What Are Appropriate State Interventions to Close the Achievement Gap?EPLC Final Project

Alexander Grande, Cassie Budzilek

Joanna Papada, Tom Chapman

No Child Left Behind (2001)

Since the implementation of NCLB:

The high achievement of certain students can no longer mask the low achievement of other groups

Accountability is in the forefront more than ever before nationwide

Pennsylvania’s Effort to Close the Achievement Gap

Getting Results! Leading for Learning Project 720 PAGE 1 Other tools:

Assessment handbooks, accommodations guidelines, item banks/samplers, assessment anchors, Adopt-An-Anchor, Anchors In Practice

Testing and Accountability Alone Will NOT Close the Achievement Gap

A Plea to Policymakers

Re-evaluate current resources and supports offered through the Department of Education

Assist districts in utilizing the tools put forth by the Federal Government and Department of Education

Create new policy as necessary to assist districts in utilizing tools that are currently available (e.g. mandate voluntary programs to be mandatory)

High Leverage PracticesGetting Results!

Quality Teaching Continuous Learning Ethic Quality Leadership Artful Use of Infrastructure

Quality Teaching

One of the most critical indicators of how students perform is the competence of the teacher.

High quality teachers in every classroom can positively impact student performance even when they come from struggling family backgrounds (Sanders & Rivers, 1996).

Importance of Strategies

Policymakers need to place more emphasis on strategies to close the gap, rather than focusing exclusively on standards-based reform and high stakes testing.

Staff professional development, especially related to research-based instructional practices, is also critical to closing the gap.

Putting a High Quality Teacher In Every Classroom: Key Issues

Teacher Preparation Programs Teacher Certification/Induction Effective Instruction/Progress Monitoring Professional Development

Teacher Preparation Programs

Need for greater contribution of higher education to prepare teachers with teaching skills needed to assist in closing the gap.

Re-evaluation of coursework to include more emphasis on: Research-based effective instructional practices Monitoring student progress Making instructional decisions based upon data Working with students with disabilities Teaching reading effectively

Teacher Certification

Policymakers should investigate new and innovative programs to meet the teacher quality challenge.

Alternative routes to teacher certification Teach For America Troops to Teachers

Teacher Induction: A Need for Funding

Provide funding support for teacher induction Create more stringent and more intensive

induction programs, possibly extending to a 2 year program

Incorporate detailed individual needs assessments into induction programs

Ensure new teachers are using and refining newly learned skills through stronger mentor programs

Progress Monitoring

Provide necessary supports and funding to ensure:

Teachers are well versed in research proven instructional practices

Teachers are monitoring the progress of their students on a regular basis, analyzing the data and making instructional adjustments based upon that data

Continuous Learning Ethic

Act 48 Professional Development

Required for teachers to maintain certification but often: does not meet specific teacher needs lacks ongoing, intensive support needed to lead

teachers to take ownership of learning and applying new skills

Staff Development Plan

A well conceived professional development plan must:

Result in an evaluation with more value Ensure program’s goals are clear Guide the collection of relevant data Increase likelihood of producing results for

students

National Staff Development Council (NSDC, 2001)

Standards for Staff Development(NSDC, 2001)

Proposal to policymakers:

The NSDC standards related to context, process and content should be the benchmark for all PA schools in increasing student performance and eliminating the achievement gap.

Context, Process and Content Standards

Context Standards

Organize adults into learning communities Require skillful leaders who guide continuous

instructional improvement Require resources to support adult learning

and collaboration

Process Standards

Use data to determine adult learning priorities and sustain continuous improvement

Use multiple sources of information to demonstrate impact (evaluation)

Use learning strategies appropriate to goal Provides educators with knowledge and skills

to collaborate

Content Standards

Prepare teachers to hold high expectations Deepen content knowledge Provide research-based instructional

strategies to assist students in meeting standards

Promote family involvement

Needed in PA: A Paradigm Shift

FROM

Externally designed Summative evaluations

Filed/shelved Done as an afterthought Process-focused Documentation Presentation of results

TO

Internally designed Planning, formative &

summative evaluations Used Planned from beginning Results-focused Evaluation Reflective dialogue

Key Factors for Successful Staff Development

Form Duration Collective Participation Content Active Learning Coherence

What should professional development look like in Pennsylvania?

Differentiated Based upon an analysis of need Options

Whole group instruction Reading groups Independent study Study groups Action research teams

Some Ideas: Differentiated Staff Development

Arrange teacher schedules to create common planning time for study groups

Use faculty meeting time

Hold breakfast colloquiums

Needs assessments

Quality Leadership

Effective leadership sets the tone and conditions for schools to serve children well.

Getting Results! defines quality leadership through four categories: instructional, organizational, personal and public

What is Needed?

A redefinition of effective leadership and a redesign of how we prepare and develop educational leaders.

QUALITY LEADERSHIP

Committed and capable leadership for public education must respond to the demographic, social and technological changes facing schools and students today in closing the achievement gap.

Getting Results!

Organizational Leadership …creates a compelling organizational purpose of closing the achievement gap

Instructional Leadership …provides the resources required to close the achievement gap.

Getting Results! Personal Leadership …

the dynamic of energy, empathy and empowerment in creating team members

Public Leadership. …frames the question of closing the achievement gap. Engages, educates, enlists and empowers public support of the objective.

The School Improvement Effort

Educators need to understand that school improvement is a complex process.

Even a well designed approach to closing the achievement gap through school improvement may fail unless policy makers and school leaders put in place the conditions to support its success.

Recommendations

Pennsylvania Department of Education review higher education training for school leaders.

Accept the Middle Atlantic proposals for reciprocity

State funding for leadership training through grants to school districts

Artful Use of Infrastructure

Authentic RelationshipsStrategic Alignment of StakeholdersIntensive support

A School Community Circa 1960’s

THE FACTS: Advocacy

Courageous Conversations• We have researched the causes;

•We have examples of best practices and solutions

•Now, we have to talk about it- take it to the Community

Taking ActionStudents

On a solid

foundation Teachers

Develop pilot collaboration with community partners

PrincipalsSet a Clear Vision & goals for organization.

Acknowledge that real change will take time

DistrictsCreate open & Supportive environments

Local CommunitiesPre-occupation with The health of schools Tax base

Law/Policy MakersState Level Task Force Business and Industry

Public Education = Healthy Economy

Power- Key Relationships

Principal To

Community

Principal To

Teachers

Principals & TeachersTo

Families

Teachers To

Community

TeachersTo

Students

StudentsTo

Community

Corridor of Orientation

MathMath

EnglishEnglish

ArtArt

Social StudiesSocial Studies

ScienceScience

Vo-TechVo-Tech

The Empty Corridor

MathMath

EnglishEnglish

ArtArt

Social Studies

Social Studies

Science

Science

Vo-TechVo-Tech

The Community

Social, Cultural & Faith Sectors

Employers

Business and Industry

Higher Education

Civic & Political

The Relational Corridor

The Law of the Land: NCLB & Rip

The overall guidance and the intent was provided by senior leadership…but the forces in the field would not depend on intricate orders from the top. They were to use their own initiative and innovation as they went forward

Rapid Cognition: Trusting the Soldiers in the Field of Battle “…to be successful at

education our students our school communities must move away from a single source definition of success, just because we can measure and quantify test scores does not mean we have succeeded at out job…”

James Comer

Thank You For Your Attention!

References for this powerpoint presentation are provided in the

attached paper.