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GRADUATION "EXIT" OUTCOMES
In order to prepare students for college or a career of their
choice, the school must have a vision of what an LCCS graduate
knows and can be able to do. Thus, we have developed Graduation
"Exit" Outcomes to guide our curriculum. These outcomes
are the standards that students must master if they are to graduate
from Lighthouse Community Charter School. They detail both content
(what they know) and process (what they can do) goals for LCCS
students. LCCS teachers reference the Graduation "Exit"
Outcomes when developing curriculum, at any grade level, to ensure
that coursework integrates the appropriate content and process
goals that will lead students to eventually achieving the exit
outcomes. Together, faculty, administrators, and board members
ensure that school programs are constantly aimed and refocused
on student achievement of these outcomes.
School-wide Graduation Outcomes have come from two primary sources:
the California State Standards and the New Standards published
by the National Center on Education and the Economy and the University
of Pittsburgh. The state standards comprise the bulk of our content-based
outcomes (i.e. students will understand the cause, major players,
and resolution of the Civil War) and the New Standards comprise
the bulk of our process-based outcomes (i.e. students will produce
a report that develops a controlling idea that conveys a perspective
on a subject).
In order to graduate from the Lighthouse Community Charter School,
students must achieve mastery of the Graduation Outcomes in eight
separate academic areas. The eight academic areas of focus are
often integrated as teachers take on the role of generalists,
rather than specialists in a particular area. In the middle and
secondary grades, although the teachers become more specialized,
they continue to integrate the process and content of the other
areas as well. The areas of academic focus are:
PASSAGE OUTCOMES
At LCCS, students stay with the same teacher for at least two
years. This structure is called "looping." Because students
are promoted to the next looped level every two years, we have
created Passage Outcomes for each looped level (i.e. K/1, 2/3,
6/7/8, 11/12, etc.).
The Graduation "Exit" Outcomes drive curriculum and
assessment at LCCS by defining Passage Outcomes at each looped
level. Passage Outcomes define the content and process goals specific
to each loop level and content area. The Passage Outcomes follow
a scope and sequence that respects the developmental level of
students while strategically developing the content and process
skills necessary for eventual student achievement of the Graduation
"Exit" Outcomes. Students must demonstrate their achievement
of content and process goals and standards at each level before
they are promoted to the next loop (Figure 1).
Depending on the grade level, Passage Outcomes can be very similar
to or different than the Graduation "Exit" Outcomes.
To provide a concrete example, we have attached K/1 English Language
Arts Passage Outcomes and 6/7/8 Math Passage Outcomes. The K/1
Passage Outcomes clearly illustrates how Passage Outcomes can
differ in appearance from Graduation "Exit" Outcomes.
This difference is driven by the developmental difference between
emerging readers and writers and developed readers and writers.
The 6/7/8 Passage Outcomes demonstrate that the relative similarity
between Passage Outcomes and Graduation "Exit" Outcomes
when the developmental level is similar.
Since LCCS is a K-12 school, students will be afforded and educational
experience that is cumulative and strategically designed to ensure
that students graduate the requisite content and process skills
to be a lifelong learner in the 21st century.
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How Exit Outcomes enhance our Mission:
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Tenet 1 - Articulated High Expectations
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- Content standards are drawn directly from the California
State Standards.
- Process standards are drawn directly from the New Standards
published by the National Center on Education and the
Economy and the University of Pittsburgh.
- The Exit Outcomes are designed to ensure that students
learn through challenging, integrated, real-world projects
at all looped levels.
- Students are promoted only when they have achieved
the articulated looped level standards, called Passage
Outcomes.
- Student work is organized in Standards Based Portfolios,
paralleling the California State Standards and the New
Standards.
- Student progress is displayed in biannual Exhibitions
of Work.
- Annual student goals are set and monitored through
student Individualized Learning Plans.
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Tenet 2 – Meeting the Needs of the Whole Child
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- Exit Outcomes provide students with multiple outlets
for demonstrating the requisite content and process skills.
This ensures that students are empowered to accurately
demonstrate their content and process skills.
- Academic Focus areas ensure students are developing
their academic, social, and emotional selves.
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Tenet 3 – Teachers as Learners
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- Teacher research revealed that the New Standards most
aligned with our pedagogical underpinnings
- Teachers used New Standards to develop Graduation "Exit"
Outcomes that incorporated the LCCS school-wide pedagogical
methods and the California State Standards
- Teachers used Graduation "Exit" Outcomes
to develop Passage Outcomes specific to each loop. This
ensures that students are strategically developing the
content and process skills; and will be prepared to demonstrate
achieve the Exit Outcomes necessary for graduation.
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