Raising Achievement and Improving Graduation Rates: How Nine HSTW Sites Are Doing It Gene Bottoms So

1
Raising Achievement and Improving Graduation
RatesHow Nine HSTW Sites Are Doing ItGene
BottomsSouthern Regional Education
Boardgene.bottoms_at_sreb.org
2
The goal is to both raise achievement and
graduation ratesHow nine schools are doing it.
3
Selected the Nine Schools

• Garden City High School, Kansas
• Corbin High School, Kentucky
• Hancock County High School, Kentucky
• Brookside High School, Ohio
• Paint Valley High School, Ohio
• Shawnee High School, Oklahoma
• Southeast Guilford High School, North Carolina
• Mt. Pleasant High School, Texas
• Oak Glen High School, West Virginia

4
How did the practices at these nine schools
differ from other HSTW schools?
5
How these nine schools are different.

• Raise standards and provide an opportunity for
  students to learn a rigorous curriculum.
• Eliminated low-level courses.
• Aligned courses to standards.
• Raised graduation requirements.

6
Percentages of Students Completing
HSTW-recommended Curriculum at Nine Schools
Compared with All Other Schools
7
2004 HSTW Assessment Mean Scores of Nine Schools
and All Other Schools
8
Improvement in Mean HSTW Assessment Scores
between 2002 and 2004 at Nine Schools
9
Aligned Courses to State Standards

• Mapped curriculum state standards by department
  and agreed on course content.
• Revised English curriculum to reflect expository
  selections.

10
Raised Graduation Requirements

• Raised mathematics requirements.
• Raised English requirements.
• Required senior project.
• Had higher classroom expectations.

11
How these nine schools are different.

• Set challenging goals, give feedback on student
  status in achieving goals and provide support
  needed to achieve goals.
• Middle grades to ninth-grade transition
• Extensive extra-help system
• Adviser/advisee program
• Formal high school to college and careers
  transition

12
Smoothing the transition from middle grades to
high school

• Identify unprepared students in grade nine.
• Use a double-dosing strategy.
• Organize freshmen academies.
• Work with middle grades to align curriculum to
  high school readiness standards.

13
Developing an Extensive Extra-help System and
Recovering Grades or Credits

• Use extra help and credit recovery to get
  students to standards.
• Provide an array of extra help.
• Require participation in extra help.
• Provide extra help to pass state exams.
• Allow students to buy back days.

14
Pairing Students with Adult Mentors

• Students assigned an adult mentor/adviser
• Significantly more students reported better
  guidance assistance
• Small school or family atmosphere
• Mentors/advisers monitor students progress
• Make parents part of the system
• Total faculty takes responsibility for student
  learning and success
• Do not allow at-risk students to fall behind

15
Formalizing a High School to College and Careers
Transition Initiative

• Students see a connection to jobs and
  postsecondary studies.
• Seniors earn college credit.
• Access to a middle college program.

16
Engaging Students in Learning Challenging,
Relevant Assignments

• Providing quality career/technical experiences
• Training teachers on using content literacy
  skills to help students become independent
  learners and
• Using technology to improve opportunities to
  advance student achievement.

17
Providing Quality Career/Technical Experiences

• Students see a connection to a good job.
• Provide career/technical programs with high
  demand and student interest.
• Access to programs that offer industry
  certification.

18
Providing Quality Career/Technical Experiences

• Access to dual credit career/technical courses
• Have organized career pathways/career majors
• Plan interdisciplinary lessons
• Engage students in authentic projects
• Active business advisory committee

19
Training Teachers to Help Students Become
Independent Learners

• Teachers share and implement ideas acquired
  through professional development
• New teacher mentor program
• Quality professional development
• Significantly more seniors in 2004 reported
  having literacy, numeracy and science experiences

20
Training Teachers to Help Students Become
Independent Learners

• Implemented literacy across the curriculum.
• Created summer reading program.
• Hold monthly meetings on effective teaching.
• Students at career centers do weekly writing
  assignments.

21
Using Technology to Advance Student Achievement

• Provide training on how to integrate technology
  into instruction.
• Use computer for tutorials and retaking courses.
• Offer Web-based courses.
• Use technology for communication.

22
Use of Technology at Nine HSTW Sites
23
Involving Teachers in a Continuous School
Improvement Process

• Use HSTW as an organizing framework.
• Encourage teachers to seek out new ideas.
• 8 of 9 schools are active members of HSTW
  network.
• Have teams developing curriculum and looking at
  student work.
• Have instructional planning and pacing guides.

24
What Can Schools Do to Raise Achievement and High
School Completion Rates?

• Have at least 85 percent of students complete a
  rigorous academic core.
• Engage the faculty in aligning the high school
  curriculum academic and career/technical to
  essential academic standards that prepare
  students for further study and careers.
• Provide all students access to the same rigorous
  academic core.
• Adopt scheduling that enables students to earn 28
  to 32 Carnegie units so they can retake courses
  and yet stay on course to graduate with their
  peers.
• Provide all teachers continuous in-depth training
  to engage students in reading and writing for
  learning and to use strategies that develop
  students as independent learners.

25
What Can Schools Do to Raise Achievement and High
School Completion Rates?

• Provide site-specific training for mathematics
  and science teachers aligned to their
  disciplines.
• Assign school leaders who are skilled in engaging
  faculty in continuous school improvement to high
  schools with chronic problems.
• Have school boards set goals for improving both
  achievement and high school completion rates and
  require schools to report annually on their
  progress.

26
How can a school know it has effective strategies
in place to raise achievement and improve
graduation rates?

• Schools will know when they
• Are making improvement on key achievement
  indicators and increase the percentages of
  students who enter grade nine and graduate four
  years later.
• Have an effective middle grades to ninth-grade
  transition program.

27
How can a school know it has effective strategies
in place to raise achievement and improve
graduation rates?

• Schools will know when they
• Have an effective extra-help system that assists
  students in passing courses and high-stakes
  exams, and in earning credits for failed courses
  to stay on track to graduate with their peers.
• Have advisers to help them and their parents plan
  high school programs of study and to help them
  get the assistance they need to meet course
  standards.

28
How can a school know it has effective strategies
in place to raise achievement and improve
graduation rates?

• Schools will know when
• Students have access to high-quality
  career/technical studies.
• Students can earn postsecondary credit toward a
  degree and pass a national employer certification
  exam.

29
How can a school know it has effective strategies
in place to raise achievement and improve
graduation rates?

• Schools will know when
• All students read and write across all subject
  areas and know how to apply study skills to
  become independent learners.
• They have formalized initiatives that facilitate
  the transition from high school to college and
  careers.

30
How can a school know it has effective strategies
in place to raise achievement and improve
graduation rates?

• Schools will know when
• Staff use technology to help students pass
  courses and retake courses failed, and give
  students access to needed courses outside of
  school hours.
• Schools receive support to be active participants
  in a school improvement network that places
  emphasis on achievement and retention.