American Preparatory Academy Celebrates Academic Success!
September 2023 - Carolyn Sharette, Executive Director
American Prep has great news on our elementary reading and math scores! First, let’s look at the Top Ten math rankings published on the state’s data gateway:
The first school has only 11 total students near the Alta ski resort. APA Draper 1 and Draper 2 scored in the top two spots for typical public schools in Utah! We are very excited about this. The next two schools are gifted magnet schools. These rankings are based upon 3rd-grade scores from the Acadience Math assessment given each spring at all 750 Utah public elementary schools.
Next, let’s look at the recent state report for 3rd graders who are reading on grade level (ROGL). All American Prep campuses were grouped together as a district for the publicly published reports, but we were able to disaggregate the data by campus. The results are that among the 145 (approximate number) charter schools in Utah, APA’s Draper 1 campus ranks #4 in ROGL, our Salem campus ranks #15, and our Draper 2 campus ranks #24!
You may ask about our West Valley campuses, and the news there is very good as well!
On a different measure, called “Acadience Benchmark” (so not to be directly compared with ROGL but still an assessment of 3rd-grade reading skills), at our West Valley 1 campus, 62% of our 3rd-grade students were reading at or above benchmark. At West Valley 2, 63.0% of our 3rd-grade students were reading at or above benchmark. These APA campuses scored more than 5% higher than the local school district (Granite), which had only 56.2% of 3rd-grade students reading at or above benchmark. More importantly, by 6th grade, 82.9% of West Valley 1 6th Graders and 82.1% of West Valley 1 6th Graders are reading at or above benchmark. In Granite District, only 62.6% of students are reading at or above benchmark. By 6th grade, 20% more of our 6th grade students are reading at benchmark compared to the local district. This increase between grades 3 and 6 is also the fastest growth in reading proficiency in our APA district! As many of our West Valley students are English language learners, this is an outstanding accomplishment!
Reading Mastery (RM) is our core reading program. RM was one of the first "science of reading" programs developed (1970s). It has produced outstanding results for decades all around the world and here at American Prep (#4 in reading), as well as other high-performing Utah schools like North Star Academy (#2), Bear River Charter School (#3), Legacy Prep (#11) and Excelsior (#22). Reading Mastery is one of the most researched and reliable reading programs available. American Prep has utilized Reading Mastery since the beginning of our schools twenty years ago, and it continues to drive high-performance results. A new law (SB127) requires all school districts to utilize only “state approved” reading curriculum, and currently, Reading Mastery is not on that list. Our administration is working to have Reading Mastery approved at the state level, but we are meeting with significant resistance from USBE staff. This is something we will be focusing on during this year’s legislative session.
We hope our families comprehend the success of our school’s academic program and the amazing value of an American Prep education!
Reading and Language Arts at American Prep - Backgrounder for Parents
- Reading Instruction K-6 - The American Preparatory Academy reading program is unique in that we teach dedicated reading instruction all the way from Kindergarten through 6th grade. Many Utah schools (as well as the Utah State Board of Education) have focused primarily on K-3rd grade reading with minimal attention paid to 4th-6th grade reading. As a classical education school, we believe it is important to teach reading all the way through elementary school; this instruction creates a strong written language foundation that will enable students to succeed in the rigorous classical education program we offer in secondary school.
- Direct Instruction - Direct Instruction (DI) is a model for teaching that emphasizes well-developed and carefully planned lessons designed around small learning increments and clearly defined and prescribed teaching tasks. Click here for an example of Direct Instruction - Learn more about Direct Instruction from NFDI.org. Reading Mastery is a DI program as is Connecting Math Concepts (the math program we use in grades K-2).
- Classical Education - Classical education is a teaching philosophy that it is primarily language-focused. Language-focused means learning is accomplished through written and spoken words rather than through images. Language learning and image learning require very different habits of thought. Language requires the mind to work harder; in reading, the brain is forced to translate a symbol (letters into words on the page) into a concept. Constant successful language-based study in the classroom creates confidence in both the student and the teacher to pull increasingly more difficult books off the shelf and dig in. This pattern of rigorous study at the same time develops virtues of discipline and persistence.
- Reading University - Students at APA begin reading and writing in Preschool and Kindergarten. Students in Kindergarten through 6th grade participate in APA’s Reading University program, inspiring reading in every grade.
Shurley Grammar - Shurley Grammar is a unique tool, specifically designed to help students master the parts of speech and sentence structure. Students learn definitions for the parts of speech through jingles that incorporate rhythm, rhyme, movement, and fun. Then, they are introduced to a well-defined system of classifying sentences known as the Question and Answer Flow. Through word analysis, students gain a better understanding of the parts that make up a sentence. With this basic grammar foundation in place, students are introduced to a clear, structured method for writing sentences that provides for clear, precise communication.
We are proud of the effort of our APA students and our amazing teachers and are excited to share the results of your amazing children.