Californias Public Schools: How Can We Close the Achievement Gap

1

• Californias Public Schools How Can We Close the
  Achievement Gap?

California Budget Conference March 15, 2007
Russlynn Ali, Director - The Education
Trust-West

2
The Achievement Gap

• California students lag behind their peers in
  other states.
• And within California, Latino, African-American
  and low-income students are far less likely to
  reach proficiency.
• This is true at almost every grade level. And by
  the end of high school the gap is staggering.

3
By the End of High School . . .African American
and Latino 17 Year-Olds Do Math at Same Levels
As White 13 Year-Olds
Source National Center for Education Statistics,
NAEP 2004 Long Term Trends
4
Nationwide African American and Latino 17
Year-Olds Read at Same Levels As White 13
Year-Olds
Source National Center for Education Statistics,
NAEP 2004 Long Term Trends
5
How does Californias Student Performance Compare?
6
Californias NAEP Scores for 4th Grade Reading
Lag Behind Other States
Source National Center for Education Statistics,
http//nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/
7
Latino 4th Grade Students NAEP READING
Source National Center for Education Statistics,
http//nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/
8
African American 4th Grade Students NAEP
READING
Source National Center for Education Statistics,
http//nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/
9
Californias NAEP Scores for 8th Grade Reading
Lag Behind Most States
Source National Center for Education Statistics,
http//nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/
10
Even when statistical significance is taken into
account, almost every other state does better
than California in 8th grade reading
Source NCES, National Assessment of Educational
Progress, 2005
11
Latino 8th Grade Students NAEP READING
Source National Center for Education Statistics,
http//nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/
12
African American 8th Grade Students NAEP
READING
Source National Center for Education Statistics,
http//nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/
13
And Lets Be Clear. Its Not Our Demographics.
14
Californias White 8th Grade Students Trail
Behind Their Peers in Most States
Source National Center for Education Statistics,
http//nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/
15
White 8th Graders in California Read Below Their
Peers in Other States
16
Californias Asian 8th Grade Students Also Lag
Behind Many States
Source National Center for Education Statistics,
http//nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/
17
On Our Own Assessments?
18
ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS CST All Students 2006
Source California Department of Education, 2006
19
MATH CSTAll Students 2006
General Math Tests Grades 6 7 Standards
Source California Department of Education, 2006
20
But underneath those averages. . .
21
The focus on the early grades is paying off.

• This year, were seeing better overall
  performance in English and Math.
• Gaps are smaller than in other grades. This is
  true in across the board, but especially in Math.

22
MATH4th Grade, By EthnicityCST 2006
Source California Department of Education, 2006
23
MATH4th Grade, By Economic StatusCST 2006
Source California Department of Education, 2006
24
MATH4th Grade, By English ProficiencyCST 2006
Source California Department of Education, 2006
25
By Middle and High School Gaps Grow Increasingly
Wider. In both Reading and Math. By the end
of high school, even for those students that stay
in our school, the gaps are staggering.
26
African American and Latino 7th graders read at
about the level of White 3rd graders
CAT/6 2006
Source California Department of Education, 2006
27
Low-Income 7th graders read at about the level of
Non Low-Income 3rd graders
CAT/6 2006
Source California Department of Education, 2006
28
ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS8th Grade, By EthnicityCST
2006
Source California Department of Education, 2006
29
ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS8th Grade, By Economic
StatusCST 2006
Source California Department of Education, 2006
30
MATH8th Grade, By EthnicityCST 2006
General Math Tests Grades 6 7 Standards
Source California Department of Education, 2006
31
MATH8th Grade, By Economic StatusCST 2006
General Math Tests Grades 6 7 Standards
Source California Department of Education, 2006
32
MATH8th Grade, By English ProficiencyCST 2006
General Math Tests Grades 6 7 Standards
Source California Department of Education, 2006
33
ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS11th Grade, By
EthnicityCST 2006
Source California Department of Education, 2006
34
ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS11th Grade, By Economic
StatusCST 2006
Source California Department of Education, 2006
35
2006 Algebra I CST (Grades 8-11) By Ethnicity
Source California Department of Education, 2006
36
2006 Geometry CST (Grades 8-11) By Ethnicity
Source California Department of Education, 2006
37
The Stakes are High. But with the right
supports, students can soar.
38
CAHSEE Passage Rates California Class of
2006as of July 2006
Source Wise, L., et al., Independent Evaluation
of the CAHSEE, 2006 HumRRO
39
Has the CAHSEE requirement changed anything?

• What principals say

Source Wise, L., et al., Independent Evaluation
of the CAHSEE, HumRRO October, 31, 2006.
40
Has the CAHSEE requirement changed anything?

• What students say
• 89 of 11th graders who took the CAHSEE ELA in
  2006 reported working harder, either by taking
  additional courses (15)
• Working harder in current courses (50)
• Getting outside help (14)
• Repeating courses (10)

Source Wise, L., et al., Independent Evaluation
of the CAHSEE, HumRRO October, 31, 2006.
41
What about alternative assessments?
42
If we dont hold the line on standards, we run
the risk of creating devastating unintended
consequences Alternatives to the High School
Exit Exam? Example New Jersey
Source EdTrust-West analysis of NJ Department of
Education and schoolmatters.com data, 2005
43
In New Jerseys large urban high schools
Source EdTrust-West analysis of NJ Department of
Education and schoolmatters.com data, 2005
44
Far too many never get to the end of high school
in the first place. (And thats a problem that
pre-dates CAHSEE.)
45
CA Students Graduate from High School at
Different Rates9th graders who graduated four
years later, class of 2005
Source Education Trust-West Analysis of CDE
data, using the Manhattan Institute methodology
46
Overall, California ranks 32nd when it comes to
high school graduation rates.
Source Losing Our Future How Minority Youth Are
Being Left Behind by the Graduation Rate Crisis,
Harvard Civil Rights Project Urban Institute,
2004 Uses the Cumulative Promotion Index.
47
The gap persists even for our best kids
after they leave our K-12 doors.
48
Graduation Rates at CSU SchoolsLatino vs. White
Source CollegeResults.org (www.edtrust.org)
49
Graduation Rates at CSU SchoolsAfrican-American
vs. White
Source CollegeResults.org (www.edtrust.org)
50
Graduation Rates at UC SchoolsAfrican American
vs. White
Source CollegeResults.org (www.edtrust.org)
51
Graduation Rates at UC SchoolsLatino vs. White
52
WHY?Turns out, its not the kids. Opportunity
Gaps give rise to the Achievement Gap. Close
them, and students will soar.
53
Close the Teacher Quality Gap High Performing
Schools and Districts Monitor the Distribution of
Teacher TalentandMake Sure Low-Income and
Minority Students Have the High Quality Teachers
They Need
54
In California Minority Students Have Four Times
More Underprepared Math Teachers
Guha, R., Campbell, A., Humphrey, D., Shields,
P., Tiffany-Morales, J., Wechsler, M. (2006).
Californias teaching force 2006 Key issues and
trends. Santa Cruz, CA The Center for the Future
of Teaching and Learning.
55
A Greater Percentage of Intern Teachers Work in
High-Minority Schools

• 44 of all interns are teaching in schools with
  the highest proportion of minority students,
  compared to only 7 of interns in schools with
  lowest minority student population.

Minority Quartiles
Guha, R., Campbell, A., Humphrey, D., Shields,
P., Tiffany-Morales, J., Wechsler, M. (2006).
Californias teaching force 2006 Key issues and
trends. Santa Cruz, CA The Center for the Future
of Teaching and Learning.
56
And, not surprisingly, when students have more
underprepared teachers, they do less well.
57
Students in low performing schools are more
likely to have a sequence of underprepared
teachers.
Guha, R., Campbell, A., Humphrey, D., Shields,
P., Tiffany-Morales, J., Wechsler, M. (2006).
Californias teaching force 2006 Key issues and
trends. Santa Cruz, CA The Center for the Future
of Teaching and Learning.
58
Schools with high failure rates on CAHSEE more
likely to be clustered with underprepared
teachers.
Guha, R., Campbell, A., Humphrey, D., Shields,
P., Tiffany-Morales, J., Wechsler, M. (2006).
Californias teaching force 2006 Key issues and
trends. Santa Cruz, CA The Center for the Future
of Teaching and Learning.
59
If we had the courage and creativity to change
these patterns?
60
The Rivkin, Hanushek, and Kain estimates of
teacher performance suggest that having five
years of good teachers in a row could overcome
the average seventh-grade mathematics
achievement gap .
1.0 standard deviation above average, or at
the 85th quality percentile
SOURCE Eric A. Hanushek and Steven G. Rivkin,
How to Improve the Supply of High-Quality
Teachers, In Brookings Papers on Education
Policy 2004, Diane Ravitch, ed., Brrookings
Institution Press, 2004. Estimates based on
research using data from Texas described in
Teachers, Schools, and Academic Achievement,
Working Paper Number 6691, National Bureau of
Economic Research, revised July 2002.
61
Close the Expectation Gap High Performing
Schools and Districts Neither Make Nor Tolerate
Excuses. They Get the Data Out and Take
Responsibility for Student Learning.
62
Only 26 of Teachers Believe All Should Mean All
Source Ready for the Real World Americans Speak
on High School Reform, ETS, 2005
63
Underlying Everything Is the Cycle of Low
Expectations
Low Expectations
Poor Test Results
Less Challenging Courses
Low Level Assignments/Instruction
64
Close the Assignment Gap High Performing Schools
and Districts Make Sure Their Instructional
System is Fully and Carefully Alignedand That
Nothing About Teaching and Learning is Left to
Chance
65
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.
66
Grade 7 Writing Assignment
Essay on Anne Frank Your essay will consist of
an opening paragraph which introduced the title,
author and general background of the novel.
Your thesis will state specifically what Anne's
overall personality is, and what general
psychological and intellectual changes she
exhibits over the course of the book You might
organize your essay by grouping psychological and
intellectual changes OR you might choose 3 or 4
characteristics (like friendliness, patience,
optimism, self doubt) and show how she changes in
this area.
Source Unnamed school district in California,
2002-03 school year.
67
Grade 7 Writing Assignment

• My Best Friend
• A chore I hate
• A car I want
• My heartthrob

Source Unnamed school district in California,
2002-03 school year.
68
Even in college-prep classes, differences in
rigor
69
Using the SAME TEXT BOOKCollege-prep assignments
from

• School A, District A, California
• 1467 students enrolled in 2005
• 82 White
• 6 Asian
• 4 Latino
• 2 Black
• 2 Low-Income

• School B, District B, California
• 2001 students enrolled in 2005
• 45 White
• 4 Asian
• 48 Latino
• 1 Black
• 27 Low-Income

70
Same Text Book High-Level college-prep
assignment.

• Describe the fundamental problems in the economy
  that helped cause the Great Depression. Consider
  agriculture, consumer spending and debt,
  distribution of wealth, the stock market
• Describe how people struggled to survive during
  the Depression
• How did Hoovers belief in rugged individualism
  shape his policies during the depression?

71
Same Text BookLow Level college-prep assignment.

• Role play (Meet the Press) interview key people
  of the era
• Draw a political cartoon highlighting a major
  event of the time
• Share excerpts from noted literary authors-Lewis,
  Fitzgerald, Hemingway, Hughes
• Listen to jazz artists of the 20s
• Construct a collage depicting new inventions

72
Close the Curriculum Gap High Performing
Schools and Districts Insist on Rigor and High
Standards for All Students. They Make the
College Prep Curriculum the Default Curriculum.
73
Even though most students want to go to college,
the truth is, many low income students and
students of color arent getting the classes in
the first place.
74
San Diego City Schools Two High Schools

• Gompers HS
• 1543 Students
• 87.1 Latino African-American
• 81.1 low-income
• 17 of graduates successfully completed A-G in
  2004

• La Jolla HS
• 1688 students
• 25 Latino African-American
• 17.8 low-income
• 56.7 of graduates successfully completed A-G in
  2004

Source CA Dept of Education, 2005
75
Opportunities to take higher level math classes
are much more limited at the high-poverty,
high-minority high schoolGompers HS vs. La
Jolla HS, San Diego City Schools
Number of classes offered in 2004-05
Source Ed Trust-West Analysis of CA Dept of
Education Data, 2005
76
Ready for Work and Ready for College mean the
same thing A College Prep Curriculum for ALL.
77
High School Course-Taking Indicates Opportunity
for Success in the Workplace
The majority of workers who hold well-paid,
white-collar, skilled jobs took high-level math
courses in high school
Source Carnevale and Desrochers, ETS,
Connecting Education Standards Employment
Course Taking Patterns of Young Workers, ADP
Workplace Study, 2002.
78
Most 21st Century Jobs Require Postsecondary
Education
79
Even in Jobs We Dont Expect

• Requirements for Tool and Die Makers
• Four or five years of apprenticeship and/or
  postsecondary training
• Algebra, geometry, trigonometry and statistics
• Average earnings 40,000 per year.

• Requirements for
• Sheet Metal Workers
• Four or five years
• of apprenticeship
• Algebra, geometry,
• trigonometry and
• technical reading

• Requirements for
• Auto Technicians
• A solid grounding
• in physics is
• necessary to
• understand force,
• hydraulics, friction
• and electrical
• circuits.

80
Even in Jobs We Dont Expect

• Plumbing-Heating-Air Conditioning
• Four or five years of apprenticeship and/or
  post-secondary training
• Algebra, plane geometry, trigonometry and
  statistics
• Physics, chemistry, biology, engineering
  economics.

ALL of these jobs require a strong foundation
of reading, writing and speaking the English
language in order to comprehend instructions and
technical manuals

• Construction
• and Engineering
• Four or five years of apprenticeship and/or
  post-secondary training
• Algebra, plane geometry
• Critical thinking, problem solving, reading and
  writing

Sources Plumbing  Shapiro, D., and Nichols, J.
Constructing Your Future Consider a Career in
Plumbing, Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning
(HVAC) PHCC Auxiliary 2005 downloaded March 13,
3006 http//www.phccweb.org/PDFs/PHCC20pg.pdf,
Construction California Apprenticeship Council
Division of Apprenticeship Standards 2001 Annual
Legislative Report Downloaded March 15, 2006
http//www.dir.ca.gov/das/DASAnnualReport2001/LegR
ep2001.pdfsearch'architecture2C20construction
2C20engineering2028ace20pathway2920course20
outline'  
81
Why Ontario, Canada is a better location for a
new Toyota plant
The level of the workforce in general is so
high the training program you need for people,
even for people who have never worked in a Toyota
plant before, is minimal compared to what you
have to go through in the southeastern United
States, --Gerry Fedchun, president of
Automotive Parts Manufacturers Association,
7/8/2005 Source www.cbc.ca/cp/business/050630/b0
630102.html
82
The Highest Level of Math Reached in High School
is a Strong Predictor of BA Attainment
Source Clifford Adelman, U.S. Department of
Education, The Toolbox Revisited, 2006.
83
High School Curriculum Intensity is a Strong
Predictor of Bachelors Degree Completion
Curriculum quartiles are composites of English,
math, science, foreign language, social studies,
computer science, Advanced Placement, the
highest level of math, remedial math and remedial
English classes taken during high school.
Source Clifford Adelman, U.S. Department of
Education, The Toolbox Revisited, 2006.
84
But Few Graduate College Ready. California
Class of 2005.
Includes 9th graders who have completed the A-G
course sequence with a C or better in each
class four years later.
Source Education Trust-West Analysis of CDE
data, using the Manhattan Institute methodology
85
Close the Resource Gap High Performing Schools
think very hard about how to deploy
resourcesboth people and time.
86
The Full Year Calendar
USE OF INSTRUCTIONAL TIME Analysis of One
California Urban Middle School Calendar
Source Ed Trust West analysis of the master
schedule of an unnamed school in CA
87
Less Summer Vacation
Source Ed Trust West analysis of the master
schedule of an unnamed school in CA
88
Less Weekends, Holidays, Summer Vacation
Source Ed Trust West analysis of the master
schedule of an unnamed school in CA
89
Less Professional Development Days Early
Dismissal/Parent Conferences
Source Ed Trust West analysis of the master
schedule of an unnamed school in CA
90
Less Class Picnic, Class Trip, Thanksgiving
Feast, Christmas, Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, Awards,
Assembles, Concerts
Source Ed Trust West analysis of the master
schedule of an unnamed school in CA
91
Less State and District Testing and Other
Non-Instructional Time
Source Ed Trust West analysis of the master
schedule of an unnamed school in CA
92

• BOTTOM LINE?
• Teachers are Left with about
• 24 School Days
• OR
• 18 Eight Hour Days Per Subject Per Year

93
Some helpful hints from high performers

• Use the power of the Master Schedule to make sure
  that time is spent effectively, and more time is
  provided to struggling students and their
  teachers.
• Provide interventions and supports as soon as
  students start to slip. And measure student
  progress every 6 to 9 weeks.
• Tailor professional development for teachers to
  meet the needs of their students.
• Remediation alone isnt enough, it has to be
  about accelerated learning.

94
High Performers Close the Funding Gap. And Use
Money More Effectively. Advocates for more
money must also be advocates for reform.
95
Some funding differences occur between poor and
rich school districts.
96
Nation Inequities in State and Local Revenue Per
Student
Note Both figures are after 40 low-income
student cost adjustment
Source The Education Trust, Funding Gaps,
2006.
97
California Inequities in State and Local Revenue
Per Student
Note Both figures are after 40 low-income
student cost adjustment
Source The Education Trust, Funding Gaps,
2006.
98
Funding Gaps in California Add it up.
Note These figures are after 40 low-income
student cost adjustment
Source The Education Trust, Funding Gaps,
2006.
99
Funding Gaps in California Add it up.
Note These figures are after 40 low-income
student cost adjustment
Source The Education Trust, Funding Gaps,
2006.
100

• But there are big differences within school
  districts, as well. In fact, in most states these
  differences are larger than between-district
  differences.

101
A Tale of Two Schools

• Locke High School
• Los Angeles Unified
• 99 Latino African American
• 66 of students receive free or reduced price
  lunch
• Academic Performance Index 440

• Granada Hills High School
• Los Angeles Unified
• 32 Latino African American
• 27 of students receive free or reduced price
  lunch
• Academic Performance Index 773

Source CA Department of Education, 2003-04 data
102

• The average teacher at Locke High School actually
  gets paid an estimated 8,034 less every year
  than his counterpart at Granada Hills High
  School.
• If Locke spent as much as Granada Hills on
  teacher salaries for its 119 teachers, the school
  budget would increase by nearly a million dollars
  (956,056) every year.

103

• Of course, we need more money too.
• But how much more new money will help depends on
  how wisely we spend it.

104
Some districts get more for less.
105
Some districts that out-perform spend lessNAEP
2005 Grade 8 Math -Overall Scale Scores
7,132
8,311
11,920
8,283
7,284
11,312
12,562
6,923
7,799
10,199
11,847
Source National Center for Education
Statistics, http//nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/n
de and Standard and Poors www.schoolmatters.com
106
Key Lessons from the Field

• Correlation is Not Causation
• Wide achievement gaps on state and national
  assessments and attainment gaps in high school
  and college completion. But poverty and race
  arent destiny in education.
• Opportunity gaps give rise to the achievement
  gap
• Low achievement and attainment rates persist
  because we continue to provide poor and minority
  students with less of everything research says
  makes a difference. High poverty, high minority
  and higher performing schools and districts stop
  this vicious cycle.
• The Real Question Moving Forward How do
  generate the civic and political will to close
  the opportunity gaps? And then sustain it?

107
The Education Trust-West
510-465-6444 www.edtrustwest.org