Academic Growth

Measuring Success

Imagine Schools evaluates academic achievement primarily through same student learning gains, similar to the approach used by KIPP and advocated as an appropriate measure of school quality by the Obama Administration. By testing students at the start of the year, our teachers learn what students know and in what areas they need the most improvement. Testing students at year-end then shows how far each student advances during the school year.

Learning gains allow assessment of how well a school helps students learn, as contrasted with year-end proficiency tests that measure only what students know at a point in time, which may be attributable to a former school where students have fallen behind grade level.

Our Results

Students at 69 of 71 Imagine Schools campuses achieved average learning gains greater than one grade in  the 2009-10 school year.

In the 2009-10 school year, two-thirds of Imagine Schools students demonstrated average reading and math learning gains of one year or more (vs. 50% students nationwide based on Stanford 10 norms).

These learning gains are particularly impressive in the context of Imagine students’ proficiency when they entered from other schools:

Beginning of year testing showed that 73% of newly enrolled Imagine students were below average and 45% were in the lowest quartile in math when they entered Imagine schools. Half the students were in the bottom 28% nationally.

Similarly, 68% of newly enrolled students were below average and 43% were in the lowest quartile in reading. Half were in the bottom 31% nationally.

These data show that more than two-thirds of students transferring into Imagine’s schools experienced learning gains much less than a full grade per year at their previous schools. Students who were falling behind in other schools have turned around their academic performance in Imagine’s schools and now are advancing far beyond their prior performance.

Reaching Higher

While proud of the academic gains attained by our students and schools, we aspire to improve learning gains further, recognizing that students who are several grade levels behind will need more accelerated growth to catch up to grade level peers.  We are working to spread effective practices among our schools so our students can attain even greater academic success.

While we endorse the national push to improve math and reading test scores, Imagine Schools continues to emphasize educational balance.  We integrate instruction in history, science, literature, critical thinking, writing, foreign languages, music, art, technology, and athletics.

Providing students with a balanced, rich program of study along with teaching the important foundations of reading and math is a priority in all Imagine schools.

For more information, download the 2009-2010 Academic Achievement Snapshot or the more detailed 2009-2010 Academic Performance Summary.