High school attempts to remediate students who do not pass

By By Marcia Lawrence

LITTLE ROCK — Dardanelle High School attempts to remediate those students who do not make proficient or advanced on the high stakes end-of level exams (ACTAAP) in accordance with both the letter of the law (Act 35) and the spirit of the law. In other words, DHS believes that students who do not "pass" the exams in literacy and math have deficiencies that must be corrected if they are to be successful after high school. The school's philosophy is that it's not only the law that demands proficiency in basic skills,it's the student's future that demands proficiency.

By law the remediation classes are not credited classes, but they are required if the student is to graduate. At DHS the classes have carefully developed curricula and teaching strategies aimed at helping the student remediate problems the "second-time around." Classes in algebra, geometry and literacy remediation are required during the school day and are taught by some of the school's most successful teachers. Almost all students have been able to score proficient in theirACTAAP retest if they have done well in the remediation classes. Though the student must give up an elective class period to take the class, most people seem willing to do so - after all, graduation hangs in the balance. The program is expensive because certified and successful teachers must be paid to teach the classes, but the board of education does this willingly believing that the skills are not just the law, but that they are essential for the school's graduates.

Our teachers really try to make the classes great, with creative approachesto the material and with a constant emphasis to the students that "You can do this; in your case you just needed to go over the essential material again."

This puts emphasis on the necessity of grasping the material, gives the student support and helps him understand that for most everyone there is some task for which you need more time than others to master the procedure. We tell them that time, not ability, is the variable. Actually, our literacy class is such a great class about reading comprehension strategies that I would give it to all my students, if we had theresources and they had places in their schedules.

Dardanelle High School as been recognized by U.S. News and World Report as one of the country's best high schools, by NORMES as one of the state's highest-performing high schools, and by ACT as an exemplary school. The principal and teachers think their "authentic" approach to remediation - a real remediation - is a big reason for success.

(Marcia Lawrence is principal at Dardanelle High School.)

River Valley Ozark, Pages 66 on 10/09/2008