Benchmarking to the Best

1. Benchmarking to the Best A Comparative Study of School District Improvement of Student Achievement Edina Public Schools Minnesota Presentation for the American Supervision and Curriculum Development Annual Conference, 2004

2. Background and Problems • The 2002 statewide assessments in Grades 3 & 5 (Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments, MCA) results show Edina students didn’t make as much improvement as we expected. • As a high-achieving school district with so many dedicated and highly qualified staff, how can we continue making improvement in achievement?

3. Across Minnesota and this country, there are excellent schools and districts with terrific achievement and great academic growth, However, we just rarely share our visions, policies, and strategies about what a great school looks like.

4. Edina Educators’ Question • How can we focus on school environment and the interactive effects of academic demand and social support at both the classroom and school levels? • How does a high-achieving suburban school district continuously make improvement? • Why did some districts show impressive improvement but some didn’t?

5. Comparative Study Task Force • Conduct a comprehensive comparison and review elementary school academic programs and services among districts. • Determine schools and districts to be reviewed and compared. • Identify common effective practices among schools and districts. • Generate strategies and recommendations • Communicate findings with administrators.

6. Issues to Investigate • What were administrative and programmatic factors impacting student achievement? • How can we characterize the nature of the changes in student achievement? • What district level strategies were used to improve student achievement? • What was the connection between policies, practices and strategies at the district level and actual changes in teaching and learning in the classroom?

7. Districts and School Selection for Comparison • Minneapolis west metro school districts with demographics similar to Edina. • Fast growing schools/districts in achievement in other areas of Minnesota • These schools/districts were in the top 30 on the Minnesota state testing. • They demonstrated a trend of improved overall student achievement over the past five years.

8. Methods of Investigations • Five years’ MCA testing results and improvement rates were collected and analyzed. • District demographics and teachers’ characteristics were collected. • Survey and Interview: two staff from a district, one at district level and one at school level, were interviewed. • Analyze data and make comparison. • Identify best or effective practices.

9. Selected Schools and District Achievement Trend, Grade 3 Reading

10. Selected Schools and District Achievement Trend, Grade 5 Math

11. Key Areas of Inquiry in Survey • Curriculum, instruction and assessment • Student intervention programs • Gifted Education programs • Teacher characteristics and teacher support programs • Staff Development • Minnesota state testing preparation

12. Data Analysis and Findings

13. Curriculum, Instruction and Assessments • Require explicit classroom reading instruction, 90-120 minutes and 45-90 minutes daily. • Require primary level (K-2) intervention. • Most intervention time and financial support is dedicated to reading. • Analyze district wide assessments to improve achievement. • Implement an intensive summer reading intervention program. • Use math programs endorsed by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics.

14. Intervention Programs • Provide district-coordinated student intervention programs. • Provide summer intervention services. • Provide an extended day/extended year program for intervention. • Use district established criteria and assessments to identify students in need of intervention.

15. Staff Development • Provide mentoring for new staff. • Demonstrate coordination in planning between district and sites. • Foster and implement a study-group model of embedded staff development. • Focus on literacy, differentiation and technology for staff development in the last three years. • Provide incentives for staff to participate.

16. Gifted Education Programs • Support gifted education at both site and district levels. • Sponsor summer programs by intermediate school districts and/or local district community education programs. • Use a standardized system for identification or selection of student participants. • Develop a district gifted education program based on the district curriculum.

17. Teacher Characteristics and Support • Tend to have an average teaching experience of 10-15 years for most districts. • Recruit well-educated staff. Most districts have over 50% of staff with advanced degrees. • Provide a variety of teacher support on site. • Provide staff for teacher curriculum support. • Keep class sizes smaller at kindergarten and increase from kindergarten to Grade 5. • Maintain half-day kindergarten services with a trend toward a fee-based full day option.

18. Correlation Between the Percentage of New Teachers and Percent of Improvement in the State Test Results

19. Minnesota Comprehensive Assessment Preparation • Provide some classroom preparation using the state provided practice tests. • Send information letters to parents and provide access to the state practice tests and other practice packages. • Test preparation time and materials vary by district and site.

20. Common Challenges Facing Schools and Districts • High percentage of inexperienced teachers. • Decreased funding • Lack of data on whether teachers completed the math curriculum • Limited follow up to staff development training.

21. What Affects School and Classroom Achievement? • Early childhood development (birth weight, lead poisoning, and nutrition); • School environment factors (curriculum, teacher preparation & experience, attendance, class size, classroom technology, and safety); • Home environment (reading to young children, TV, parent support, student mobility, and parent participation in family and school activities). Study from ETS

22. Key Strategies and Recommendations

23. Intensive and Explicit Elementary Instruction in Reading and Math Daily • A systematic, uniform, and relatively prescriptive approach to endure intensive and explicit instruction daily. • Communicate, support and monitor these expectations at the classroom level. • Use additional research to determine the extent of the instruction cohesion necessary to produce achievement gains.

24. Align Achievement Goals and Curriculum with State Standards • Develop clear achievement goals based on state standards • Align curriculum with state standards • Help translate these standards into instructional practice. (Example: MCA strand--Chance and Data with Edina Math Curriculum)

25. Grade 3 Math Strand Analysis over Years, 2000-2003

26. Progressively Intensive Programs for Low-Achieving Students • Coordinate and align student support to assure acceleration of academic progress for low-achieving students. • Provide before- and/or after-school programs for low-achieving students. • Provide highly skilled classroom teachers to help low-achieving students succeed.

27. Data-Driving Decision-Making Instruction • Provide quick turnaround assessment data in spring, data in the start of the academic year, and assessment preparation data before assessments along with training on data use. • Expand training and support to teachers in the use of assessment data to identify weaknesses in instruction and make improvement.

28. Concrete Accountability System and Teacher Ownership • Develop concrete accountability systems that hold all staff responsible for producing results • Increase teacher ownership and inter-grade cooperation for student achievement.

29. Assessment Preparation • Provide an appropriate amount of preparation for the state tests. • Improve student confidence and attitudes about testing and increase their motivation for doing well on tests. • Ensure that teachers are aware of state practice tests. • Communicate with parent about the state tests.

30. Final Recommendation All of these things, done together as recommended, will have a much larger impact on student achievement than doing any one of them alone.

31. Next Step: Elementary Program Evaluation in 2004 • Continuous Evaluation • Analysis of Data • Improvement Strategies Please go to the district website for the report: www.edina.k12.mn.us

32. Thank you so much for attending our session! We appreciate your input! Presenters Ken Dragseth, Ph.D., Superintendent (National Superintendent of the Year, 2003) Katie Williams, Principal of Concord Elementary School Julie Hatzung, Principal of Countryside Elementary School Yi Du, Ph.D., Director of Research and Evaluation Consultant: David Vick, Former Assistant Superintendent