Promoting Science among ELLs in a HighStakes Testing Policy Context

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• Promoting Science among ELLs in a High-Stakes
  Testing Policy Context
• Okhee Lee, PI
• University of Miami
• National Science Foundation ESI 035331
• http//www.education.miami.edu/psell

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Goals

• A 5-year research project (2004-2009)
• Explores effective ways for elementary school
  teachers to teach science to all students,
  especially ELLs
• Supports English literacy and math
• Helps ELLs to perform well on high-stakes science
  assessment (Florida Comprehensive Achievement
  Test, FCAT)

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Research Setting

• 6 elementary schools in treatment group
• 3 elementary schools in replication group
• 6 elementary schools in comparison group
• Schools were selected based on three criteria
• 1. Percentage of ELLs (Spanish or Haitian Creole)
  above the district average of 24
• 2. Percentage of students on free and reduced
  lunch programs above the district average of 72
• 3. School grades of C or D according to the
  states accountability plan

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OutcomesStudent AchievementTeacher Change
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Student AchievementGains and Gaps

• 1. Can ELLs learn academic subjects, such as
  science, while also developing English
  proficiency?
• YES
• 2. Can ELLs, who learn to think and reason
  scientifically, also perform well on high-stakes
  science tests?
• YES

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Student Data

• Project-developed assessments
• - Science tests at grades 3, 4, and 5
• - Reasoning interviews at grades 3, 4, and 5
• - Writing test at grade 3
• High-stakes assessments
• - Math (measurement strand) at grade 3
• - Writing at grade 4
• - Science at grade 5

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Project-Developed Tests(Treatment Schools)

• Students displayed statistically significant
  increases (i.e., large effect sizes).
• Students currently enrolled in ESOL programs
  (ESOL levels 1 to 4) showed achievement gains
  comparable to ESOL level 5 and non-ESOL students
  combined.
• ESOL level 5 students (during the two-year
  monitoring period after exiting ESOL programs)
  performed highest and made most gains.
• - Converging evidence on multiple measures
• - Analysis by (a) ESOL levels 1-4, (b) ESOL level
  5, and (c) Non-ESOL

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High-Stakes Tests(Treatment and Comparison
Schools)

• Students at treatment schools showed higher
  scores than students at comparison schools on
• the measurement strand of the math test at grade
  3
• the writing test at grade 4, and
• the science test at grade 5 (see graphs)

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State Science Achievement by Exposure Level
within Treatment

• Years in Mean Scale Percent
• P-SELL Score Passing
• 1 272 21
• 2 279 ½ SD 21
• 3 303 37
• The unconditional SD was about 60.

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Teacher Change

• Science as primary focus
• Integration with English language and literacy
• Integration with mathematics

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Science

• Science content knowledge
• Science inquiry to promote understanding
• hands-on and minds-on (reasoning and
  application)
• gradual shift from teacher-directed to
  student-initiated inquiry
• State science content standards

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English Language and Literacy

• Literacy strategies for all students
• ESOL strategies
• Discourse strategies
• Home language
• Home culture

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Mathematics

• Measurement and instruments
• Recording and display of data using
• graphs, charts, tables, and drawings
• Analysis and interpretation of data

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Published Online September 29, 2008 Published in
Print October 1, 2008 Education Week Finding
the Language to Teach Science
                                                  
                                                  
                                                  
                                                  
                                                  
                                                  
          Nathessa Petit-Frere, left, whose
first language is Creole, gets help from Creole-
and English-speaker Princiana Pierre, center, as
English-speaker Kenyata Seide watches during
Martina Perezs 4th grade science class at
Gratigny Elementary School in Miami last week.
Andrew Innerarity for Education Week
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InterventionCurriculum DevelopmentTeacher
Professional Development
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Curriculum Development

• P-SELL science curriculum for grades 3 through 5
  covers all state science content standards in
  preparation for high-stakes science test at grade
  5
• P-SELL provides the teachers with
• (1) teachers guides,
• (2) student books, and
• (3) science supplies including trade books.

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Curriculum Development

• Grade 3 Measurement States of Matter
• Water Cycle and Weather
• Grade 4 Energy Force and Motion
• Processes of Life
• Grade 5 Nature of Matter, Earth Systems,
  Synthesis
• Nature of Science Embedded Throughout
• - Issue in urban settings Student mobility

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Teacher Professional Development

• Workshops
• - Year 1 five or six full-day workshops
• - Years 2/3 three or four full-day workshops
• - Year 4 no workshop and sustainability
• Research Activities
• Foster reflections on their own knowledge and
  practices.
• - Issue in urban settings Teacher mobility

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Challenges

• Limited science curriculum available for ELLs
• Slow and demanding process of teacher change in
  reform-oriented science teaching with ELLs
• School-wide intervention involving all teachers
• Costs for curriculum, science supplies, and
  teacher professional development
• Implications for scale-up

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ContextUrban SchoolsAccountability Policy
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Urban Schools Mobility

• Student mobility
• Impact on student achievement over time
• (grades 3 through 5)
• Teacher mobility
• Impact on teacher change over time
• (three-year participation in intervention)
• Principal mobility
• Fidelity of implementation
• Implications for efficacy and effectiveness

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Why Worry About Mobility?

• Mobility tends to underestimate the impact of
  intervention on teacher and student outcomes
• Complicates intervention
• Compromises fidelity of implementation
• Disrupts teachers professional growth
• Disrupts students learning progression

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Science Accountability

• NCLB has required that by the 2007-2008 school
  year each state must have in place science
  assessments to be administered and reported for
  formative purposes at least once during grades
  3-5, grades 6-9, and grades 10-12.
• - Nearly all states administer science
  assessments.
• - It is unclear how many states report science
• assessment results.
• It is unclear how many states include science
  assessment results in state accountability.

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Science Accountability

• As of 2009, NCLB had not required science to be
  included in AYP calculation, although a state
  could choose to include science as an additional
  academic indicator.
• A web-based search (as of fall of 2008) did not
• uncover any state that included science
• assessments in AYP calculation.
• The ultimate role that science will play hinges
  on decisions in the reauthorization of NCLB.

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Why Worry about Accountability?

• Impact on subjects that are taught When science
  is part of accountability
• Impact on subjects that are not taught When
  science is not part of accountability
• Impact on science in urban schools Resources
• Impact on science with ELLs Perceived urgency of
  literacy and numeracy

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Take-Home Message
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ELLs Funds of Knowledge

• Value and respect ELLs experiences from home and
  community
• Articulate ELLs linguistic and cultural
  knowledge with science disciplines
• Adjust to ELLs differing needs when deciding how
  much explicit instruction to provide and how to
  guide students for their own learning.

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Curriculum and Instruction

• Engage ELLs in an academically rigorous science
  curriculum aligned with reform-oriented practices
  according to national and state science content
  standards.
• Engage ELLs in hands-on, inquiry-based science to
  promote scientific understanding, inquiry, and
  discourse.
• Ensure instructional time for science in
  low-performing urban schools where science tends
  to be ignored due to the urgency of developing
  basic literacy and numeracy of ELLs.

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Professional Developmentand Resources

• Offer school-wide professional development (PD)
  opportunities, especially for teachers who
  normally do not volunteer for such opportunities.
• Coordinate curriculum and instruction across
  grade levels, as ELLs acquire English language
  and literacy at advancing levels of proficiency
  while demonstrating the learning progression in
  academic content.
• Provide adequate resources and funding for
  science instruction in urban schools where ELLs
  tend to be concentrated.