andreea arama, cindy flores, eugena mccrann...
TRANSCRIPT
MACAULAY HONORS CUNY
QUEENS COLLEGE
Helping to Minimize Stress in NYC Public Schools
Students and teachers in today’s school environment experience high stress levels. From our observations high-‐stakes testing5, limited opportunities to socialize, lack of individual attention and extra help from teachers, and pressure to meet standards all contribute to the stress. Stress levels impede student’s academic achievement.
Previous research has shown:
• Bloomberg’s high-‐stakes testing emphasis created the need to devote classroom time to test-‐prep skills and limits the curriculum to
We need your help to raise awareness! Join our social media campaign by sharing a stressful or supportive school experience with the hashtag #LessOnTheStress or email us at [email protected].
BRIEFING PAPER
• High-‐stakes testing pressures both students and teachers who depend on test results for advancing to the next grade and maintaining their jobs, respectively 2
• High anxiety and stress levels lead to lower retention rates and lower grades3
• Happiness in schools has been shown to lead to better grades4
The school environment needs to change to better alleviate the stress. The voices of students and teachers need to be heard since they are directly involved and impacted by school policy and environment.
Source: Getty Images
Andreea Arama, Cindy Flores, Eugena McCrann
2 Lorem Ipsum
“Though I had good English teachers, I just couldn't seem to get the writing right and just gave up on it. Having Mr. Paccione changed all of that… His was a class like I'd never had before.” – Rebecca Wojnis, Macaulay Honors College ‘15 “At my university we have spring fling right before finals which is a great way to relax right before it gets crazy.” – Gabriela Acobo, Binghamton University ‘16
“In high school my junior and senior year. I took a class called stagecraft where we got to work on the shows for my school. It was my favorite part about going to school and I miss it the most.” – Malena Kovalevsky,
After conducting our research, we created a social media campaign aimed at getting students, parents, or teachers to share their experiences about stress in the school environment. These are trends we noticed:
• Students believe having good relationships with faculty, teachers, and peers is one of the best ways to relieve stress6.
• School resources that can aid in hard processes, like college applications, help students deal with stress.
• Extracurriculars help students relieve stress by allowing them to meet new people and pursue their interests.
• “Stress-‐Busters” such as playing with puppies, free massages, and other fun school events scheduled before finals help alleviate stress.
Social Media Campaign Findings
The NYC School Survey
Source: Anthony Delmundo/New York Daily News
3 3
The NYC School Survey given by the NYC Department of Education to parents, teachers, and students is used to assess the learning environment in NYC public schools and find ways to improve it. The survey focuses on 4 key areas: academic expectations, communication, engagement, and safety and respect.7
We think the survey’s aim is great, but upon visually analyzing the survey data, we found several factors that we feel should be improved. For example, response to the survey is not mandatory. Last year, only 66% of the NYC school community returned them.7 Furthermore, parents may not be able to accurately answer all questions unless their child tells them everything that happens at school. While looking through the questions, we did not find any that asked about stress levels experienced by teachers and students. Additionally, there is no place on the survey where one could provide open suggestions as to how to improve the learning environment.
See Appendix for our suggestions for possible
revised NYC School Survey Questions.
1
Dennis M. Walcott, Chancellor
2
Source: NYC Dept. of Ed.
Source: NYC Dept. of Ed.
1 http://www.villagevoice.com/2010-01-12/news/are-high-stakes-tests-harming-nyc-schools/ 2Duffy et al, (2009). No Child Left Behind: Values and Research Issues in High-Stakes Assessments. Counseling and Values. 53 (1), 53-66. 3College Student Retention: Formula for Student Success edited by Alan Seidman, p. 223 4http://www.news-leader.com/article/20130913/COLUMNISTS31/309130008/David-Hough?nclick_check=1
5 High Stakes Testing –means scores are used to determine punishments (such as sanctions, funding reductions negative publicity), accolades (awards, public celebration, positive publicity), advancement (grade advancement for students) or compensation (salary increases or bonuses for teachers) http://edglossary.org/high-stakes-testing/ 6 Stress – a state of mental or emotional strain or tension resulting from adverse or very demanding circumstances. http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/stress 7NYC Department of Education
Proposal for Reform
In light of this information gathered from background research, the NYC School Survey, and our #LessOnTheStress social media campaign, we propose a change in the NYC school survey questions. The questions should better address the stress levels of students and teachers and allow open suggestions to be made about improvements to the learning environment. Furthermore, the survey should assess the relationship and degree of disclosure between school faculty and parents, as well as parents and their children. Only by assessing the degree of communication between these parties can we measure the accuracy of the survey results. In addition, while it would be ideal to make the survey mandatory, like the lunch forms and blue cards given out to students at the beginning of the year are, some sort of compensation such as prizes to schools that complete the most surveys could be given out. This could help motivate parents and students to fill out the questionnaire thus, ensuring the best representation of school environments across the NYC public school system. The survey results could then be used to directly create a learning environment that best serves the students’ and teachers’ needs.
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APPENDIX
Questions students can answer that assess stress levels based on a 1-‐10 scale I feel stress taking before taking a test or standardized exams such as the SAT, ACT, Regents, etc. I feel my teachers provide me with encouragement and motivation that alleviate my stress before taking a test or standardized exam. I find myself feeling stressed out during school because of social or non-‐academic issues. Out of the following choices which would you believe causes you the most stress? You may select more than one. a) grades b) social interactions c) personal or other problems d) other: (note here) Based on your answer above, on a scale of 1-‐10 how well do your teachers or school faculty alleviate the stress caused by this issue? On a scale of 1-‐10, how well do your parents alleviate the stress caused by this issue?
Questions parents can answer about their children based on a 1-‐10 scale My child informs me of any issue occurring at school that is causing them stress. My child informs me when he feels like he is falling behind on schoolwork. How often do you have a one on one chat with your child about any school related issues? a) daily b) weekly c) monthly d) hardly ever e) never My child lets me know when he feels his teacher is not providing him with the proper attention needed to grasp the material in question My child informs me of any non academic, social issue that is interfering with their ability to feel comfortable at school
Questions parents can answer about their child’s teachers on a scale of 1-‐10 My child’s teacher informs me of any issue my child is having that prevents them from engaging in class (prior to parent teacher conferences) I have met my child’s teacher at least once (excluding parent teacher conferences) and I have a good idea of how well they know my child. My child’s teacher provides us with information about important upcoming exams and/or standardized tests to make sure we are aware of our child’s level of preparation.