At its inception, VIDA was charged to do something different: create better experiences for learners. The stakeholders involved at the time shared a vision of what they wanted for learners. They wanted learners to be happy, successful, caring humans who can contribute to society.
This is similar to the vision that many of us have for young people (and that they have for themselves); yet a hyper-focus on improving standardized test scores can prevent us from the larger goals of developing learners to think, communicate, and engage with the world as their best selves.
When I asked Eric about the impact VIDA has had on learners, he talked about suspensions going down, engagement going up, more students choosing to attend VIDA rather than being bused out.
He didn’t talk about test scores.
In fact, he shared, “I have no idea how we are doing on the standardized tests.” You might think he ignored them because the results weren’t good, but that is not the case. He didn’t focus on them because he has spent 10 years shifting the mindset of the community and creating new and better opportunities for learners. This meant focusing on the larger goals of making sure students (and teachers) feel like they belong and matter, creating authentic interdisciplinary learning experiences that help young people see the purpose and relevance in developing skills, and inviting students to co-design the opportunities.
In doing this, the desired student outcomes improved and so did their test scores. Pre-Covid, each year, they increased the amount of young people proficient in reading by reducing traditional intervention programs and replacing them with design classes that taught important skills through courses kids choose to be in. Post-Covid they are continuing on the same path to continue to develop the whole child and the skills needed to be successful in our modern world (and on a standardized test). This is supported by research highlighted by Edutopia across many other systems as well.
