AN EXAMINATION INTO THE CAUSES FOR

POOR PERFORMANCE AMONG NINTH GRADE STUDENTS

AT GOMPERS HIGH SCHOOL

A WEBQUEST FOR AN ELEVENTH GRADE CLASS

DESIGNED BY

SIRMATI PERSAUD

SPERS0508 @ AOL.COM

INTRODUCTION: There is a serious concern among politicians and educators that children in high school are not graduating within the four-year limit. One of the reasons often cited is poor performance in major academic subjects from in the ninth through twelfth grade. As a member of the Advisory Board for Samuel Gompers Vocational and Technical High School, you are part of a team investigating the causes and solutions for poor performance in academic subjects at Gompers High Schoolin grade nine.

TASK: You will have to find out the causes for and the result of poor performance among ninth grade students at all grade levels.. To do that, you will have to use the following six-step public policy approach and produce a power-point presentation that explains your findings:

1. Define and describe the problem of poor academic performance in the ninth grade at Gompers ?

2. Gather evidence for the problem.

3. Identify causes for the problem of poor performance in the ninth grade.

4. Describe and evaluate the existing policy in Gompers regarding this problem.

5. Develop solutions/policies to correct the problem.

6. Select the best policy for correcting the problem of low academic performance.

PROCESS:

WEEK ONE:

· The class will be divided into five teams of two students each.

· Pairs of students will work cooperatively on assigned tasks.

· Pairs of students will gather evidence for the problem by accessing statistics and conducting surveys within the building.

WEEK TWO:

Pairs will continue on tasks three through six.

WEEKS THREE and FOUR:

Students will have computer lab time to create PowerPoint presentations. It will state Web Quest findings.

RESOURCES:

· http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/ppae/ppae3.html

· http://parents.berkeley.edu/advice/teens/poor.html

· http://www.keepkidshealthy.com/adolescent/schoolperformance.html

· http://www.ed.gov/pub/turning/stakes.html

· http://www.cwfa.org/library/education/1999-11-24_progressive.shtml

· http://www.oneworld.org/ips2/feb98/argentina_tv.html

· http://www.foxnews.com/story/0%2C2933%2C25438%2C00.html

EVALUATION: Students will be judged according to the following rubric:

Presentation Rubric - Evaluating Student Presentation

EXCELLENT	SATISFACTORY	MINIMAL SATISFACTORY	UNSATISFACTORY
Organization	Organization	Organization	Organization
Student presentation is logical, clear and fully engages audience interest.	Student presentation is logical, clear and somehow engages audience interest.	Student presentation is somewhat logical and clear, but does not engage audience.	Student presentation is illogical, unclear and inadequate.
Subject Knowledge Student demonstrates knowledge of subject matter and beyond.	Subject Knowledge Student demonstrates adequate knowledge of subject matter.	Subject Knowledge Student demonstrates little knowledge of subject matter.	Subject Knowledge Student does not know subject matter.
Accuracy No grammatical errors	Accuracy Very few grammatical errors	Accuracy Some grammatical errors	Accuracy Too many grammatical errors that distorts sentence sense.
Graphics At least three appropriate color and fonts	Graphics At least two appropriate color and fonts	Graphics At least one appropriate color and fonts	Graphics No color and variety in fonts

CONCLUSION: Based upon research related to poor academic performance, students will be able to utilize TIPPS Public Analyst Policy to analyze causes for the problem and be able to come up with a policy that might prevent, or minimize the number of students failing in the ninth grade.

CONCLUSION: Based upon research related to poor academic performance, students will be able to utilize TIPS Public Analyst Policy to analyze causes forThis web-quest involves the problem and be able to come up with a policy that might prevent, or minimize the number of students getting poor grades. In addition, students will have met the following

following Performance Standards::

English Language Arts

E1c: Read and comprehend informational materials.

E2a: Produce a report of information.

E3a: Participate in one-on-one teacher conferences.

E3b: Participate in group meetings.

E3c: Prepare and deliver an individual presentation.

E4a: Involves conventions of Standard English.

E5a: Utilizing and analyzing functional documents.

E7a: Utilizing and analyzing public documents.

Mathematics

M4: Statistical Concepts

M6: Mathematical Skill and Tools

M7: Mathematical Communications

M8: Putting Mathematics to Work

Social Studies

IV: Economics

Career Development and Occupational Standards

II: Integrated Learning

IIIa: Universal Foundation Skills