High Schools: Why Are They So Hard to Improve?

1. High Schools: Why Are They So Hard to Improve? Karin Chenoweth Eagle County Public Schools August 10, 2010

2. Before we get to that, let’s talk about some good news.

3. National Assessment of Educational ProgressReading, 9-year-olds 21 24 28 34 35 44 *Denotes previous assessment format NAEP 2008 Trends in Academic Progress, NCES

4. NAEP Math9-year-olds 16 26 21 27 23 35 *Denotes previous assessment format NAEP 2008 Trends in Academic Progress, NCES

5. NAEP Reading13-year-olds 21 26 21 30 24 39 *Denotes previous assessment format NAEP 2008 Trends in Academic Progress, NCES

6. NAEP Math13-year-olds 28 22 21 27 35 46 *Denotes previous assessment format NAEP 2008 Trends in Academic Progress, NCES

7. So we appear to be getting a little bit of traction in elementary and middle schools. Now let’s talk about high schools.

8. NAEP Reading17-year-olds 22 26 30 41 29 52 *Denotes previous assessment format NAEP 2008 Trends in Academic Progress, NCES

9. NAEP Math17-year-olds 27 21 33 20 25 40 *Denotes previous assessment format NAEP 2008 Trends in Academic Progress, NCES

10. Graduation Rates Tell a Grim Story Silent Epidemic: Perspectives of High School Graduates., p. iii. 2006. Based on data from Greene, Jay and Marcus Winters (2005). Public High School Graduation and College-Readiness Rates: 1991–2002. Education Working Paper No. 8.

11. Note: Data show the averaged freshman graduation rate, or the percentage of incoming freshmen who graduate with a high school diploma four years later. • Source: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data (2007)

12. Source: Colorado State Department of Education

13. So the Question Arises:Why Don’t Kids Graduate? Let’s take a couple of minutes and talk about that. Talk with your school team and see if together you can account for all the major reasons kids drop out.

14. What are the major reasons kids drop out?

15. Students are most likely to cite the following reasons for considering dropping out: • School was boring (76%) • They were not learning enough (42%) Metropolitan Life, Survey of the American Teacher 2002: Student Life: School, Home and Community, p. 9

16. Why Kids Drop Out (A Different Survey) • 47 percent said a major reason for dropping out was that classes were not interesting. • 69 percent said they were not motivated or inspired to work hard. Silent Epidemic: Perspectives of High School Graduates., p. iii. 2006. Civic Enterprises in association with Peter D. Hart Associates.

17. In other words, we see students bored out the school doors.

18. Two-thirds of the dropouts surveyed say they would have worked harder if more had been demanded of them (higher academic standards and more studying and homework). 70 percent were confident they could have graduated if they had tried. Silent Epidemic: Perspectives of High School Graduates., p. 13. 2006. Civic Enterprises in association with Peter D. Hart Associations.

19. Minority Students More Likely to Believe Academic Expectations Are Too Low Note: students were in grades 6 to 12 Public Agenda, Reality Check 2006: Issue No. 2: How Black and Hispanic Families Rate Their Schools Percentage of students who say academic standards are too low and kids are not expected to learn enough

20. Most Students in Grades 6 through 12 support higher standards (even if it means summer school) Note: students were in grades 6 to 12 Public Agenda, Reality Check 2006: Issue No. 2: How Black and Hispanic Families Rate Their Schools Percentage of students who think it is a good idea for school districts to require students to meet higher academic standards or go to summer school to catch up

21. What About Students Who Graduate From High School?

22. Many high school graduates in the work force do not feel prepared to do the work expected of them Achieve, Inc. Rising to the Challenge: Are High School Graduates Prepared for College and Work? (2005) Percentage of young people reporting gaps between the preparation they received in high school and what is/will be expected of them

23. Employers report that many new entrants with a high school diploma are “deficient” in important basic skills Casner-Lotto, J & Barrington, L., Are They Really Ready to Work? Employers’ Perspectives on the Basic Knowledge and Applied Skills of New Entrants to the 21st Century U.S. Workforce (2006)

24. When They Get to College, Many Students Do Not Feel Prepared to Do the Work Expected of Them Achieve, Inc. Rising to the Challenge: Are High School Graduates Prepared for College and Work? (2005) Percentage of students reporting gaps between the preparation they received in high school and work expected of them in college

25. And Colleges Agree U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2004). The Condition of Education 2004, Indicator 18. Percentage of Students Taking at Least One Remedial Course

26. African American and Latino Students Are More Likely to Need Remediation U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2004). The Condition of Education 2004, Indicator 18.

27. To Sum Up Students are not learning enough in school. They know it, colleges know it, and employers know it. But many teachers and principals don’t seem to agree.

28. “If the nation’s public high schools demanded higher academic standards for at-risk students, do you think those students would work harder to meet these higher expectations?” On the Front Lines of Schools: Perspectives of Teachers and Principals on the High School Dropout Problem, Civic Enterprises, p. 13. 2009.

29. “If the nation’s public high schools demanded higher academic standards for at-risk students, do you think those students would work harder to meet these higher expectations?” TEACHERS On the Front Lines of Schools: Perspectives of Teachers and Principals on the High School Dropout Problem, Civic Enterprises, p. 13. 2009.

30. In Fact, Many Teachers and Principals Do Not Think Schools Should Help Students Meet Standards • On the Front Lines of Schools: Perspectives of Teachers and Principals on the High School Dropout Problem, Civic Enterprises, p. 22. 2009.

31. I would argue that this disconnect is a big reason why high schools are so difficult to improve.

32. Students are angry that they are written off…

33. …which can lead to some bad decisions on their part.

34. Teachers get angry that they are expected to work miracles in isolation...

35. …which can lead to some bad decisions on their part.

36. And both students and teachers are working in situations where bad decisions are often made for them.

37. Such decisions include: The way teachers are hired and assigned

38. Many core classes, particularly in high-poverty and high-minority secondary schools, are taught by out-of-field teachers High Poverty Low Poverty High Minority Low Minority Note: Data are for secondary-level core academic classes (Math, Science, Social Studies, English) across United States. High-poverty ≥75% of students eligible for free/reduced price lunch. Low-poverty school ≤15% of students eligible. High-minority ≥ 75% students non-white. Low-minority ≤ 10% students non-white. The Education Trust, Core Problems: Out-of-Field Teaching Persists in Key Academic Courses and High-Poverty Schools, (2008)

39. Such decisions include: The way classes are scheduled

40. After one successful semester of Algebra 1A, Imaniregressed to Pre-Algebra. Why? Source: Education Trust – West Analysis

41. Such decisions include: The way teachers are supervised

42. Source: The Widget Effect, The New Teacher Project, p.21. 2009

43. Source: The Widget Effect, The New Teacher Project, p.21. 2009

44. Such decisions include what courses are offered. Some high schools offer such classes as “pre-Spanish,” “modified” math and English, and other classes that are not designed to help students learn very much at all.

45. What happens when those patterns are broken? Imperial High School’s graduation rate: 95% Elmont Memorial Junior-Senior High School’s graduation rate: 98%

46. At Imperial High School, all students are automatically enrolled in California’s A-G college-preparatory sequence. Students have to ask (beg) to get out of it. • At Elmont, all classes are either at the level of Regents or Advanced. That is, college-preparatory or college-level.

47. But what about students who come in far behind? At Granger High School, where most students come in reading at the fifth-grade or below level, students who need extra help in reading are enrolled in a “Second Shot” reading class which carefully builds students’ fluency and confidence through reading that appeals to their intellect.

48. The point is that “It’s Being Done” schools assume kids can learn.

49. The logical implication of this belief is that if students are not learning to high levels, something about the teaching or the school must change.

50. That has implications for every decision made by school leaders: • Which classes are offered and taught • How classes are scheduled • How schools ensure that every student feels known and cared about • Who is hired to teach • Who is assigned to teach which classes • How teachers are supervised • How teachers are helped to improve instruction