IMPROVING ACHIEVEMENT AND CLOSING GAPS BETWEEN GROUPS:How Can Researchers Help?

IES June, 2006

As a group, educators are a pretty conservative lot. It’s hard to get them to change

what they do.

Not clear that more and better research will cause many of them to do things differently, but it certainly

can help.

Would help, however, if it focused on the questions

most on the minds of educators today.

Here are the ones I get most often.

1. What differentiates the teachers who are most

effective in growing student learning from those who are

less effective?

Students in Dallas Gain More in Math with Effective Teachers: One Year Growth From 3rd-4th

Grade

7

16

0

24

6

810

12

1416

18

Students with Teachers inLowest Quintile of

Effectiveness

Students with Teachers inHighest Quintile of

Effectiveness

Ave

rag

e N

orm

al

Cu

rve

Eq

uiv

alen

ts

Source: Heather Jordan, Robert Mendro, and Dash Weerasinghe, The Effects of Teachers on Longitudinal Student Achievement, 1997.

Cumulative Teacher Effects On Students’ Math Scores in

Dallas (Grades 3-5)

76

27

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Ave

rag

e P

erce

nti

le R

ank

Dallas StudentsAssigned to 3Highly EffectiveTeachers in aRow

Dallas StudentsAssigned to 3IneffectiveTeachers in aRow

Source: Heather Jordan, Robert Mendro, and Dash Weerasinghe, The Effects of Teachers on Longitudinal Student Achievement, 1997.

Beginning Grade 3Percentile Rank= 55

Beginning Grade 3Percentile Rank= 57

Some of the things we most need to know…in order to

act:• Are teachers who are high value-added

on state assessment also same when second measure is introduced?

• How stable are value-added measures?• What are the characteristics and

practices of teachers with high value added?

• What can we do to produce/attract/select more of them?

#2. What is it about unusually effective schools—especially those serving low-

income students and students of color-- that

makes them so effective?

Source: Education Trust analysis of data from National School-Level State Assessment Score Database (www.schooldata.org).

Poverty vs. Achievement in Kentucky Elementary Schools

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

Percent FRPL

Ele

me

nta

ry M

ath

Pe

rce

nti

le S

co

re

Poverty vs. Achievement in Kentucky Elementary Schools

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

Percent FRPL

Ele

me

nta

ry M

ath

Pe

rce

nti

le S

co

re

Source: Education Trust analysis of data from National School-Level State Assessment Score Database (www.schooldata.org).

Source: Education Trust analysis of data from National School-Level State Assessment Score Database (www.schooldata.org).Data are from 2002.

Poverty vs. Achievement in Michigan Elementary Schools

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

Percent Low-Income Students

Pe

rce

nt

4th

Gra

de

rs M

ee

tin

g S

tan

da

rd i

n M

ath

Not all these schools are consistently high performers

in multiple years and subjects. But some certainly

are.

Centennial Place Elementary School

Atlanta, Georgia

• 528 students in grades K-5• 92% African American• 62% Low-Income

Source: School Information Partnership, http://www.schoolmatters.com

Centennial PlaceHigh Achievement for All Students

Grade 5 Math, 200592 92 92 92

0

20

40

60

80

100

Overall AfricanAmerican

Poor Non-Poor

Perc

en

t P

rofi

cie

nt

Source: School Information Partnership, http://www.schoolmatters.com

Centennial PlaceHigh Achievement for All Students

Grade 5 Reading, 200591 91 90 92

0

20

40

60

80

100

Overall AfricanAmerican

Poor Non-Poor

Perc

en

t P

rofi

cie

nt

Source: School Information Partnership, http://www.schoolmatters.com

Frankford ElementaryFrankford, Delaware

• 29% African-American• 34% Latino• 34% White• 76% Low-Income

Source: Delaware Department of Education Online School Profiles,

http://issm.doe.state.de.us/profiles/EntitySearch.ASPX

Frankford ElementaryClosing Gaps, Grade 5 Math

70

9696 94

0

20

40

60

80

100

2003 2005

Pe

rce

nt

Me

eti

ng

or

Ex

ce

ed

ing

Sta

nd

ard

s

Poor

Non-Poor

Source: Delaware Department of Education, DSTP Online Reports, http://dstp.doe.k12.de.us/DSTPmart/default.asp

University Park High SchoolWorcester, MA

• Grades 7-12;• 70+% poverty;• 50% ELL;• Most students enter at least two

grade levels behind.

University Park Results: 2004

• 100% of 10th graders passed MA high school exit exam on first attempt.

• 87% passed at advanced or proficient level.

• Fifth most successful school in the state, surpassing many schools serving wealthy students.

#3. What explains the big differences in how the

“same” groups of children perform across different

districts and states?

Low-Income African American Students

do Better in Some Districts (Urban NAEP Grade 4 Reading, 2005)

170

180

190

200

210

220

230

New

Yor

k C

ity

Bos

ton

Cha

rlot

te

San

Die

goN

atio

nal P

ublic

Cle

vela

nd

Atla

nta

Chi

cago

Dis

tric

t of C

olum

bia

Los

Ang

eles

Ave

rag

e S

cale

Sco

re

Source: National Center for Education Statistics, NAEP Data Explorer, http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/nde

Proficient Scale Score = 238

Houston and Austin are not included due to high exclusion rates for students with disabilities and English Language Learners

Low-Income African American Students

do Better in Some Districts (Urban NAEP Grade 8 Math, 2005)

220

230

240

250

Bos

ton

New

Yor

k C

ity

Aus

tin

Cha

rlot

te

Chi

cago

San

Die

goN

atio

nal P

ublic

Hou

ston

Cle

vela

nd

Atla

nta

Dis

tric

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bia

Los

Ang

eles

Ave

rag

e S

cale

Sco

re

Source: National Center for Education Statistics, NAEP Data Explorer, http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/nde

Proficient Scale Score = 281

Latino Students Do Better In Some Districts

(Urban NAEP Grade 4 Reading, 2005)

170

180

190

200

210

220

230

Cha

rlot

te

New

Yor

k C

ityN

atio

nal P

ublic

Chi

cago

Cle

vela

nd

Bos

ton

San

Die

goD

istr

ict o

f Col

umbi

a

Los

Ang

eles

Ave

rag

e S

cale

Sco

re

Source: National Center for Education Statistics, NAEP Data Explorer, http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/nde

Proficient Scale Score = 238

Houston and Austin are not included due to high exclusion rates for students with disabilities and English Language Learners. Latino scores are not available for Atlanta

NAEP 2005 Grade 8 Math, African American Scale

Scores

235

245

255

265

275

285

295

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Source: National Center for Education Statistics, NAEP Data Explorer, http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/nde

Proficient Scale Score: 299

MARI

NAEP 2005 Grade 8 Math, Latino Scale Scores

235

245

255

265

275

285

295

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ska

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inia

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awar

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ida

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ylan

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Source: National Center for Education Statistics, NAEP Data Explorer, http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/nde

Proficient Scale Score: 299TXCA

#4. None of these educators, schools, districts or states are yet achieving

what we need them to achieve, especially for the

kids who enter behind. What do we know—from learning science, psychology, brain research and the like—that could help them go further,

faster?

Average High School: Percent of Instructional Time in Reading Intensive Courses

Below Grade Level Students

On Grade Level Students

Advanced Students

24% 29% 35%

Surprise: Gaps Grow.

We know that this isn’t smart. But what, exactly,

is?

What many educators think they know from “research”:

• If they’re not good at reading or math, let them “express themselves” with another “intelligence”;

• If you don’t get them by the time they are 3 (or 3 months) those “synapses” will never grow or connect;

• If the students are black or brown, virtually every lesson must be “culturally relevant” (and if that means taking the content or rigor out, well then so be it).

You can do better!

Really important to both get research out there AND to guard against deeply “dumbed down”

versions of your research.

Getting Results USED: What DOESN’T Work

• Writing it up in journals;• Expecting Ed School faculty to

integrate your findings into their instruction.

Getting Results Used: What CAN work

• First, get Russ Whitehurst to give you lots of money to ensure that the findings are solid;

• Then, get the federal government (or, if you prefer) the Gates Foundation to put lots of money behind training people to do it; and,

• Make really, really sure that your trainers don’t dumb it down.

The Education TrustDownload this Presentation

www.edtrust.orgWashington, DC: 202-293-1217

Oakland, CA: 510-465-6444