In reading, they practice comprehension and writing the short essays required on the state tests called "brief constructed responses" or BCRs. In math, students drill through dozens of sample problems similar to the ones they'll see on the MSAs until the concepts stick, and they're also given test-taking strategies that help them narrow multiple-choice options to the most likely answers.
On a recent Saturday, Marley eighth-grader Darien Edwards-Heyward, 13, brushed up on multiple-step equations in algebra. He has studied the unit in class but often gets distracted by talking to friends.
"It's Saturday. My friends aren't all around me, so I can really focus and get help," Darien said.
Marley Middle, where one in three students come from low-income families, has focused heavily on improving literacy.
The school was placed on the state's watch list in 2006 for missing the bar for reading performance, with particularly weak scores among black and low-income students. The school also didn't meet standards in math among its special needs students.
Marley made moderate gains in those areas last year, but it has to register another consecutive year of gains before getting off the state watch list.
Saturday school is part of a broader effort to help Marley get off the list. Since joining the school last fall, Buckley has made literacy a focus in every classroom, not just in language arts. He has encouraged science and social studies teachers to drill students on comprehension by asking them to underline key words and evaluate visual cues in textbooks, skills that can help students better analyze the passages they'll be asked to read on state tests.
Buckley has also worked to reduce the disciplinary problems that get in the way of academic success. He reduced the school's reliance on suspensions that force students to miss classes, and instead created a Saturday detention hall.
He said he also encouraged teachers to counsel students on making better choices. Those efforts, Buckley said, have cut disciplinary referrals by a third.
ruma.kumar@baltsun.com
