My Draft Action Research Progress Report is going to cover the eight essential elements outlined above.
The title of my action research project is stated here: Equity Audit of Irving ISD’s Grading Policy.
The needs assessment for this project was collaborated between my vice-principal and myself. She suggested that there was a campus need to conduct this action research on Irving ISD’s grading policy. The data collected entails teacher surveys, and a comparison between failure rates among students in reference to the current and previous grading policies. These reports will be analyzed to note differences in failure rates in a desegregated manner analyzing the comparisons of ethnic, gender, and limited English proficiency students across our campus. I am currently still waiting on some of the desegregated reports.
My objective and vision for the project will be to point out these comparisons to see if there are any discrepancies or biases. To determine whether or not the grading policy might need to reflect a more balance between summative and formative grades. These results once formulated into a report and analyzed will show either measureable progress or biases that will show we might need to tweak or revamp this grading policy.
The research and literature review will provide a basis of support for equity audits and my action research as well as the importance of this study and why we need these types of action research studies to ensure that students are provided an educational environment with unbiased policies.
I have communicated my vision and described my strategies with various campus leaders. I have conducted a volunteer teacher survey to gain their perspective upon the current grading policy and potential biases that will be presented with in my action research paper. I will compare and contrast failure reports from two different grading policies.
Employing different strategies has been crucial to managing and implementing this project. Collaboration and delegation did occur through out my research as I have requested surveys, reports, and desegregated data from different personnel on my campus. And I greatly appreciate all the help and support that they have given to me and this project. The results of my action research will be informative to everyone campus wide as teachers, staff, students, community, and educational leaders will benefit from these findings. In the end, this research will provide our campus with greater student learning as a direct result of this study and its findings.
Setting priorities to gather information in various ways has been important along the way as well. This was done by conducting a teacher survey, and collecting the necessary reports from key campus personnel. Sending e-mails, text messages, phone calls, and conducting brief meetings that have been held periodically through out the duration of this study. I had to rescheduling meetings a lot of the time due to conflicts. It has not always been easy managing these operations, strategies, responsibilities, and priorities.
The results from this study are to be used to serve the needs of the students by providing the necessary data to drive the right types of decisions as Irving ISD further explores changes to its grading policy in the future. Educators need to be sure that the policies of schools reflect a nonbiased perspective. That polices in place, reflect no biases and place students in the best possible seat, in order to get the best possible education. I hope that this research provides some answers to these questions of bias within the grading policy and that this research will serve the needs of the diverse demographic population of students here at Irving ISD and beyond. So that all students have an equal opportunity to learn, in the best possible environments and situations, with policies that reflect and instill these types of positive unbiased atmospheres and cultures.
