Arroyo Grande High School (AGHS), in the Lucia Mar Unified School District in California, was a participant in the OECD Test for Schools 2012 pilot. The school’s results from the pilot showed that 29% of students at Arroyo Grande performed below level 2 in reading, 39% in math, and 20% in science. In response to these results, AGHS took significant action. The school focused on revising their formative assessments to provide more valuable data and helping teachers understand how to embed critical thinking skills into classroom instruction. The school also implemented a school-wide focus on critical reading and writing, which included the use of rubrics by each department to help teachers assess and support students’ progress. In addition, AGHS also shifted its school schedule to allow for more professional learning time for teachers. These changes certainly paid off as the percentage of students scoring below level 2 decreased when the school participated in the assessment again in 2015.
