to engineering, her thoughts changed about her career path. She didn’t just settle on following in her family’s footsteps. When connections and linkages were generated by combining academic rigor with the relevance of applying learning to real-world work and careers, students saw new meaning to going to college and progressing further throughout life.
Kinney, P. (2009). Academic Rigor: Reaching Consensus. Principal Leadership,
This article shows leaders how using a discussion protocol can facilitate conversations about defining, identifying, and planning for academic rigor.
Rubebstein, L. D. (2010). Spicing Up Classrooms Using Creative Challenges. Gifted Child Today,
This article illustrates how to design creative challenges around both content and process purposes, so students will have opportunities to transfer their content knowledge to new situations and practice process skills in specific contexts.
Schachter, Ron. (2011). The Road to Rigor. District Administration ,
This article represents student achievement in American schools being linked to rigor. It illustrates how a growing number of schools, districts and states have begun to embrace strengthening K12 curriculum and assessments, while providing appropriate professional development.

8. Presentation of Findings/Artifacts
If we expect students to learn at a high level, we must focus on depth of understanding, not breadth of coverage
The use of Bloom’s taxonomy is useful in analyzing the standard/instructional objective with what actually occurs in the classroom. The use of a taxonomy in the classroom provides precision to the depth of the standard, its cognitive complexity, and related instructions and assessments are aligned to more precisely meet the intent of the standard.
Instructional strategies must coincide with examining instructions, classroom-based assessment, curriculum coherence, expectation of student work and grading.
To maximize student learning, it is important to identify the objectives of the learning experience prior to instruction and assessment. Assessments should be selected to match the desired level or rigor and relevance.
Displaying four important points to implement rigor and increase academic performance summarizes steps needed to promote instructional practices and content knowledge as measured by local, state and national standards.

9. Feedback and Conclusions
Very relevant to Common Core
Create lessons to create originality
Instructional strategies must coincide with assessments
Action plan provided steps to design more rigorous lessons by using creativity and critical thinking.
It’s the quality of the lesson not the quantity!

10. We Learned THESE Lessons
Lessons Learned: Setting expectations and maintaining those expectations are key to academic rigor. Creating assessments specific to student learning helps to set standards. Rigor begins with administration and trickles down to the student.
Meaning to Us as Educators: This project has caused us to realize why training sessions are done within the school. It has also shown the importance and necessity for long term goals and objectives.
Things We Would Do Differently Next Time: We would go more in depth with the lessons and provide more opportunities for student’s to use their creativity and critical thinking skills.

11. Executive Summary
Need Identified: To increase academic performance in literacy, mathematics, and science for all students through the application of critical thinking and creativity skills.
Artifacts Developed: We placed our visual aid in the teacher lounge for others to view.
Feedback: Other educators were extremely impressed with our findings and that we use real goals from the school to base our project on.
End Result / Impact: Many of the goals are already being implemented at a school and classroom level.

12. Credit; Appreciation; Thanks
Puckett’s Mill educators and administrators.
GGC professors