Annandale Christian College — Analysis of the activities Essay Example

Abstract

This report presents an organizational performance analysis of Annandale Christian College. To effectively analyze the school’s performance the report will adopt the system thinking perspective that will evaluate the performance of the teaching and learning sub- system of Annandale Christian College and then draw an overall picture of the schools performance in this area.

Introduction

Annandale Christian School consists of the primary and secondary section where boys and girls learn together under the guidance of their teachers. Annandale was started by a group of parents who wanted their children to study in a Christian environment they started the school at Jonquil Crescent, Townsville, Queensland, Australia. The School has a total student population of 425 pupils (213 are girls while 212 are boys) (ACARA 2012).

Methodology Employed to Evaluate the School

The report will use the Self-Assessment framework adopted by Association of Community and Comprehensive schools (ACCS) in analyzing the role of teaching and learning as the most influential sub-units of the ACC in relation to the overall performance of the whole school (Deidre 2011). The analysis will seek to reveal whether the teaching and learning school’s sub-system delivers satisfactory results. The analysis will analyze this sub-system by dividing it into three components Curriculum delivery and teaching practice, Students learning and finally the learning outcomes for students (MacBeath and National Union of Teachers 1999, pp 39).

Teaching and Learning

Component 1: Curriculum Delivery

The ability of ACC to properly deliver the curriculum will be evaluated and under the following themes: ability to teach, the approaches used to deliver instructions, commitment of students in learning.

Ability to teach

The teachers at ACC are highly qualified with more than 80% holding at least a Bachelors degree thus they can are able to deliver high quality instructions and arrange workable lesson plans (Black and William 1998).

Approaches Used to deliver instructions at ACC

The school has shown innovation by using IT to pass knowledge to their pupils including the use of Laptops, Personal computers and smart boards to ensure the instruction delivery process is better.

Management of Students

ACC sets various goals for students learning during lessons and after set periods of time. If a teachers at ACC thinks his students are not reacting well to learning special attention is given and the student is assisted to overcome the learning problem. School attendance at ACC stands at 94% and cases of unreported absenteeism are followed up with the parents ( MacBeath 2000, pp 72).

Component 2: Learning experience

The learning experience at ACC can be evaluated under the following themes: the schooling environment, Participation and concentration in Class and finally the methods of learning. The classrooms at ACC are practically planned averaging 80m2 and are equipped with fans and heating appliances to keep the learning environment conducive (ACC nd).

Schooling Environment

Acc offers students an environment where they can progress in both their academic and spiritual aspect. The teachers all uphold Christian values that mean they are polite and caring to the children. The Values cultivated into the staff make sure that cleanliness is maintained within the school compound.

Participation and Concentration in Class

Teachers at ACC make sure that each of the students in their classes is an active participant in class by using inclusive methods like discussions where every student has to contribute. Teachers at ACC are very captivating in the classroom to ensure pupils concentrate through-out their lessons.

Learning to learn

ACC encourages its students to attend library session on their own where they can learn on their own initiative using the skills they gain in class (Acc 2010).

Component 3: The outcomes of teaching and learning at ACC

Results for 2009

Figure 1: Average Score of ACC Year 3 students in 2009

	ACC Mean	State Mean	% Above National Minimum Standard
YEAR 3
Reading	422	385	96%
Writing	425	394	100%
Spelling	400	375	100%
Grammar and Punctuation	419	394	100%
Numeracy	384	372	96%

Source: http://www.aisq.qld.edu.au/files/files/SchoolReports/2010%20Annual%20Report%20re%202009.pdf

Figure 2: Average Score of ACC Year 5 students in 2009

	Acc Mean	Queensland Mean	% Scores National standard (Minimum)
Year 5
Reading	523	478	96%
Writing	520	466	96%
Spelling	481	466	96%
Grammar and Punctuation	526	486	96%
Numeracy	509	470	100%

Source: http://www.aisq.qld.edu.au/files/files/SchoolReports/2010%20Annual%20Report%20re%202009.pdf

Figure 3: Average Score of ACC Year 7 students in 2009

	ACC Mean	State Mean	% Scores National standard (Minimum)
YEAR 7
Reading	559	533	100%
Writing	580	525	96%
Spelling	535	533	96%
Grammar and Punctuation	579	534	100%
Numeracy	544	539	100%

Source: http://www.aisq.qld.edu.au/files/files/SchoolReports/2010%20Annual%20Report%20re%202009.pdf

Figure 4: Average Score of ACC Year 9 students in 2009

	Acc Mean	Queensland Mean	% Scores National standard (Minimum)
Year 9
Reading	584	570	94%
Writing	588	558	94%
Spelling	571	568	89%
Grammar and Punctuation	616	568	94%
Numeracy	595	578	94%

Source: http://www.aisq.qld.edu.au/files/files/SchoolReports/2010%20Annual%20Report%20re%202009.pdf

Results for 2011

Figure 5: Average Score of ACC Year 3 students in 2011

	Acc Mean	Queensland Mean	Commonwealth Mean
Year 3
Reading	437	434	416
Writing	424	426	416
Spelling	411	390	423
Grammar and Punctuation	465	438	421
Numeracy	403	413	398

Source: http://www.myschool.edu.au/MainPages/NAPLANResultsTable.aspx?SDRSchoolId=48048&DEEWRId=0&CalendarYear=2011&RefId=KoQ3z2kGfjH2G94b08noKg%3d%3d

Figure 6: Average Score of ACC Year 3 students in 2011

	Acc Mean	Queensland Mean	Commonwealth Mean
Year 5
Reading	483	504	488
Writing	502	492	483
Spelling	477	493	484
Grammar and Punctuation	502	515	499
Numeracy	474	501	488

Source: http://www.myschool.edu.au/MainPages/NAPLANResultsTable.aspx?SDRSchoolId=48048&DEEWRId=0&CalendarYear=2011&RefId=KoQ3z2kGfjH2G94b08noKg%3d%3d

Figure 7: Average Score of ACC Year 3 students in 2011

	Acc Mean	Queensland Mean	Commonwealth Mean
Year 7
Reading	566	555	540
Writing	550	544	529
Spelling	534	546	538
Grammar and Punctuation	561	548	532
Numeracy	561	560	545

Source: http://www.myschool.edu.au/MainPages/NAPLANResultsTable.aspx?SDRSchoolId=48048&DEEWRId=0&CalendarYear=2011&RefId=KoQ3z2kGfjH2G94b08noKg%3d%3d

Figure 8: Average Score of ACC Year 3 students in 2011

	Acc Mean	Queensland Mean	Commonwealth Mean
Year 9
Reading	587	594	580
Writing	580	589	566
Spelling	571	592	581
Grammar and Punctuation	577	590	572
Numeracy	577	599	583

Source: http://www.myschool.edu.au/MainPages/NAPLANResultsTable.aspx?SDRSchoolId=48048&DEEWRId=0&CalendarYear=2011&RefId=KoQ3z2kGfjH2G94b08noKg%3d%3d

Figure 9: Students gain between years 2009-2011

Sources: http://www.myschool.edu.au/MainPages/StudentProgress.aspx?SDRSchoolId=48048&DEEWRId=0&CalendarYear=2011&RefId=6fMo1wilwwP1qAWKW4xQyg%3d%3d

The outcomes of ACC’s scores are show that ACC is high performing school scoring above the Queensland and the commonwealth average in Year 3, 5, 7 and 9 in most areas of assessment at the school. Figure 9 also shows that between year 3 and 9 there is a steady increase in student’s performance (ACARA 2012).

Conclusion

ACC as an organization is performing exceptionally well in most of the areas evaluated by the report. The school Christian roots provides a good environment for students to develop in the tender care of the teachers and other staff. Its teachers are highly qualified and experienced in its teaching but this is not enough since ACC demands commitment from its teaching staff in their dealings with children. The school facilities including sheltered sporting grounds ACC provides a safe, enjoyable and stimulating experience for pupils where students can develop spiritually, academically and physically.

References

Annandale Christian College (ACC) 2010, Annual Report 2009, 28^th April 2012, http://www.aisq.qld.edu.au/files/files/SchoolReports/2010%20Annual%20Report%20re%202009.pdf

Annandale Christian College (ACC) nd, Welcome to the Home of Annandale Christian College, Viewed 28^th April 2012, http://www.acc.qld.edu.au/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=76&Itemid=132

http://www.myschool.edu.au/MainPages/SchoolProfileRep.aspx?SDRSchoolId=48048&DEEWRId=0&CalendarYear=2011&RefId=NlFioq53dpVGl49QjiP8RA%3d%3d April 2012, ^th) 2012, School Profile |ACARA, viewed on 28ACARAAustralian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (

http://www.myschool.edu.au/MainPages/NAPLANResultsTable.aspx?SDRSchoolId=48048&DEEWRId=0&CalendarYear=2011&RefId=KoQ3z2kGfjH2G94b08noKg%3d%3d April 2012, ^th) 2012, Results in Numbers |ACARA, viewed on 28ACARAAustralian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (

Black, P., & William, D. 1998. Assessment and classroom learning. Assessment in Education, Volume 5, Issue 1, pp 7-74

Deidre, M. 2011, School_Self-Evalution_Deidre_Matthews, Viewed 28^th April 2012, http://www.accs.ie/content/uploads/1/School_Self-Evaluation_Deirdre_Matthews.pdf

http://www.eduweb.vic.gov.au/edulibrary/public/account/operate/saif2011/sseexmethodology2.pdf April 2012, ^thSchool Self-Evaluation Examples: Methodology, 28Department of Education and Early Childhood Development (DEECD) 2008,

MacBeath
, J.E 2000, Self-Evaluation in European Schools: A Story of Change,
Routledge/Falmer, London

MacBeath , J.E. & National Union of Teachers 1999, Schools Must Speak for Themselves: The Case for School Self-Evaluation, Routledge, London