Transcript Obstacles or Opportunities?

National High School Center Summer Institute
Advancing High School Student
Success: Building Systems of
Support
June 11, 2007
Feeling Young?
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The people who will start college this fall were
born in 1989:
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They have no meaningful recollection of the Reagan era
and probably do not know he had ever been shot.
Atari predates them, as do vinyl albums. The
expression you sound like a broken record means
nothing to them. They have never owned a record
player.
They may never have heard of an 8 track. The Compact
Disc was introduced before they were born.
There have always been VCRs, but they have no idea
what BETA is.
They do not care who shot JR and have no idea
who JR is.
 The Titanic was found? They thought we always
knew where it was.

“School matters, but only
insofar as it yields something
that can be used once
students leave school.”
Howard Gardner, 1997
What they do online
Source: TBWA/Chiat/Day Research, 2000
100%
98%
95%
93%
92%
90%
89%
84%
81%
80%
77%
70%
69%
61%
38%
Send e-mail
Surfing around/seeing what is out there
Looking up musical groups and artists
Chatting with friends online
Doing homework or research
Listening to music
Using instant messaging
Checking movies, TV, or concert listings
Reading the news or magazines online
Playing online games
Meeting people who share interests
Watching streaming videos
Exchanging own creative work with friends
Buying stuff
Participating in online auctions
Different World
Industrial workers were
measured by their efficiency
Knowledge workers are
measured by their effectiveness
Academic Growth:
Grades 4-8, 8-12
70
60
50
58
48
44
30
38
34
40
27
20
25
9
10
0
Reading
Writing
Grade 4-8
Math
Grade 8-12
Science
One Year Dropout Rates
by Race, Grades 10-12
10
7.9
7.4
6.1
5.0
3.3
4.1
0
African
American
Latino
Source: NCES “Drop-out Rates in U.S. 1998” (1999)
White
1990
2000
Students Complete High
School At Different
Rates
100%
84%
95%
92%
64%
0%
Age 18-24
African American
Asian
Latino
Source: US Bureau of Census, Current Population Reports, Educational
Attainment in the United States: March 2000, Detailed Tables No. 2
White
What Else Do We
Know?
 In
1996, students in special education
had:
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Lowest school completion rate
Largest unemployment rate
Higher arrest rates
Less independent living
Mission of Public
Schools:
To challenge
with high
expectations
each child to
learn, to achieve
and to fulfill
his or her
potential…
Students can do
no better than
the expectations we
have for them...
Since 1998, NAEP scores for
students with disabilities rose
from:

231 to 245 (6%), 8th grade math
Since 1998, gaps in NAEP scores
between students with and without
disabilities narrowed from:
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42 to 28 points, 8th grade math
From 1996 to 2004:
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Graduation rates rose from 42% to 54%
Dropout rates declined from 47% to 31%
From 1987 to 2003:
•
Diplomas/certificates of completion rose from
54% to 70% (NLTS-1 and –2 data)
From 1987 to 2001:
•
•
Postsecondary enrollment rose
from 15% to 32%
4-year college enrollment rose
from 1% to 9%
Overcoming Barriers
to Low Achievement
Students who fail to achieve high
standards in the early years need
to be put into accelerated classes
that focus on intellectual
development with rigorous
instruction and engaging
curriculum rather then be sorted
into slower paced remedial
classes that compound their low
achievement.
How Do We Overcome Low
Achievement?
“Rather than layering one program on
top of another...(we need to)...focus on
redesigning and integrating all
aspects of a school--curriculum,
instruction, teacher training and
professional development, school
management, governance,
assessment, and parent and
community involvement.”
1999 Education Commission of the States
Original Model for TA
SSS
SIA
Learning
Services
Division
TEAL
SFP
Learning Services Division
What’s Needed?
 Communication
 Cooperation
 Coordination
 Collaboration
Communication
Coordination
Cooperation
Collaboration
Communication
Coordination
Cooperation
Collaboration
What Did IDEA Do
(NLTS-1 and –2 data)
Ensured rigorous, challenging standards
 Provided skills based on
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Problem-solving
Collaboration
Technology
Provided intense interventions, not
remediation
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Foundation skills through application in more
complex activities
What Did IDEA Do
(NLTS-1 and –2 data)
Increased the percent of students taking
academic classes (98.6% of students with
disabilities average 60% academic
classes)
 One in five SWDs take a foreign language
 From 1993 to 2003, a dramatic increase in
SWDs taking challenging courses
 Almost 9 of 10 secondary school SWDs
participate in at least one general
education class

What Did IDEA Do
(NLTS-1 and –2 data)
3 in 4 SWDs actually keep up with the rest
of the class
 Almost 2/3rds of SWDs received
differentiated instruction in general
education classes
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More time to take tests
More time to complete assignments
Progress monitored
Individualized instruction
Use computers, books on tape
What Other Examples Exist?
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Mapping a Course for Improved Student Learning
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Diploma Plus
Providence, Rhode Island
Aiming High
Creating a High School Diploma that Counts
Youth at the Crossroads
Supporting Principals Who Break Ranks/Breaking
Ranks II
Expecting Success: A Study of Five High Performing
High Poverty Schools
Crisis or Possibility: Conversations About the
American High School
Dispelling the Myth Revisited: High Flying Schools
Opening Doors: Promising Lessons from Five Texas
High Schools
Mapping a Course for Improved
Student Learning
CPRE found high schools that used internal
data—data that provided feedback on student
progress to inform teacher practice—improved
student performance. Data were used to:
• Inform instruction
• Identify low-performing students
• Plan professional development
• Set targets and goals
• Celebrate accomplishments
• Reinforce priorities
• Support evidence
Diploma Plus
• Operated by community-based
organizations
•
•
•
•
Alternative programs
Academies
Charter schools
Program at community colleges
• Program has two stages
• Preparation in core academic competencies,
other foundation skills, career pathways, and
preparation for college
• Each student creates a “Personal
Development Plan” and a final portfolio
Providence Rhode Island
The Providence, Rhode Island high schools
engaged in an intensive redesign process
that included:
• Individualized learning plans for every student
• High school diplomas awarded based on
achievement, not hours
• No grouping or moving students by grade levels
• “Certificates of Mastery”
• A restructured school day and year to meet
individualized learning needs
• Strong and continuous professional
development
• Multiple methods of assessing student learning
Creating a High School Diploma
that Counts
Achieve recommended that states should:
• Align academic standards in high schools with
what’s required for college and workplace
success
• Back-map standards
• Define specific course-taking requirements and
specify the core content
• Insist that all students are held to the same
standards
• Hold post-secondary institutions accountable
for the academic success of the students
Youth at the Crossroads
Education Trust recommended:
• Get up front agreement on the central goal
of high school education
• What should a high school diploma enable a
student to do?
• Eliminate curricular paths that do not equip
students with the skills needed to obtain the
post-secondary education they need
• Assure teachers are masters of their subject
matter
• Require a high level of rigor in assignments
• Break large schools into smaller learning
communities
Supporting Principals Who
Break Ranks
NASSP calls on high school principals to
increase the academic achievement of all
students. What’s needed include:
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Capacity building
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Common beliefs about the goals for reform
Tools to improve teaching and learning
Experience with high school reform
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Knowledge on best practice
Skill in implementing reform strategies
Persistence
Breaking Ranks II: Strategies for
Leading High School Reform
Seven Cornerstone Strategies to Improve
Student Performance
• Establish the essential learnings
• Increase the quantity and improve the quality of
interactions between students, teachers and
other personnel
• Implement a comprehensive advisory program
• Ensure that teachers use a variety of
instructional strategies and assessments
• Implement flexible schedules
• Institute structural leadership changes
• Align schoolwide comprehensive professional
development with individual learning plans
Expecting Success: A Study Of
Five High Performing High
Poverty Schools
Strategies identified by these schools:
• The best teachers with the students who need
them most
• Time and support
• Continuous diagnosis
• Professional development
• Working collaboratively
• A focus on standards
• A continuous invitation to parents
• A focus on accountability
• Connecting K-12 and postsecondary education
• Making college preparation the default
curriculum
• Improving teacher preparation and professional
development
• Ensuring all students can read at or above
grade level
• Addressing the high dropout rate
• Fostering smaller, more personalized
environments
• Revisiting state academic content standards so
that they are more flexible and give students a
variety of options for meeting them
Crisis or Possibility: Conversations About the American High School
(NGA, CCSSO, & National High School Alliance)
•capacity
building
restructured school day and year
inform teacher practice
variety of instructional strategies
assure teachers are masters
reform
diplomas awarded on achievement
feedback
•best
practice
align high schools
with college and
rigor in assignments
data
flexible schedules
workplace
all students same standards
•Persistence
back-map standards
quality
student progress
essential learnings
core academic competencies
smaller learning communities
professional development
post-secondary institutions accountable
High Schools as Sorting
Machines
“Every year hundreds of thousands of 9th
graders make a decision (or have the
decision made for them) that sorts them
for years…
They decide not to take Algebra I.
This decision, made at the age of 14, lowers
their chances of attending college and
raises their risk of forfeiting the future.”
Strategies identified by effective high
schools:
• Set goals; establish high
expectations
• Use data to guide instruction
• Focus on improving instruction and
on individual learning
• Support teachers and enhance
collaboration
• Foster an environment of respect
Opening Doors: Promising Lessons from Five Texas High Schools
“We take the adage “all kids can
learn” seriously. It’s not just
words, (we) believe it. You have to
accept it. You can have all the
goals in the world and they’re just
words unless somebody
internalizes them, and this school
did.”
Brazosport teacher
“I have a roadmap now for each of
my students. I know where they’re
at, and I know where I need to take
them. And with the data that’s
provided me, now I know the most
efficient way to get there.”
Brazosport testing coordinator
Students can do
no better than
the assignments
they are given...
Grade 10 Writing
Assignment:
A frequent theme in literature is the
conflict between the individual and
society. From literature you have read,
select a character who struggled with
society. In a well-developed essay,
identify the character and explain why
this character’s conflict with society is
important.
Grade 10 Writing
Assignment:
Write a composition of at least
4 paragraphs on Martin
Luther King’s most important
contribution to this society.
Illustrate your work with a neat
cover page. Neatness counts.
“Many times people think at this
age group they’re too old, too
mature for kindness and love, but
that’s not true. They all still need
someone to say, “You’re a good
kid. Keep it up.”
Brazosport assistant principal
“The teachers, if they notice you
need help, they’re here before
school, they’re here after school,
during lunch, during the SAT
class. There is always help.
That’s what makes us better
because there is no way you can’t
pass, because there is always
help.”
Mountain View student
“We teach students; we don’t
teach classes.”
Uvalde High School teacher
If student achievement is truly to be redefined as a
constant rather than a variable, we have the
obligation to re-examine the array of conditions,
contexts, attitudes, and excuses we have come to
accept as educational norms. . .
we need to figure out
ways to restructure or
reinvent the routines of
teaching and learning.
Donna Marriott - Education Week - 2-21-01
“Success is that old ABC:
Ability, Breaks & Courage.”
Charles Luckman
Every job is a self-portrait of the
person who did it.
Autograph your
work with
excellence.
Every job is a self-portrait of the
person who did it.
Autograph your
work with
excellence.