Big Question

Alright, so the blog has been quiet lately while I have been contemplating the context of my next post. I have decided to ask for some reaction and/or reflection to some "academic surveys" I had our Middle and High School students complete. As you may or may not know, we have been looking into the apparent fact that our student body seems to be composed of students doing very well and students doing poorly; in short, little or no "middle ground" students in the mix. In order to solve this issue and to hopefully begin to understand a student's perspective on why simply turning work in complete seems to be such a challenge for some. I can say with complete certainty, that students not turning work in was something I constantly strived to "fix" in my own classroom. With that being said, I also know that this situation is NOT unique to Prairie Farm Schools. Below, you will find the survey and the results for Middle and High School; the student's answers appear below each question and the number in parenthesis reflects the number of students that answered similarly and the answers in italics are responses that 5 or more students listed as an answer. Please look over the results and feel free to provide any input you feel relevant. I will be discussing the results with our students this week on Thursday and Friday during Panther Time and hope to have some student involvement in formulating some approaches to help us figure this thing out. An item that I noted is that our students, for the most part, certainly see their ownership of this situation.
(Please excuse the formatting; I took the time to make it readable only to see that after I hit "publish" it came out like this...)

MS Academic Performance Self-Evaluation
Please answer the following questions as clearly as possible; we hope to use this information to enhance the opportunities for all students.

Have you ever failed a class or been failing at any point during a quarter? YES NO
If you answered “yes” can you explain why?
Frequent absences (1) Too difficult (2)
Didn’t turn work in (12) Not paying attention (1)
Late work (1) Failed big project (1)
Lack of effort (2)
Poor test grades (4)

List and explain anything that you feel would help you raise your grade(s). (You can explain things that would be helpful both before you were failing and after; if you have NEVER failed or been failing a class, please still take the time to answer this question.)
More work time (14) Correct mistakes (2)
Better/ clearer instruction (7) Try harder (11)
Complete work at home (8) Extra credit (2)
Panther time in morning (1) Less homework (2)
More help (6)

What areas of school are most important to you? Are there any ways we can enhance or improve these areas?
Sports (7) Art (3)
Phy Ed (18) FCE (2)
Math (18) Band/ Choir (5)
Lunch (10) Language arts/ reading (5)
Science (11) Business (1)
Academics in general (4) Study hall (1)
Social Studies (5)

Answers to 2nd part (ways to improve areas):
Better equipment (2)
More time to ask questions

Are there any things that you would like to see incorporated into our school? Are there things that we currently do, but you would like to see more of? (In academics, athletics, co-curriculars, etc.)
Computer classes (1) Group work (1)
Dances (2) Field trips (3)
Open gym (2) Foreign languages (3)
Outdoor activities (1) Powder puff FB (2)
Activity days (2) Track facility (2)
Longer study hall (1) Golf team (1)
Dress up days (1) Hands on activities (1)
Intramurals (3) Tutors (1)
Art club (1) Laptops (1)
Soccer (4)
More help (2)


HS Academic Performance Self-Evaluation
Please answer the following questions as clearly as possible; we hope to use this information to enhance the opportunities for all students.

Have you ever failed a class or been failing at any point during a quarter? YES NO
If you answered “yes” can you explain why?
Not understanding (8) Not explained well (5)
Too much homework (3) Distracted (2)
Low test scores (7) Frequent absences (5)
Didn’t try/ turn things in (17) Too much weight on single item (2)
Lost paper/ teacher didn’t grade (3)

List and explain anything that you feel would help you raise your grade(s)?
(You can explain things that would be helpful both before you were failing and after; if you have NEVER failed or been failing a class, please still take the time to answer this question.)
Less homework (15) Study groups (2)
Better explanation/ clearer assign. (14) No tests (1)
More help (4) More extra credit (16)
More time in class to do work (15) Computers (2)
Turn in all work/ on time (6) Less worksheets (1)
Talk with teachers (4) Panther time (1)
Coordinate test dates (1) More effort (3)
Fair grading practices (4) Engaging classes (5)
Tutors (1) Retake tests (5)

What areas of school are most important to you? Are there any ways we can enhance or improve these areas?
Sports (9) Art (2) Tech ed (5)
Phy Ed (11) Ag (2) Graduating (2)
Math (20) Band/ Choir (2) Preparing for future (4)
Lunch (1) English (7) Panther time (1)
Science (15) Theater (1) Foreign languages (1)
Academics in general (8) Psychology (1)
History (5) Computers (3)

Answers to 2nd part (ways to improve areas):
Improved teaching methods Hands on activities (2)
Valuable feedback Computers
Book clubs Field trips
More poetry Guest speakers
Creative outlets Flexible scheduling
Intramurals Tutors
More ITV/ on-line opportunities Extra help
Group work Less homework

Are there any things that you would like to see incorporated into our school? Are there things that we currently do, but you would like to see more of? (In academics, athletics, co-curriculars, etc.)
Better Technology/ computer classes (14) Foreign languages (5)
Intramurals (4) On-line/ ITV classes (2)
Improved athletic equipment/ facilities (11) Open campus at lunch (6)
More school spirit (1) More class choices (5)
Softball (3) Flexible schedule (2)
Hockey (3) Support for co-currilculars (1)
Soccer (2) Drama club (1)