Uncommon Schools, Uncommon Results: Case Studies of Three New York State Schools Closing Racial Test Score Gaps

Uncommon Schools, Uncommon Results:Case Studies of Three New York State Schools Closing Racial Test Score Gaps Colin Chellman and Meryle Weinstein Research Associates, Institute for Education and Social Policy and Leanna Stiefel and Amy Ellen Schwartz Faculty, Wagner Graduate School New York University Education Finance Research Consortium November 19, 2004

Research Questions • What are the differences in school-level test scores by subgroup in New York State? • How do "schools without gaps" differ from those with gaps? • What policies and practices might contribute to reducing test score gaps?

School Strategies to Eliminate the Gap • School culture and teacher characteristics • Leadership • Use of data • Parental expectations and involvement in schooling

School Culture and Teacher Characteristics • Small class size and high per-pupil spending • Teacher quality • Integration and student relationships • Expectations of teachers and principals • Diverse faculty and staff

Leadership • Instructional leaders • Ability to recruit and retain good teachers • Principal autonomy

Use of Data • Disaggregating student performance to identify low-performing students • Professional development on how to use data • Connecting results to instruction • Use of ongoing assessments

Parents and Expectations • Parental involvement in children’s school • Parental expectations • Communicating these expectations to children

Quantitative Data: 2000-01 and 2001-02 • New York State School Report Card • State of Learning/Chapter 655 Report • Institutional Master File • School District Fiscal Profiles

Quantitative Analysis • Identify schools accountable for: • White students only • Non-white students only • Both white and non-white students • Compare results to 2000-01 school year • Identify schools that showed little disparity in subgroup performance over two years

Table 1: Distribution by Racial Accountability Status, 2001-02

Choosing Case Study Schools 1. Schools accountable for both white and non-white students in 2000-01 and 2001-02 school years • 668 elementary schools • 424 middle schools 2. Identify schools with small or non-traditional test score gaps between these groups • 45 elementary schools • 27 middle schools

Eliminated: • schools “sinking all boats” • less-integrated schools • schools with the lowest poverty rates • Asian-dominated schools

Principal Interviews (n=3) Educational philosophy Academic goals Curricula Expectations for students School organization School environment Teacher Surveys (n=23) Understanding of school philosophy Perceptions of other teachers, students Perceptions of school leadership Availability of teacher supports Qualitative Data

Qualitative Data, cont’d. Two studies: • Bay Area School Reform Collaborative (BASRC, 2003) • Compared schools with and without gaps • Markow and Scheer, Education Week, 2004 Nationally-representative teacher sample

School Culture and Teacher Characteristics Table 2: Teacher Characteristics Sources: 1) Authors’ survey 2) 2003 State of Learning/Chapter 655 Report

School Culture and Teacher Characteristics Table 3: Student Interaction

School Culture and Teacher Characteristics Table 4: Factors That Explain Achievement Gap

School Culture and Teacher Characteristics Table 5: What would work best to reduce test score gaps?

Leadership Principal Leadership “People know they can reach me here [at school], or at home, if they have a suggestion…You have to be a risk taker. You’ve got to learn to try things, to see what works for the kids. If the teacher has a good idea, and she’s willing to go for it, I’ll support them if it makes sense because, let them try it. If it doesn’t work, go to plan B.”

Leadership Table 6: Principal Leadership

Data Data “I think we probably use data more than most schools… What the district sends us is good, but it’s not really action-able or available. It’s a stack of reports with a bunch of numbers. That’s scary to your typical teacher.”

Data Table 7: Use of Data

Parents and Expectations Table 9: Expectations

Parents and Expectations Parental Involvement “There’s difficulty in getting the parents to come in because of the nature of our population. We have a large immigrant population… The parents don’t come in because they’re not legal and they have financial problems and family problems. There’s a myriad of difficulties.”

Conclusions • Teachers hold high expectations for all students. • Principals are strong instructional leaders. • Data from ongoing assessments are used to target resources where needed most. • Teachers and principals perceive that parents have high expectations around academic performance for their children.

Future Research • Students observation and surveys • How do students perceive teacher and parent expectations? • Does diverse student interaction improve study habits? • Parents • How do parents express expectations for their children? • Classroom observation • Validate teacher survey response • Comparison group of schools

Uncommon Schools, Uncommon Results: Case Studies of Three New York State Schools Closing Racial Test Score Gaps