IMPROVING ACHIEVEMENT AND CLOSING GAPS BETWEEN GROUPS

IMPROVING ACHIEVEMENT AND CLOSING GAPS BETWEEN GROUPS Charleston, West Virginia October, 2003

NCLB Statement of Purpose “Closing the achievement gap between high- and low-performing children, especially the achievement gaps between minority and non-minority students, and between disadvantaged children and their more advantaged peers.” 20 U.S.C. § 6301

What Do We Know About Student Achievement Currently? West Virginia and Other States Snapshot

African American Performance: 8th Grade Math By State

Black-White Achievement Gap By State: Grade 8 Math

CAN WE Raise Achievement And Close Gaps Among Groups? Especially in Communities with high Concentrations of Low Income Families?

What We Hear Adults Say: • They’re poor; • Their parents don’t care; • They come to schools without breakfast; • Not enough books • Not enough parents . . .

BUT..When We Take A Closer Look …Many schools...Some Districts and Entire States WE SEE A DIFFERENT PICTURE!

Wrigley Elementary • 78% Low-Income • 3rd Highest Performing in State in Reading • 6th Highest Performing in State in Writing KENTUCKY

Source: Education Trust analysis of data from National School-Level State Assessment Score Database (www.schooldata.org).

What Do We Know About Places Improving Results?

They Build Culture of Success: They Make No Excuses. Everybody Takes Responsibility for Student Learning.

They DO • Embrace meaningful state standards and assessments as valuable benchmarks and leverage points; • Accept the need for public accountability for results; • View poverty and family problems as barriers that can be surmounted; and, most important...

THEY ARE CONFIDENTMost teachers--like most other professionals--can get more and more effective.

And They Take Action to… • Build INSTRUCTIONAL SYSTEMS to support teachers, administrators, parents and students themselves to move toward standards.

Element 1: They Have Clear and Specific Goals for What Students Should Learn at Every Grade Level.

Historically, most of the really important decisions about what students should learn and what kind of work was “good enough” left to individual teachers.

Result? A System That: • Doesn’t expect very much from MOST students; and, • Expects much less from some types of students than others.

‘A’ Work in Poor Schools Would Earn ‘Cs’ in Affluent Schools Source: Prospects (ABT Associates, 1993), in “Prospects: Final Report on Student Outcomes”, PES, DOE, 1997.

Good Standards Can Help Focus But not if they sit on the shelf. Must be clear and specific about what students should learn at every grade level.

Element 2: All Students In Curriculum Carefully Lined Up with Those Goals

High Performing Districts: Elementary School Curriculum • Usually common across schools; • Model lessons that teachers may use.

Element 3: They Monitor Student Progress Regularly

smart states, districts do two important things: STOP drive-by workshops; INVEST in intensive, focused professional development.

High Performing Districts: • District-wide benchmark or snap-shot assessments, at least every 6-9 weeks; • Task pools on which teachers may draw in building their own assessments; • Support for teachers to learn more about assessment strategies; and, • Creation of vehicles for teachers to meet together to discuss assignments and student work.

High Performing Districts also ACT on results from benchmark assessments • if data show that student isn’t achieving, student gets extra; • if data show that many students in one classroom aren’t achieving, teacher gets extra support.

Element 4: Leading Districts, States provide Extra Instruction for Students Who Need it

When Kids Are Behind, Schools Must Provide More Instruction and Support: • Kentucky provides extra time for struggling students in high-poverty schools • Maryland offers extra dollars for 7th and 8th graders who need more support

Time Becomes A Variable Many schools, districts finding ways to double, even triple, amount of time spent on literacy, math.

Element 5: Good Teachers Matter More than Anything Else!

And the impact on students is astonishing. See for yourself.

1998 by The Education Trust, Inc.

Virtually every high poverty school has some spectacularly wonderful teachers, but...

Classes in High Poverty High Schools More Often Taught by Misassigned* Teachers *Teachers who lack a major or minor in the field Source: National Commission on Teaching and America’s Future, What Matters Most: Teaching for America’s Future (p.16) 1996.

Math and Science Classes of Mostly Minority Students Are More Often Taught by Misassigned Teachers Source: Jeannie Oakes. Multiplying Inequalities: The Effects of Race, Social Class, and Tracking on Opportunities to Learn Mathematics and Science (Rand: 1990)

Poor and Minority Students Get More Inexperienced* Teachers *Teachers with 3 or fewer years of experience. “High” and “low” refer to top and bottom quartiles. Source: National Center for Education Statistics, “Monitoring Quality: An Indicators Report,” December 2000.

High-Poverty Schools Get More Low-Scoring* Teachers *Teachers scoring in the bottom quartile on on SAT/ACT. “High-poverty” schools have 2/3 or more students eligible for reduced-price lunch. Source: Education Week, “Quality Counts 2001,” January 2001.

Devastating Impact

“By our estimates from Texas schools, having an above average teacher for five years running can completely close the average gap between low-income students and others.”John Kain and Eric Hanushek

NCLB Teacher Requirements • All teachers “highly qualified” by 2004; • Extensive Reporting and Parent Right to Know Requirements; • Districts, states must develop plan to end disproportionate assignment of underqualified teachers to poor/minority children; • New money to support all this.

IMPROVING ACHIEVEMENT AND CLOSING GAPS BETWEEN GROUPS