Synergy @ Mineola High School

About Synergy @ Mineola High School

System Type: Public School

Grade Levels: 9-12

Enrollment: Approximately 1,200 students

Location: Long Island, New York (Urban-Suburban)

Note: this profile describes what is lovingly referred to as V2.5 at Synergy, meaning the way they are currently working in the 23-24 school year. However, the design and structure at Synergy is in constant iteration and evolution. Current plans are being made for V 3.0 to be implemented in SY 24-25 so stay tuned for updates to this profile that reflect this evolution.

Overview

Synergy @ Mineola High School is Mineola UFSD’s prototype of the “future of high school.” Known for embracing a design thinking, human centered solution oriented approach, Mineola recognized the challenges that resulted from the COVID pandemic as an opportunity to listen to students and meet the unique needs of learners in a new world, where the workforce is requiring new competencies such as critical thinking, self-management and collaboration.

The “Synergy building” is located next door to the main High School building, and is considered part of the high school campus. Mineola UFSD does not limit Synergy to a “program” , but a “concept”. Students at Mineola High School are able to take traditional high school courses as well as Synergy courses that are designed to be self-paced and personalized. Students in Synergy courses have access to resources at the Synergy building that connects them with real-world learning opportunities and mentors. They are also able to reserve spaces in the Synergy building to work on group projects, meet 1:1 with an educator or local expert.

The focus of learning at Synergy is around “learning how to learn” and problem-solving in a learner-centered, self-directed and competency-driven environment. Students have access to real-world learning experiences and opportunities to collaborate with community partners. The schedule is self-directed. Students participate in online, asynchronous learning experiences while also working on projects related to their goals and working with mentors in the community. Course playlists are designed to be personalized. Learners start with “Get Good” activities that support them in acquiring the necessary knowledge and skills for the learning outcome. They then work to “Get Better” with activities that support them in practicing those skills. Finally, they do activities that help them “Get Great” by applying and transferring knowledge. This playlist allows students to work at their own pace towards learning outcomes and eventually demonstrate proficiency. Learn more about the playlist structure at Synergy here.

[Original size] Synergy Playlist Structure v 2.0 (3).pdf

You can read more about Surrey Schools here.

You can learn more about Synergy and the student experience here.

Technology Tools Used for Assessment and Reporting

Progress towards state standards are tracked digitally in Empower and Canvas Mastery Connect, which produces a final trimester Report Card.

Outcomes: What is assessed?

Learning Outcomes at Synergy are prioritized state standards organized by course. Each course at Synergy has a defined set of 10-15 standards, or clusters or standards, for the year that students will learn, practice and demonstrate proficiency on through their playlist work.

Below are a few examples of courses and a list of required standards for that course:

Levels of Proficiency: How is Progress Marked?

A 3-level proficiency scale is used to measure progress towards proficiency.

The 3 levels are:

Knowledge
Application
Transfer

The Knowledge level for a standard describes the discrete knowledge and skills needed to meet the standard and is considered a first step for learners. These are the things students are learning and practicing in the “Get Good” and “Get Better” portions of their playlists. Ultimately, the goal is for students to demonstrate the Application level, which is part of the “Get Great” playlist activities. For every standard within a course, a proficiency scale is defined to concretely describe the Knowledge and Application Level.

The third level, Transfer, is not the expectation, but an acknowledgment of learners that are able to transfer knowledge to a complex and authentic task.

Each of these levels is translated to numerical points:

Minimal Evidence (0-2)
Knowledge (3-4)
Application (5-6)
Transfer (7-8)

Below are a few examples of courses and a list of required standards for that course:

Above is an example of the “Research to Build Knowledge” writing standard (9-10W6). Demonstrating proficiency at the Application level would provide the student with a score of a 6. You’ll notice in this image in blue a percentage is provided. If a student receives a 6/6 that is a 100% on this standard. The lowest score a student should receive is a 4 which would be a 65%. If a student earns the Transfer level and a score of a 7 or 8 that would be above 100% on this standard. How this calculates to final course scores will be explained in the next section.

Reporting: How is Progress Documented?

Students receive a High School Report Card each quarter that shares their Synergy Course grades and their Mineola High School Course grades, which are graded on a traditional 0-100 scale.

This example report card from Mineola High School is from SY 23-24.

For Synergy Courses, a grade is not calculated until the end of the year. A narrative is given to provide details on whether the student is on pace to complete the course.

How Outcomes are Assessed and How Final Scores on the Report Are Calculated

The following communication was shared with families about the Synergy assessment philosophy:

“In the traditional education system, a student’s grades are typically an average of their performance over the course of one semester to the next. However, in our system, we have adopted an approach where students build on the proficiency they achieve from one semester to the next. This means that your child is not penalized for their progress within each semester. They have the opportunity to see where they currently stand, reflect on their performance, and work towards improvement throughout the year. This approach allows them a full year to grow and develop academically, without the constraints of averaging their grades between semesters”

At Synergy, grading is on a “rolling” basis meaning that grading is cumulative towards the end of the year.

To facilitate this, each course has defined the 15 standards that need to be mastered to complete the course and then plotted out on a pacing guide by quarter. Each standard is worth 6 points.

In the example below, this course has 4 required standards for Quarter 1 and 5 for Quarter 2. This adds up to a total of 24 possible points in Quarter 1 and 54 possible points in Quarter 2. This is cumulative, meaning that the Quarter 1 points are added to Quarter 2.

Let’s imagine a student in this course at the end of Quarter 1 has earned the Application Level of 2 of these standards and the Knowledge Level for 2 of these standards. That would mean they have earned 20 total points. For Quarter 1 their grade would be 83%. This is not officially reported on the Report Card until the end of the year but is listed as a comment.

Let’s follow this student into Quarter 2. Now, they have gone back to that third and fourth standard from the previous quarter and demonstrated evidence at the Application Level. They have also begun work on the additional standards for Quarter 2 and demonstrated varying levels of proficiency scoring a 3-6 depending on the standard. Overall, they have 48 points out of a possible 54 meaning they have an 89%.

Again, this grade would not be communicated on the Progress Report as a grade but instead as a comment. At the end of Quarter 4, their score out of a total of 90 points possible in the course would provide the final grade for the course. They are given the entire year to demonstrate proficiency on all 15 of the required standards with no penalties for earlier performance.

It’s important here to note that the possible scores for each standard are out of 6, but there is the possibility for a student to perform at the Transfer Level which would provide them up to 8 points. This would add to their total points and be considered in the calculation. It could help a student make up their final score for struggling in a different standard or lead to a higher than 100% final grade.

Sharing with Families

Families receive a Report Card each quarter that helps them see if their child is on pace for completing the Synergy courses. Before the report card, students calculate, with their educators, their current levels of proficiency and how those translate to grades. In student-led conferences, students then share and explain their proficiency levels and grades to their families.

Crediting, Promotion and Admission to Secondary/Post-Secondary

Proficiency scores on each standard at Synergy are translated to points 1-8 out of a possible 6 points. Each course has a determined number of standards to be met and therefore a total number of points possible in the course. Students accumulate points by working through the proficiency scales on each standard and demonstrating evidence. Student’s earned points are divided by the total number of possible points in the course to determine a final grade in the course at the end of the year. This provides Synergy students with clarity on what they are being assessed on and a traditional transcript and GPA.