Students Cant Wait: Schools Must Turn Knowledge into Action to Raise Achievement and Graduation Rate

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Students Cant WaitSchools Must Turn Knowledge
into Action to Raise Achievement and Graduation
Rates
Leading Change
Gene Bottoms gene.bottoms_at_sreb.org
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Why the concern?

• Too many unprepared students to
• Succeed in high school and postsecondary studies
• Compete for a good job
• Declining graduation rates
• Rising workplace requirements
• Shortage in science, technology, engineering and
  mathematics (STEM)

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Eighth-Grade Students Algebra I ReadyNAEP 2005 -
Idaho
Leading Change
Source NCES NAEP 2005.
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Preparing all groups of students for challenging
high school work requires teaching all students
the same curriculum taught to the best students
and to the same high standards. It requires the
courage to lead to turn knowledge into action and
teach everyone an accelerated curriculum.
Leading Change
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On Freshmen Requiring Remedial Courses 2000
Leading Change
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ACT Achievement - Idaho
Leading Change
Source ACT, Inc. 1996 2006.
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Achievement Gains (ACT)
Leading Change
Source ACT, Inc. 1996 2006.
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College and Career Readiness
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Percent of Seniors Meeting ACT College-readiness
Benchmarks (2006)
Source ACT, Inc. 2006
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High School Graduation Rates
Leading Change
Source National Center for Education Statistics
(NCES 2006-606).
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Income Differences between High School Graduate
and a Dropout 260,000 Lifetime
Leading Change

• For 2004 dropouts, this converts to a national
  lost lifetime earnings of 325 billion
• For Idaho 1 billion
• For Washington 8 billion

Source Rouse, Cecilia. Social Costs of
Inadequate Education, 2005.
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The barriers to turning knowledge into changed
school practices are not outside the school. They
are inside it. We are too wedded to old
practices and beliefs suited for another time.
Today, they are like a millstone around our neck
holding students back. How long will poor and
minority students have to wait, before we lead to
shed our old beliefs and practices?
Leading Change
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Leading Change

• Name one characteristic of high schools and
  middle grades schools that are both raising
  reading, mathematics and science achievement and
  completion rates.

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Improving Achievement and Completion Rates
Leading Change

• 1. Rigorous Curriculum with a Focus
• College-preparatory core for all
• Academic or career focus beyond the core
• Focus is on mastery of subject matter not state
  test
• Use common end-of-grading period exams in grades
  9 and 10

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Improving Achievement and Completion Rates
Leading Change

• 2. Relevant and Meaningful Learning Experiences
  for Students
• Access to high-quality career/technical studies
• Use academic skills to complete real tasks
• Theme-based and career-focused small learning
  communities
• Postsecondary-like in quality
• Early access for at-risk students

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To turn knowledge into practice, the message is
clear. If school leaders and teachers do not lead
to develop a plan for enrolling more students in
challenging academic courses in high school and
in middle grades, it will not happen.
Leading Change
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School and teacher leaders who lead to act on
research evidence that many students learn best
through challenging, real-world assignments
create career/technical courses that become
places where students use academic skills to
address adult-like problems, projects and tasks.
Leading Change
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Getting Students to Basic and Above and to
Proficient and Above Levels in Mathematics
Leading Change
Source 2006 HSTW Assessment Improvement of
Instruction
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Leading Change

• What can a state do to support schools to have
  more students complete an upgraded
  college-preparatory academic core and either more
  academics or a career focus or both ?

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The Essential Core
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• 4 Years English
• 4 Years Math
• 3 Years Science
• 3 Years Social Studies

Algebra I Geometry Algebra II One course beyond
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Beyond the Essential Core
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• More academic courses
• Career Pathway

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The Essential Core
Leading Change
Requiring Four Years of Mathematics leads to
gains on the SAT, 1996 to 2005
Composite Math Georgia 32 19 North
Carolina 34 25 South Carolina
39 25 Virginia 27 18
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Eliminating the General Track
Leading Change
Beyond the Essential Core

• Five SREB states
• eliminated the general track in the mid-1990s
  and
• made the greatest gains on ACT and SAT from 1996
  to 2005.
• GA, NC, SC, TN, WV

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One State Proposed Accountability Plan for High
Schools
Leading Change
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Leading Change
Improving Achievement and Completion Rates

• 3. High Classroom Expectations Rigorous
• Teachers define A and B work
• Students redo work until it meets standards
• Teacher assignments, students work and classroom
  assessment aligned to college- and
  career-readiness standards
• Frequent assessment and feedback

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Students behavior and attitude toward school
changes when school leaders agree to do whatever
it takes to get students to grade-level
standards, prepared for challenging high school
studies and for postsecondary studies and
careers. Achievement goes up, graduation rates
increase and students become more engaged when
leaders lead to set higher expectations and
support students to meet them.
Leading Change
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Improving Achievement and Completion Rates
Leading Change

• 4. Relevant Teachers use engaging instructional
  strategies
• Reading and writing for learning in all classes
• Use real-world problems and materials
• Cooperative learning
• Stress study skills and other habits
• Integrate technology into instruction
• Research-based independent study

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School and teacher leaders who turn knowledge
into action confront rather than ignore negative
data. For example, they act when 50 percent of
students say they are enrolled in classes where
they seldom have to read or write for learning.
They lead to engage the faculty in developing a
school-wide literacy plan and they support
teachers in learning classroom strategies to
engage students in reading and writing activities
that enhance achievement in all classes.
Leading Change
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Students interest and achievement in mathematics
and science increases when blending with applied
technology studies. Effective schools lead to act
on this knowledge and support their teachers with
training and time to plan blended standards-based
instructional lessons.
Leading Change
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Leading Change

• How can states support schools to improve quality
  of instruction.

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Leading Change
State Actions ImprovingAchievement and
Completion Rates

• Create a state leadership academy
• Align curriculum and instruction to college- and
  career-readiness standards
• Improve literacy and numeracy instruction
• Support schools to improve quality of instruction

SouthernRegionalEducationBoard
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Improving Achievement and Completion Rates
Leading Change

• 5. Relationship/Support Extra Help
• Every student counts
• Full-court press to get students to meet
  standards
• Required extra time support
• Extra help that motivates students
• A system for grade and credit recovery

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Teachers who invest in extra help believe their
students are worth the effort. Having a teacher
as a mentor and coach increases a students
desire to work hard, perform at a higher level
and understand the value of a middle grades and
high school education. How can the state support
schools to meet course standards?
Leading Change
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State ActionsImprove Achievement and Completion
Rates
Leading Change

• Support schools to develop an extra-help system
  when students fail courses or grades
• Extended day, week, year
• Special tutoring
• Credit recovery classes
• Reteach strategies

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Improving Achievement and Completion Rates
Leading Change

• 6. Relationship Guidance and Advisement
• Every student connected to an adult
• Intrusive advisement and support
• Engage parents in planning students program of
  study
• Every student has a goal and a plan
• Frequent contact between student and advisor

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We know that students who are not connected to an
adult, who do not have a goal beyond high school
and who are not in some extra curricular activity
are less likely to finish high school. We know
that school becomes meaningful for students when
they set a goal and follow a plan to achieve
their goal. Leaders lead in taking action to link
every student to an adult, to help every student
form goals with parent involvement and connect
students to some activity and group beyond the
classroom.
Leading Change
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Leading Change

• How can states support schools to help every
  student have an adult mentor?

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Leading Change
State Actions Improving Achievement and
Completion Rates

• Strengthen guidance and advisement system that
  connects every student to an adult mentor.
• Support STEM summer camps
• Create teachers as advisor program
• Engage parents in educational and career planning
  for their child
• Students have a plan of study

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Improving Achievement and Completion Rates
Leading Change

• 7. Relationship/Support Middle Grades/High
  School Transition
• Align middle grades curriculum to high school
  readiness standards
• Intensive summer experiences for unprepared
  students
• Double-dose/mastery strategy in grade nine

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Improving Achievement and Completion Rates
Leading Change

• 7. Relationship/Support Middle Grades/High
  School Transition
• Lower student/teacher ratio in grade nine with
  best teachers as leaders
• Reduce failure rates in grade nine
• Career and education exploratory opportunities

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Middle grades and high school leaders do not
ignore the negative numbers showing many students
leaving the middle grades unprepared for high
school. They do not participate in the blame
game. They lead by looking for ways to benchmark
the middle grades curriculum to high school
readiness standards, to ramp up the ninth grade
and to build a supportive relationship with
students to help them meet rising high school
expectations.
Leading Change
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Improving Achievement and Completion Rates
Leading Change

• 8. Transition Senior to Postsecondary and Career
• Make full use of the senior year
• Graduate students who make it to the senior year
• Jump start for college for those meeting
  college-readiness standards
• Ready start for unprepared students planning to
  attend college
• Job start for those not planning to attend

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Leading Change

• What actions can states take to improve
  transitions middle grades to high school high
  school to postsecondary and careers?

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State Actions Improving Transition
Leading Change

• Focus attention on middle grades to ninth-grade
  transition.
• Align middle grades curriculum to high school
  readiness standards.
• Identify at-risk students and provide extra
  instruction.
• Orient students and parents to demands of high
  school.
• Leave grade eight at least ready for Algebra I

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State Actions Improving Transition
Leading Change

• Focus attention on ninth grade.
• Create improvement plans for ninth to 10th grade
  promotion.
• Introduce at-risk students to career and
  technical studies.
• Balance student-teacher ratio in grade nine with
  ratios in other grades
• Establish schedule that allows more time for
  critical subjects.

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Focus Attention on Ninth Grade
Leading Change

• Make greater use of well-planned summer
  instructional programs
• Assigning the most experienced teachers to lead
  the ninth grade teams
• Reduce failure and get students to standards.

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State Actions Improve High School to
Postsecondary and Career Transition
Leading Change

• Strengthen the senior year.
• Encourage qualified students to earn college
  credit
• Enroll students not planning to attend college in
  a program leading to a recognized employer
  certificate
• Ask schools to mount a Save the Seniors campaign

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State Actions Improve High School to
Postsecondary and Career Transition
Leading Change

• Require a fourth year of mathematics
• Inform all junior students and their parents
  about their readiness for college and career
• Develop special senior courses in English/reading
  and mathematics aimed at getting students ready
  for the next step
• Train teachers to teach these special senior
  courses

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Improving Achievement and Completion Rates
Leading Change

• 9. School Leadership Focus on Continuous
  Improvement
• Shared leadership
• Goals and priorities are clear
• Maintain a demanding but supportive environment
• Constantly searching for new ideas
• Use data to guide changes in practices
• Leadership involved in looking at student work

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Courage is needed by school and teacher leaders
to lead to turn knowledge into action and to lead
to implement well what we know works. Effective
leaders know how to water the flowers and not the
rocks in their garden.
Leading Change
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Improving Achievement and Completion Rates
Leading Change

• 10. District Leadership Supportive of Schools
  Efforts
• Recognize areas of poor performance and create a
  vision for change
• Align resources to an improvement agenda
• Create a system-wide approach to instructional
  achievement

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Improving Achievement and Completion Rates
Leading Change

• 10. District Leadership Supportive of Schools
  Efforts
• Redefine leadership to make improvement of
  instruction and achievement the main focus
• Provides continuity of focus and support
• Goals and accountability focused on both
  achievement and completion

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More students accept greater responsibility for
their own learning when teachers and school
leaders lead to take responsibility to place
emphasis on rigor, relevance, relationships and
continuous reflection to create schools where
more students understand the importance of what
they are learning and its value as a bridge to
the future.
Leading Change
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Leading Change

• What actions can states take to develop district
  and school leadership?

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State Actions Improve Achievement and
Completion Rates
Leading Change

• Establish goals and work to meet them.
• High school completion
• Postsecondary and career readiness
• High school readiness
• Ninth-grade failure rates
• Earn postsecondary credit
• Earn national employer certification
• Graduate seniors

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State Actions Improve Local Leadership
Leading Change

• Have schools adopt or develop a
• comprehensive school
• improvement design.
• Rigor
• Relevance
• Relationship
• Responsibility
• Reflective Leadership
• Transition

SouthernRegionalEducationBoard
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Closing the Knowing Doing Gap is about
Leading Change

• Changing students behavior by changing adult
  behavior
• Having a core group of school and teacher leaders
  act in unison
• Helping students and parents set goals
• Creating a continuous improvement climate
• Raising expectations for all groups of students
  and
• Adults convincing all groups of students that
  they are worthy.