Local News: Education by design: How McCook Schools assess, adapt, and improve (2/27/25)

Superintendent Grant Norgaard outlines goals for the external team of administrators, educators, board members, and school improvement team members.

Joy Farr/McCook Gazette

Parents often wonder if their children are truly benefiting from their education and if the teaching methods employed by educators in their local schools are effective. It may be surprising to learn the degree to which all accredited schools in Nebraska engage in continuous school improvement to consistently evaluate and enhance their educational practices.

The school improvement process, while seemingly straightforward, involves each school using data to set specific goals to be achieved over a five-year period. The process is a significant endeavor mandated by the state to ensure that Nebraska schools are always evolving to meet the needs of their students.

McCook Public Schools are in the final stages of their current goal of creating and implementing a Comprehensive Instructional Program (CIP) that addresses all aspects of teaching and learning across their four buildings. Superintendent Grant Norgaard has expressed a strong belief in the trust parents place in the district and wishes they could witness the dedication of the staff in making quality education a reality for every student.

Unlike many schools that focus on specific learning objectives, such as enhancing reading comprehension or improving math scores, McCook has embraced a more holistic approach. The guiding principle within McCook schools is to develop an educational system that collaborates across hallways, grades, and buildings, ensuring that every student receives the support needed to succeed.

For the past 15 years, collaboration has been central to the district’s strategy. When the decision was made to adopt the CIP as their five-year goal, McCook was able to concentrate more resources and attention on establishing a robust system that equips all teachers, whether experienced or new, with the tools and support necessary to effectively engage their students.

The goal was designed with students’ success in mind. To that end, administrators have focused on five key areas:

Quality: Hiring and training qualified teachers.

Focus: Identifying and prioritizing the essential learnings.

Collaboration: Organizing and planning to ensure effective teaching across all grades and subjects.

Evaluation: Developing in-house assessments to determine student learning and teaching effectiveness.

Consistency: Committing to continuous improvement.

By prioritizing the CIP, McCook has directed substantial resources toward creating a system that truly works. Norgaard presented extensive data illustrating the positive impact of these methods on learning outcomes. All stakeholders—educators, administrators, para-educators and specialists—have gained from the training and collaborative environment fostered by this approach.

Teachers have begun by identifying the most essential learnings for each grade and subject, regularly reviewing their curriculum to distinguish necessary content. They visualize the standards in a bullseye format, with the most critical information at the center. The core skills are integral for every student to master, and educators strive diligently to ensure that they do. Once the essential elements have been pinpointed, teachers collaborate to determine when and how to teach those elements. They then create assessments to measure each student’s mastery of the material before progressing.

A common concern regarding public education is that standardized tests have overshadowed genuine learning. Parents may fear that students are merely being prepared to excel on tests, however, a crucial aspect of McCook’s goal has been the development of criterion-referenced tests (CRTs) that assess mastery of the essential learnings. The tests, designed by McCook teachers, help identify what students have mastered, what they need assistance with, and how teaching practices can improve. Norgaard asserts that the effort teachers invest in determining key learnings makes CRTs far more valuable than standardized assessments.

Norgaard discussed the efficacy of this goal for nearly an hour to the appointed external team of administrators, educators, board members, and school improvement team members just before their observations in the district. The external team spent all of Tuesday and part of Wednesday in classrooms in an effort to evaluate how well McCook schools have achieved their goal. They visited all schools within the district to observe and conduct interviews, gathering information for a comprehensive report.

The findings will be submitted to the Nebraska Department of Education, though McCook administrators will not receive them for 60-90 days. McCook schools will then receive a ranking as well as recommendations for further improvement. Anyone can access their school’s Education Profile, which includes all data, rankings, and recommendations on the Nebraska Department of Education website.

Once received, the external teams report will allow the Nebraska Department of Education to update McCook Public School’s profile and ranking. McCook schools are currently ranked as “Great”, with McCook Elementary being the exception with a ranking of “Excellent.”