Redmond Proficiency Academy: Students at Redmond Proficiency Academy have more freedom to choose their own adventure than students at many other schools. Schedules are flexible to help students who may need more time to master the subjects.
Students at Redmond Proficiency Academy have more freedom to choose their own adventure than students at many other schools. Volunteers from the community help teach classes in many unusual subjects in addition to the core curriculum, and schedules are flexible to help students who may need more time to master the subject. "The quilting class is really set up to be metaphorical," said assistant director Greg Scott. "You take all these things that other people throw away and make something beautiful out of it." Photographed Monday, Jan. 9, 2012.
Students at Redmond Proficiency Academy have more freedom to choose their own adventure. Schedules are more flexible to help students who may need more time to master the subject. / Thomas Patterson / Statesman Journal
What is proficiency-based education?
It's a process of teaching and learning in which students progress through the education system based not on classes attended and credits earned, but on demonstration of mastery of skills and knowledge, according to The Oregon Education Investment Board's 2011 report.
That's different than a point system where students earn points for turning in assignments, attending classes and having the right materials, which add up to a letter grade ranging from A to F. Oregon passed House Bill 2220 in 2011 to transition schools to proficiency-based testing.
Proficiency Academy of Salem-Keizer
For more information about the school, call (503) 729-8944, email michael_bremont@pacademysk.org or go to www.pacademysk.org.
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It doesn't take long to see that Redmond Proficiency Academy isn't your typical high school.
Students freely come and go from the three-story office building in downtown Redmond, just north of Bend. Some attend morning classes, others opt for afternoon or a mix of both when they build their schedules, similar to the way college students pick their classes. The freedom allows students to work jobs, stay on top of homework or even develop independent classes based on interests.
Next year, the school's executive director will open a sister school in Salem-Keizer based on the same model with room for about 250 students the first year.
It's not only the flexible schedule that sets the schools apart, it's the classes, too.
One student excitedly told another that their chemistry of cooking class was making brownies Monday.
"They never would have offered that at a mainstream high school," said senior Nate Christman.
The lab science class not only includes tasty, hands-on experiments, but it also hits state science standards and prepares students for college, said Assistant Director Greg Scott. Plus, the format gets kids excited about learning, said teacher Christina Baxter, who created the class.
"So many kids hear the word chemistry and they get scared," she said, "but this is fun."
The biggest difference between Redmond Proficiency Academy and other high schools rests in its proficiency-based approach, which measures what students know instead of how much time they spend in class.
Students earn grades based on hitting a set of skills or standards identified by the state for that class.
"Students know the targets ahead of time so they can move quickly through the content if they want," said Executive Director Michael Bremont, or they can take more time if they need it. That way students tailor the class to their own pace whether they're a TAG student or a student with special needs.
If they miss any of the standards at the end of the class, they get an "incomplete," which they can turn in for a letter grade once they reach the standard.
There are no Ds or Fs at this school.
Proficiency-based teaching and learning
In the last four years, proficiency-based education has garnered a lot of attention in Oregon. It was identified as the practice with the greatest potential to boost student achievement at the least cost, according to "Taking Promising High School Practices to Scale," a 2008 Oregon Education Roundtable white paper.
A pilot project in 2009 concluded it heightens teaching effectiveness and has potential to elevate public education performance.
In 2011, the Oregon Legislature approved House Bill 2220, which transitions schools to proficiency-based assessments. This summer Gov. John Kitzhaber created the LearnWorks Team to develop the new Outcome Based Budgeting and Proficiency Based Teaching and Learning Framework.
Recently, the Oregon Education Investment Board highlighted several examples of proficiency-based learning in its final report on the future of education in Oregon.
Forest Grove High School, for example, reached a record high graduation rate in 2008-09 after it adopted a proficiency-based model, according to the report. Students also raised their average SAT and ACT test scores, increased scholarships from $1 million to $5 million and raised the rate of graduates attending higher education from 40 percent to 70 percent.
Salem-Keizer Public Schools rolled out proficiency-based teaching and learning at a handful of schools a few years ago and now use the technique in select math and science classes in all its high schools and middle schools.
"Now, students ask, 'What do I have to learn to reach that standard,' instead of, 'What do I have to do to get an A,'" said Jon Yoder, who works in Salem-Keizer's curriculum department.
Still, the model will take time to roll out across all subjects district wide and perhaps longer to start awarding credit based on proficiency.
At this point Redmond Proficiency Academy is the only high school in Oregon where all its subjects are taught and graded based on proficiency, Bremont said. The school met its state assessment targets last year and had a dropout rate that's half the average of the rest of the state, even with a student population where 70 percent qualify for free or reduced lunch.
One difference in Salem is that the Salem-Keizer board wants the new school to actively recruit English Language Learner students. In Redmond, the school doesn't have any.
Coming to Salem
Last week, Bremont's phone started ringing off the hook with parents interested in the new school. Salem-Keizer School Board unanimously approved the charter application Tuesday, and now Bremont is negotiating with a building owner downtown.
He hopes to announce the school's location by the mid- February. Eventually, he will hire eight teachers and enlist dozens of community members to teach classes on everything from businesses and finance to photography.
Bremont already has a list of about 185 potential students and a handful of community teachers, including an optometrist, several bankers and a lawyer.
Junior Cara Sanchez appreciates the opportunity to learn from professionals, she said.
"You learn so much more because they tell you what it's like in the profession," she said.
Salem resident Janelle McLaughlin loves the idea of having business owners involved in the Salem school, she said, but that's only one of several reasons she hopes to send her daughter Hannah there next fall.
She also likes that every student gets an individual learning plan, that teachers are willing to take calls and emails until 9 p.m. and that the school is focused on preparing students for college. At the end of the month she plans to take her daughter to visit the Redmond Proficiency Academy to see the school in action.
"Once Hannah sees them in person," she said, "she's going to go gaga."
sknowlto@StatesmanJournal.com, (503) 399-6735 or follow at twitter.com/SJEducation
Redmond Proficiency Academy: State Assessment
