Sonia Brown, a 14-year old freshman in Yakima, WA, was the one to review her school progress with her parents…rather than the adults who teach her.
“It’s a confidence booster,” Sonia told the Yakima Herald-Republic. “We tell them how we are doing instead of someone else speaking for us.”
Middle and high school students at Yakima Valley public schools more and more have been engaged in student-led conferences for more than 10 years. Rather than using the traditional format of the teacher reporting student progress, students prepare for and lead the conferences. Students have a more vested interest in their education, and the practice encourages parent participation.
Students use advisory time to prepare for the conferences, and the process includes goal-setting, test results, and long-term plans.
“It really puts the onus on your child to think about what they are doing in school, to think about the things they do well, and to think about the things they could do better job at,” school Board member Dee Dee Trepanier said to the Yakima newspaper. “They have to talk about their goals to you, and they have to talk about how they’ve worked toward meeting those goals or not.”
Read the story about Yakima Valley schools and student-led conferences here.
Advisory programs are a hallmark of private-independent education. Student-led conferences are a natural fit for advisory. Students spend their advisory time working on their portfolios—pulling together the key materials that will constitute a good representation of the student’s program.
When developing their portfolios, students can evaluate their strengths and weaknesses.
“Given the opportunity, students can discuss their learning and their growth competently with others,” writes Carol Smith in “Assessing and Reporting Progress Through Student-Led Portfolio Conferences,” available on the National Middle School Association web site. “A portfolio of work contains concrete evidence of that learning and growth, and offers the perfect vehicle for discussing progress.”
The adviser works closely with the student to make sure the portfolio has “the right stuff.” The student, in some cases, makes the decision about “how and why a particular piece fits into a particular section.” Students make connections between subjects and topics, and see how their skills are universal.
The adviser guides the student through rehearsal before the conference. Students work together as well, rehearsing with each other. But during the conference, the student is in charge; the adviser takes a back seat, providing support when the student needs it.
“Portfolio conferences offer students, parents, and teachers the opportunity for sustained and focused conversation about learning,” writes Smith. “By granting students an active and meaningful role in assessing and interpreting their own learning, we provide an authentic context for self-evaluation, a context that fosters accountability and the honest appraisal of both successes and challenges.”
