ERIC ED515665: This School Works for Me: Creating Choices to Boost Achievement. An Implementation Guide for School District Administrators

5.1 MB·English

by  ERIC

THIS SCHOOL
Works
FOR ME
Creating choices to boost achievement
o r
A n i m polle dmi se nt rt Ai ctti o And mg ui ni di set fr A t o r s
o
h
c
s
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January 2010 an ImplementatIon guIde for school dIstrIct admInIstrators
ManagIng
HigH ScHool
PortfolioS
T
his series of guides is designed to help school dis- The second guide (Implementation Guide) offers a
trict leaders address one of the toughest challenges more detailed examination of the six key questions
in American education: dropout rates of 30 percent that districts are addressing:
nationwide, 50 percent in many big cities, and 60 per-
cent or more in the lowest-performing schools. ■■How are your students progressing—and which
are struggling?
The good news is that several large urban districts,
■■What kind of school choices do you provide to
intent on raising graduation rates and increasing
meet diverse student needs—and how well are
college readiness, have been strategically address-
those schools and programs performing?
ing these challenges for the past several years.
By better understanding the needs of their stu- ■■How will you manage a change process, inviting
dents, district leaders have created a mix of school multiple stakeholders inside and outside the
designs and programs—a portfolio of educational system to make the kinds of changes that the data
options. This series shares their strategies, offers suggest are needed?
advice, and provides practical tools to help leaders ■■How can you strengthen your portfolio of options?
break down this seemingly intractable crisis into a
■■How will you provide support to schools?
series of more manageable steps.
■■What policy changes are needed?
The approaches documented in these guides are
promising and have some evidence of success. But The third guide (Analyst Guide) includes tools for
the efforts remain a work in progress whose long- data analysts to drill down into the data and use
term impact will not be known for several more their findings to arm school leaders with actionable
years. information (online only).
The first guide in the series (Leadership Guide), an These guides build on the first phase of education
overview for decisionmakers, describes in abbrevi- work of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation—helping
ated form how districts can: districts build a portfolio of smaller, theme-based
schools. They respond to multiple requests from poli-
■■pinpoint how students are progressing and which cymakers and educators who asked us to share what
students, by name, are most likely to struggle in we have learned in a form that they can use in their
school and drop out own communities. Information is drawn from Atlanta,
■■introduce some high-leverage strategies to get Boston, Charlotte-Mecklenburg, Chicago, Dallas,
students back on track for a diploma Portland, and New York City and their partnerships
with the Bridgespan Group, Boston Consulting Group,
■■identify the mix of school choices and programs McKinsey & Company, Education Resource Strategies,
that will prepare more students for colleges and
and The Parthenon Group.
careers
Share:
January 2010

tAble of contents
Learning from Other School Leaders 2
What You Need To Know—and Do
1. Find Out Which Students Are
4
Struggling
Based on lessons learned from this phase, the 2. Find Out Which Schools and
foundation is now focused on three areas in which Programs Are Struggling 8
we are uniquely positioned to make a large-scale
impact: 3. Manage a Change Process 12
■■supporting the development and implementation
of college-readiness standards, as well as tools 4. Keep More Students On Track by
17
for students and teachers to implement them Strengthening the Mix of Options
■■empowering excellent teachers
5. Determine How To Support Schools 25
■■finding innovative ways to support the next
generation of school models
6. Support Schools and Programs by
In light of the proposed criteria for education 34
Changing Policies
stimulus funding through the U.S. Department of
Education’s Race to the Top, the advice offered in
these guides is particularly relevant and timely for
any district committed to establishing data systems
to track student achievement, turning around low-
performing schools, and developing the right mix
of offerings for each and every one of its students—
and the thousands of others who share the dream
of a better life.
The guides are intended to be just that—guides, not instruction manuals.
You will have your own answers to the questions found here and can browse
quickly through whole sections to learn how your experience matches that of
other districts. Likewise, you can approach this work in a different sequence,
beginning with building community support for change or assessing the effec-
tiveness of the mix of schools and programs you have now.
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January 2010 an ImplementatIon guIde for school dIstrIct admInIstrators
LearnIng frOM
otHer ScHool
leaderS
L
eaders in some large urban districts have taken six key questions
the lead in trying to solve the dropout crisis. They
are tracking students through high school, monitor-
ing their progress in earning credits, and investing ■■Which students are progressing? Which are most
in strategies that are having some success. They likely to struggle and drop out?
are offering different options for students who take
■■What kind of school choices do you provide to
a day job to support their families, students who
meet diverse student needs—and how well are
have given up on schools with bell schedules, and
those schools and programs performing?
students who are older than most of the others in
their classrooms. New small schools in new york, ■■How will you manage a change process, bringing
Boston, and Chicago and Achievement Academies in along multiple stakeholders inside and outside
Chicago have increased graduation rates. Targeted the system to make the kinds of changes that the
recuperative programs in New York and Chicago data suggest are needed?
have had greater success with students who were off ■■How can you create a portfolio of options?
track to graduate than large comprehensive schools.
■■How will you support schools?
And every district addressed in these guides has
been able to identify “beat-the-odds” schools that ■■What policy changes are needed?
are outperforming their peers.
Addressing these questions will provide a roadmap
These districts have learned that: for helping to transform more of your high schools
into gateways of opportunity for the thousands of
■■many students who drop out fall off track in 9th students who are counting on, and deserving of,
grade, often earlier better educational options.
■■about 25 percent of students who eventually drop
out start 9th grade on track for a diploma but then
lose ground, dispelling the common assumption
that they arrive from middle school already far
behind
■■a few key indicators are very good predictors of
who will not graduate
■■credit accumulation is a better predictor of
dropouts than other factors that are often believed
to be predictive, such as ethnicity and special
education
■■school and program options other than the
comprehensive high school, with a different
structure and culture, can significantly improve
graduation rates
This guide describes how to apply what these dis-
tricts have learned.
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This school works for me: creaTing choices To BoosT achievemenT www.gatesfoundation.org
conditions thAt focus and prioritization. Every urban leader
in America understands the difficulty of staying
support chAnge focused in a system with multiple moving parts,
competing agendas, and daily crises of varying
proportions. Setting priorities and establishing a
You’ll get farther faster if the following four condi- sequence of action steps will be critical to main-
tions are present in your district. tain focus, communicate to stakeholders, and keep
everyone on board.
urgency for change. “Some kids just don’t want
to be in school.” “You should focus on the kids that reliable data systems. Tracking progress of stu-
want to learn and forget about those who just want dents and schools and evaluating results demand
to make trouble.” “Our school is working really not only a system for collecting comprehensive data
well for most of the children.” Whatever the change but the analytic capacity to translate data into clear,
being proposed, some will defend the status quo. relevant, and useful information for decisionmaking.
District leaders must make the case to address the
dropout problem—a case so powerful and convinc-
ing that it cannot be ignored. Using data to illustrate
the magnitude of the problem and student stories
that confound the cynics and naysayers will help
create a consensus that doing what it takes to keep
students in school will benefit everyone.
Courage and authority to make decisions. Close
failing schools, hold staff accountable for high stan-
dards, and expand options for students that include
community programs or charter schools. District
leaders need the political will and power to make
controversial decisions such as these.
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January 2010 an ImplementatIon guIde for school dIstrIct admInIstrators
WhAt you need to knoW
And do
1.
—
fInD OuT WHICH
StudentS
Struggling
are

A
e
d
e i
h
t
ensuring that more students graduate requires a commitment to a series of manageable,
focused, actionable steps—starting with understanding whether your students are pro-
gressing, which students are off track, and why they fall off track. Data tools help create
an early warning system to determine which groups of students are more likely to drop
out, the size of those groups, and the names of the students in those groups.
for some districts, four indicators identified the majority of future dropouts:
■■ age 15 or older entering 9th grade
■■ absent more than 10 days of fall semester of 9th grade
■■ failed two or more courses fall semester of 9th grade
■■ fewer than five credits or failed two or more courses spring semester
of 9th grade

knoWledge bAse
at risk and off track. Students who are at risk of dropping out can be identified in 8th grade or
early 9th grade by their school performance, behavior, and demographic characteristics:
School Performance Behavior
■■low to failing grades in core ■■consistent absenteeism
courses in 8th grade
■■poor standardized test scores
Demographics
in 8th grade
■■credits earned in first year of ■■special education student
high school ■■English language learner (ELL)
■■course failures in first year of ■■age at entry
high school
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This school works for me: creaTing choices To BoosT achievemenT www.gatesfoundation.org
Defining What Data Are Needed and Making
a Request
fInD OuT WHICH Gathering data can take significant amounts of time,
StudentS
so spending time at the beginning of the project and
requesting all the data you may conceivably need can
save time later on.
Struggling
are
Type of Data Example Fields
Student ■■Student ID ■■Free/Reduced-
Identification price lunch
■■Gender
and
■■Home ZIP code
Demographics ■■Birth date
■■Ethnicity
■■ELL status
■■SPED status
Enrollment ■■Date of entry ■■School
Status to schools enrolled
dAtA ■■Completion/ ■■Date of exit
Withdrawal from schools
requirements
Academic ■■Course ■■Course grades
Performance numbers
■■Course tardies
To undertake this analysis, you’ll need: ■■Course ■■Standardized
absences
■■a database of individual student records that test results
includes demographics, grades, test scores, ■■Credits earned
attendance, and other behavior records
Student ■■Attendance ■■Discipline
■■capacity to create cohorts of students and Behavior record
conduct cross-sectional analyses to determine
District ■■Complete list ■■School type for
what indicators are most likely to be predictors in
Information of schools each school
your district
The risk of dropping out is compounded by multiple Severely off-track students can be further
risk indicators. When students are frustrated by a described by comparing age and credits earned:
lack of academic progress, for instance, they often young and far from graduating (such as 16- or
skip school or are suspended for behavior issues. 17-year-olds who are two or more years away from
graduation), old and far from graduating (18 or older
Many students who fail to graduate fall off track in and two or more years away), and old and closer
their first year of high school. A student missing up to graduating (18 or older but possibly graduating
to two credits by the end of 9th grade is considered within one year). Categorizing students in such a
early off track, while one lacking three to six credits way and tracking the numbers of students in these
is already severely off track. It is hard for the latter categories brings a stronger focus to the problem
students to catch up and often too easy to drop out and allows you to target your interventions.
without being noticed.
ELL students and those qualifying for special
education services represent a disproportionate
number of off-track students.
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January 2010 an ImplementatIon guIde for school dIstrIct admInIstrators
Action steps Segment students by all the indicators that might
predict future dropouts. At a minimum, segment by
these indicators:
answer three big questions.
■■age 15 or older entering high school
■■Which indicators best predict who will not graduate? ■■absent more than 10 days of fall semester
■■Who is on track, at each grade level, to graduate? ■■failed two or more courses fall semester
■■Who is at risk, off track, and likely to fail? Knowing ■■fewer than five credits or failed two or more
these students by name and knowing where they go courses spring semester
to school will be key to intervening on their behalf.
Some students will be in more than one group, e.g.,
Answer the first question by analyzing recent his- an ELL student could be in a group of males, minor-
tory to learn which indicators are the strongest ity males, students who failed two or more courses,
predictors of future dropouts. Then use these indi- and students with high absenteeism.
cators to segment current students into groups and
Predictive and comprehensive indicators. First,
target interventions more effectively.
calculate the percentage of students in each group
who ultimately drop out, e.g., the percentage of stu-
analyze recent history.
dents with high absenteeism who drop out. Second,
Indicators that predict dropouts. Use the most calculate what percentage of the total number of
recent graduating class (or classes) for which you dropouts each group represents.
have good data.
The charts below illustrate the insights such an anal-
Collect all the data about this class that could deter- ysis can yield. Seventy percent of students who were
mine whether students are at risk of failing and/or off off track in credits eventually dropped out of school.
track: demographic data such as ethnicity, achieve- Of the total dropouts in the class, 82 percent were
ment data such as credits earned, and behavior data off track in credits. These analyses can help target
such as attendance. Start your data collection with efforts to the majority of current students who are
8th grade and continue through the graduating class. likely to drop out. This example suggests a district
should monitor students who are off track but also
pay attention to students with high absenteeism and
those who are older when entering 9th grade.
using Predictive and Comprehensive Indicators To Identify at-risk Students
implementation-p11a implementation-p11b
Key DefInITIOnS
Predictive means the percentage of a population group Comprehensive means the percentage of all dropouts
that drops out of high school. that belong to a population group.
Predictive Comprehensive
(% of Each Population Group (% of All Dropouts in
Who Ultimately Drop Out) Each Population Group)
100% 100%
t t
u u
O 70% of all off-track O 82% of all dropouts
p 80% students ultimately p 80% were off-track
o o
Dr drop out Dr students coming out
o 60% o 60% of freshman year
h h
W W
ge 40% ge 40%
nta nta
Perce 20% Perce 20%
0% 0%
6 High AbsencOfef TrOladc kEntrPaontorP oMoar thReadAifnrigcanM-alAemericaHnispanic Off TrAafrcikcanM-aAlemHeirgich aAnbseOlndc eEntrPaontor PoMoart hReadinHgispanic
This school works for me: creaTing choices To BoosT achievemenT www.gatesfoundation.org
leadership-p11
use what you have learned with current Where are the Bulk of Off-Track Students?
students.
This chart shows where off-track students are in terms
of credits as they progress toward graduation. Address
Create cohorts of students that reflect the indica-
moderately off-track students before they drop out of
tors of most interest, beginning with your current
the system.
8th grade class, and track the progress of this
group. In the example at right, a district is tracking
students by credits earned. Students who are 2.5 to
Credit Status by Student Year, Spring 2007
6 credits behind are severely off track—it is essen-
tial to know who they are and what kinds of inter- 27.4K 24.9K 20.2K 17.4K Severely Off Track,
100%
ventions, if any, are available to them. Note that 20 2.5 to 6+ Credits
s
t Behind
percent of 9th graders are already severely off track n
at the end of Year 1, and 30 percent of 10th graders ude 80% Moderately Off
are in the same predicament by Year 2. They are St Track, 0.5 to 2
unlikely to graduate without more focused attention e of 60% Credits Behind
and support. ag On Track, with
t 40% Some Failures
n
e
Link indicators to create further breakdowns of c
r
the data and gain more insights. The chart below Pe 20% On Track,
No Failures
shows the results of linking on-track performance
0%
with two other characteristics: performance on an
Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4
8th grade English test and the student’s age when
entering high school. A key finding: 24 percent of
Identifying At-Risk Students
students now off track entered 9th grade on track implementation-p13
and at the expected age, which suggests that they
Although the majority of students who fall off track during
are losing ground in high school.
high school enter high school with significant, predictable
challenges, a large group of students enters on-age and
nominally prepared but still struggles.
Percentage of all Students Who are Off Track
DegNareoranwldyge, hig saei nv aieds ln ismk teehivlsayes trde ehrdleoy s p socotfhrufou tt ogrwlag hocleokftd— ec nto1o u7t l olyed eab haraanrbvs yEe son ibltgd ehl,ei iswsnh i bt iidhrne o j8unthttshietfi resd. core or Above Over5 E%x opfe Octfef dT rAaAgcgeke (1 a5t+ H)igh SchoolA Et neE2ntxL4rtpee%yraeis cnottg fce hhOdiagf lAfhl eg Tsnercgah e(o1cdok3 l –: 14)
half the credits he needs to graduate. h Test S oficient ewnittehr shu(i3gffi,h0c 0siec0hn sott oulildt oeevrneatscr)ay gsek iblulst entseurf hfi(1icg6ih,e0 ns0tc0 hl isotteoulrd aoecnny-t assg)k eil lwsith
s r
gli P
n
ade E cient enMteorsint gc hhaigllhe nscgheodo l:
Gr ofi 19% of Off Track 52% of Off Track
h Pr (12,000 students) (34,000 students)
8t w enter high school overage and enter high school on-age with
o
el with literacy challenges literacy challenges
B
eVidence/insights
Charlotte-Mecklenburg looked closely at its dropout
Different districts have come to rely on different
rate and cohort graduation rate in 2006 and knew the
indicators, based on their analyses. In new york City,
numbers were too high and must be wrong: Students
a key indicator combines two characteristics: students
were being lost in the data. With a significantly more
who are “overage and under-credited.” In Chicago,
robust data management system, the district now
age at entry into high school is a key indicator; only
monitors significant declines in achievement com-
27 percent of students who were 15 or older when
bined with increases in absences, a combination that
they started 9th grade graduated. Portland found
results in a much higher likelihood of dropping out.
that close to half of its eventual dropouts were “early
strugglers,” based on 8th grade tests and/or 9th
grade course failures.
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January 2010 an ImplementatIon guIde for school dIstrIct admInIstrators
2.
fInD OuT WHICH
ScHoolS ProgramS
and
Struggling
are
A
e
d
e i
h
t
Some schools do a better job than others in helping students navigate their way to
a diploma and postsecondary education. Just as you need to segment your students,
you need to segment your schools. Some schools and programs might be strong
all around, meeting or exceeding your graduation targets for all student groups and
ensuring that students are college ready. Some might succeed with certain student
groups but not with others. With good data, you can share the practices of the high
performers and deal proactively with struggling schools.
Action steps require special attention and perhaps drastic
intervention. Threshold is not the same as
the desired rate, since every district wants
100 percent of its students to graduate.
Determine a graduation rate threshold.
However, setting a shorter-term threshold at
Decide whether to use four, five, or six years 50 percent, 60 percent, or 70 percent is more
after entering high school as the “deadline” realistic. A district can implement changes
for earning a diploma. Then establish a over time and work first with the schools that
threshold graduation rate to compare school need the most attention, rather than trying to
performance. Schools below the threshold deal with all schools at once.
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This school works for me: creaTing choices To BoosT achievemenT www.gatesfoundation.org