West Virginia University researchers took months of hard work and data collection to Charleston today (Nov. 13), as they presented their findings in the West Virginia Academic Spotlight assessment to the State Board of Education.

WVU researchers in the College of Education and Human Services and the Reed College of Media collaborated as a third party with the Department of Education earlier this year to give parents and teachers a voice in determining the standards for K-12 education in the state through eight town hall meetings and an evaluation on the Academic Spotlight website. A total of 251,431 comments were collected by 5,277 individuals during the process.

The assessment reviewed nearly 900 English and math benchmarks that outline what knowledge students possess at different milestones of their educational progression.

WVU College of Education and Human Services Dean Gypsy Denzine led the research efforts to help the Department of Education put its finger on the pulse of public opinion across the state regarding academic standards.

“It is our hope that the research will give the BOE the necessary tools to write board policy on the future of academic standards in West Virginia,” said Denzine. “We are proud that WVU has contributed through important research that is useful to the state in making good decisions that will benefit West Virginia K-12 students.”

Reed College of Media students from Assistant Professor Geah Pressgrove’s strategic communications capstone course joined Denzine in Charleston, as they played an integral role in supporting the goals of the Academic Spotlight initiative.

Pressgrove’s students gained real-world experience through helping with the facilitation of town hall meetings, promoting understanding of the standards to community partners and collecting data related to views on the community review process.

The students also produced a video that shares the reflections of teachers, higher education representatives and education leaders related to the state’s education standards and the Academic Spotlight process. The students presented this video and their evaluation to the West Virginia BOE at today’s meeting.

Pressgrove is pleased with the contributions her students have made to a pivotal education initiative in the state.

“As a land-grant institution, we have a responsibility to support the education of K-12 students of this state,” said Pressgrove. “Assuring that there are rigorous standards in place provides our state’s teachers a road map for developing curriculum that assures WV students graduate college career-ready.”

“Employing the expertise of the WVU partners has helped assure the process was fair, transparent and well-promoted for maximum participation.”

The Academic Spotlight initiative was created in response to Next Generation academic standards, which were adopted in 2011 and developed by using input from more than 600 teachers and administrators all over West Virginia. They were implemented in West Virginia classrooms from 2011 to 2014.

-WVU-

hr/11/13/15

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