Verdugo Hills High School WASC Self-Study Page 1

Verdugo Hills High School WASC/CDE Self-Study ReportC-2: To what extent do all teachers use a variety of strategies andresources, including technology and experiences beyond the textbook andthe classroom that actively engage students, emphasize high-order thinkingskills, and help them succeed at high levels?When the VHHS teachers were surveyed, 59 surveys were returned. Fifty-sixpercent of those surveyed strongly agreed, that they based their curriculumon clearly defined learning standards. 45% of the teachers surveyed felt thatstudents were given a variety of ways to demonstrate mastery of conceptsin addition to written tests. The most common response was the use ofprojects. Other assessment tools were games, power-point presentations,essays, group work, debates, field trips, science labs, discussions, and theuse of whiteboards to check for mastery.STUDENT EXPECTATIONSVHHS students are familiar with the CDE State Content Standards. TheVHHS faculty believes that students who master the State Standards willhave greater achievement on standardized tests as well as on formative andsummative assessments. Many teachers keep the students informed of thestandards, by posting them on their boards, reviewing the objectivescovered daily, and by posting agendas on their boards. Many departmentsand teachers employ the use of rubrics on assignments as well as for essaysto provide the students with clear expectations. Students are provided withsamples of quality work that are used as a guide to measure the student’smastery of the State Standards. In many classrooms, examples of qualitywork are also posted on the bulletin boards in the classroom. Postingstudent’s assignments is a way to celebrate a student’s success and itempowers the students to rise to the challenge of meeting the StateStandards. Many teachers at VHHS also employ the use of a friendlycompetition between classes, and students are motivated to improve theirskills due to their desire to win the competition. The math departmentemploys this by having different teachers’ classes competing to get thehighest score on tests.Furthermore, VHHS teachers tailor instruction to engage and stimulatestudents who come from a variety of ethnic, linguistic, and economicbackgrounds, yet share a popular, adolescent culture that is heavilyVerdugo Hills High School WASC Self-Study Page 119