Achievement in America Learning From the Frontier: “Special Focus on Oregon” Closing Gaps and Raising Achievement for All Confederation of Oregon School Administrators: Seaside, Oregon-----------June 25, 2010 Paul F. Ruiz, PhD; Senior Advisor, The Education Trust, SW

First, some good news. After more than a decade of fairly flat achievement and stagnant or growing gaps, we appear to be turning the corner.

Record Performance with Gap Narrowing 21 24 28 34 35 44 *Denotes previous assessment format NAEP 2008 Trends in Academic Progress, NCES

Record Performance for All Groups 16 26 21 27 23 35 *Denotes previous assessment format NAEP 2008 Trends in Academic Progress, NCES

Gaps Wider in ‘08 than in 1998 21 26 21 39 30 24 *Denotes previous assessment format NAEP 2008 Trends in Academic Progress, NCES

Improvement but Gaps Just as Wide as in 1990 28 22 21 27 35 46 *Denotes previous assessment format NAEP 2008 Trends in Academic Progress, NCES

So, next time somebody tells you, “We’re spending more time and effort on education, but the results are flat,” show them the results of a decade of effort in mathematics…

1996 NAEP Grade 4 Math NAEP Data Explorer, NCES

2007 NAEP Grade 4 Math NAEP Data Explorer, NCES

NAEP Grade 4 Math 1996 Compared to 2007 NAEP Data Explorer, NCES

Progress more the result of where kids are taught— not membership in a group

GAINS--NAEP Grade 4 Reading Scale Score Gains, Latino, 1998-2007 Top States Delaware 42 Rhode Island 21 Florida 20 National Average 12 Range 42 to -6 Note: Rankings are for the 23 states with Latino data in both 1998 and 2007. NAEP Data Explorer, NCES

NAEP Grade 8 Math Scale Score Gains, Low-Income, 2000-2007 Top States Maryland 23 Arkansas 21 SC, TN 20 National Average 12 Range 23 to 1 Note: Rankings are for the 39 states with low-income data in both 2000 and 2007. NAEP Data Explorer, NCES

When we really focus on something, we make progress! Bottom Line: When we really focus on something, we make progress!

Clearly, much more remains to be done in elementary and middle school Too many youngsters still enter high school way behind.

The same is NOT true of our high schools. But at least we have some traction on elementary and middle school problems. The same is NOT true of our high schools.

Uneven Progress—Gaps Remain 22 26 30 41 29 52 *Denotes previous assessment format NAEP 2008 Trends in Academic Progress, NCES

Since 1990, Latino – White Gap Has Narrowed Slightly 27 21 33 20 25 40 *Denotes previous assessment format NAEP 2008 Trends in Academic Progress, NCES

Why so much less progress in our high schools? Hormones? If so, we’d see the same pattern in other countries. And we don’t.

A closer look at math

Of 29 OECD Countries, U.S.A. Ranked 24th PISA 2003 Results, OECD

Problems are not limited to our high-poverty and high-minority schools . . .

U.S.A. Ranks Low in the % in the Highest Achievement Level (Level 6) in Math PISA 2003 Results, OECD

U.S.A. Ranks 23rd out of 29 OECD Countries in the Math Achievement of the Highest-Performers* * Students at the 95th Percentile PISA 2003 Results, OECD

U.S.A. Ranks 23rd out of 29 OECD Countries in the Math Achievement of High-Income Students PISA 2003 Results, OECD

Problems not limited to math, either.

Science?

Of 30 OECD Countries, U.S.A. Ranked 21st Higher than U.S. average Not measurably different from U.S. average Lower than U.S. average PISA 2006 Results, OECD

U.S.A. has a larger percentage of immigrants and children of immigrants than most OECD countries. But, U.S.A. PISA 2006 Results, OECD, table 4.2c

But ranks 21st out of 30 OECD countries when looking ONLY at NATIVE STUDENT* scores into account. U.S.A. *Students born in the country of assessment with at least one parent born in the same country PISA 2006 Results, OECD, table 4.2c

These gaps begin before children arrive at the schoolhouse door. But, rather than organizing our educational system to ameliorate this problem, we organize it to exacerbate the problem.

By giving students who arrive with less, less in school, too. How? By giving students who arrive with less, less in school, too.

Some of these “lesses” are a result of choices that policymakers make.

National Inequities in State and Local Revenue Per Student Gap High Poverty vs. Low Poverty Districts –$773 per student High Minority vs. Low Minority Districts –$1,122 Education Trust analyses based on U.S. Department of Education and U.S. Census Bureau data for the 2005-06 school year.

Oregon: Inequities in State and Local Revenue Per Student Gap High Poverty vs. Low Poverty Districts +832 per student High Minority vs. Low Minority Districts –$231 Education Trust analyses based on U.S. Department of Education and U.S. Census Bureau data for the 2005-06 school year.

In truth, though, some of the most devastating “lesses” are a function of choices that we educators make.

Choices we make about what to expect of whom…

Choices we make about what to teach whom…

And choices we make about who teaches whom…

Results are devastating. Kids who come in a little behind, leave a lot behind.

ADD IT ALL UP...

Of every 100 white kindergartners… 93 graduate from high school or get a GED 64 complete at least some college 34 obtain at least a Bachelor’s degree The Condition of Education 2006, NCES

Of every 100 African-American kindergartners… 87 graduate from high school or get a GED 49 complete at least some college 18 obtain at least a Bachelor’s degree The Condition of Education 2006, NCES

Of every 100 Latino kindergartners… 63 graduate from high school or get a GED 33 complete at least some college 11 obtain at least a Bachelor’s degree The Condition of Education 2006, NCES

An awful lot of educators have decided that we can’t do much. What Can We Do? An awful lot of educators have decided that we can’t do much.

What We Hear Many Educators Say: They’re poor Their parents don’t care They come to schools without breakfast Not enough books Not enough parents They don’t speak English N/A

But if they are right, why are low-income students and students of color performing so much higher in some schools…

Graham Road Elementary School Falls Church, Virginia 356 students in grades K-6 13% African American 16% Asian 64% Latino 81% Low-Income 51% ELL 2008 DTM Award Winner Fairfax County School Profiles

All Students Achieving at Graham Road Elementary 2008 DTM Award Winner All Students Achieving at Graham Road Elementary Virginia Department of Education

Getting More Students to Advanced Levels at Graham Road 2008 DTM Award Winner Note: In 2008, 100% of Graham Road 6th graders were proficient in reading. Virginia Department of Education

Capitol View Elementary School Atlanta, Georgia 252 students in grades K-5 94% African American 89% Low-Income 2006 DTM Award Winner Georgia Department of Education

High Achievement Across Grades at Capitol View Elementary 2006 DTM Award Winner High Achievement Across Grades at Capitol View Elementary Reading Math Georgia Department of Education

More Students Exceeding Standards at Capitol View Elementary 2006 DTM Award Winner Note: In 2008, 100% of Capitol View 5th graders met standards in reading. Georgia Department of Education

Lockhart Junior High School Lockhart, Texas 979 students in grades 6-8 6% African American 55% Latino 38% White 56% Low-Income 2007 DTM Award Winner Texas Education Agency

All Groups Out-Achieving State at Lockhart Junior High 2007 DTM Award Winner All Groups Out-Achieving State at Lockhart Junior High Texas Education Agency

More Improvement at Lockhart Junior High 2007 DTM Award Winner More Improvement at Lockhart Junior High Texas Education Agency

Imperial High Imperial, California 850 students in grades 9-12 71% Latino 27% Low-Income 13% ELL 2006 DTM Award Winner California Department of Education

Continual Improvement at Imperial High 2006 DTM Award Winner Continual Improvement at Imperial High California Department of Education

Big differences between states too.

But, first, let’s take a closer look at achievement in Oregon

Declining Latino Performance and Gaps Growing, Flat Performance for Others *Accommodations not permitted NAEP Data Explorer, NCES (Proficient Scale Score = 238)

Lower income students GAPS Growing Over the last decade, we’ve seen a little improvement in 4th grade reading, but still big gaps between the performance of lower and higher income students. NAEP Data Explorer, NCES (Proficient Scale Score = 238)

Black&Latino Gaps Bigger in ’09 In 8th grade, we’ve seen improvement for whites and Latinos, but gap has widened. *Accommodations not permitted NAEP Data Explorer, NCES (Proficient Scale Score = 299)

Low Income Gap has widened over time NAEP Data Explorer, NCES (Proficient Scale Score = 299)

Average White Scale Scores by State Oregon We see a big difference in the Massachusetts average for white students and the West Virginia average for white students. In Oregon, students are performing below average in reading. NAEP Data Explorer, NCES (Proficient Scale Score = 238)

Average Latino Scale Scores by State Oregon NAEP Data Explorer, NCES (Proficient Scale Score = 238)

Average White Scale Scores by State Oregon NAEP Data Explorer, NCES (Proficient Scale Score = 299)

Average Latino Scale Scores by State Oregon NAEP Data Explorer, NCES (Proficient Scale Score = 299)

Latino, Black and Lower Income Students in Oregon Trail Their Peers We see minority and low-income students performing below their peers in English. Oregon Department of Education

Latino, Black and Lower Income Students in Oregon Trail Their Peers We see minority and low-income students performing below their peers in Math. Oregon Department of Education

Source: 2009 Education Watch State Report: Oregon, The Education Trust

Source: 2009 Education Watch State Report: Oregon, The Education Trust

Source: 2009 Education Watch State Report: Oregon, The Education Trust

Source: 2009 Education Watch State Report: Oregon, The Education Trust

On-Time High School Graduation Rates Not surprisingly, the gaps that we saw in performance are evident when we look at the attainment rates of different groups of students. Minority students are graduating from high school at lower rates than their peers. Public School Graduates and Dropouts from the Common Core of Data: School Year 2006-2007, National Center for Education Statistics

Six-Year Public College Graduation Rates And for those students who make it to college, the percentage who actually make it out 6 years later with a diploma is staggeringly low. Education Watch National Report 2009, The Education Trust

Are Df’s the Result of One’s membership in the Group Are Df’s the Result of One’s membership in the Group? Big differences between districts

NAEP 2007 Grade 8 Reading, Low-Income African American Scale Scores Houston Austin NAEP Data Explorer, NCES

NAEP 2007 Grade 8 Reading, Low-Income Latino Scale Scores Note: Latino scores are not available for Atlanta. NAEP Data Explorer, NCES

NAEP 2007 Grade 8 Math, Low-Income African American Scale Scores NAEP Data Explorer, NCES

NAEP 2007 Grade 8 Math, Low-Income Latino Scale Scores Houston Austin Note: Latino scores are not available for Atlanta. NAEP Data Explorer, NCES

NAEP Grade 4 Math – Students Overall Districts Outperforming Their States in Movement into Basic (2003-2007) District District Movement State Movement Boston 18 9 New York City 12 6 Atlanta 11 7 Houston 10 5 Chicago 8 Los Angeles 3 San Diego Charlotte 1 Note: Data refer to the percentage point increase in the percent of students at Basic and Above between 2003 and 2007. NAEP Data Explorer, NCES

At every level of education, what we do matters a lot! Bottom Line: At every level of education, what we do matters a lot!

What Do We Know About How To Accelerate Success? What do the high performers do?

#1. They focus on what they can do, rather than what they can’t.

Some schools and districts get all caught up with stuff outside the school Spend endless time on issues like: Percent of babies born at low birth-weight Percent of children born to single moms Percent of children in families receiving government assistance Education levels of mothers N/A

Barbara Adderly, Principal, M. Hall Stanton Elementary, Philadelphia The leaders in high-performing high poverty schools and districts don’t do that. “ Some of our children live in pretty dire circumstances. But we can’t dwell on that, because we can’t change it. So when we come here, we have to dwell on that which is going to move our kids.” Barbara Adderly, Principal, M. Hall Stanton Elementary, Philadelphia

#2. They don’t leave anything about teaching and learning to chance.

Result? A System That: Doesn’t expect very much from MOST students An awful lot of our teachers—even brand new ones—are left to figure out on their own what to teach and what constitutes “good enough” work. Result? A System That: Doesn’t expect very much from MOST students Expects much less from some types of students than others. N/A

Grade 7 Writing Assignment Essay on Anne Frank Your essay will consist of an opening paragraph which introduces 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

Grade 7 Writing Assignment My Best Friend: A chore I hate: A car I want: My heartthrob: This school, not far away, 97% free and reduced price lunch, 99% latino. FILL IN THE BLANK. OTHERS: A NEAT EXPRESSION __________ Colleagues at ET: Students can do no better than the assignments given. Source: Unnamed school district in California, 2002-03 school year

High Performing Schools and Districts Have clear and specific goals for what students should learn in every grade, including the order in which they should learn it Provide teachers with common curriculum, assignments Have regular vehicle to assure common marking standards Assess students every 4-8 weeks to measure progress Act immediately on the results of those assessments N/A

#3. They set their goals high.

Education Trust 2005 study, “Gaining Traction, Gaining Ground.” Even when they start with high drop out rates, high impact high schools focus on preparing all kids for college and careers Education Trust 2005 study, “Gaining Traction, Gaining Ground.”

Even if you have your doubts, NEW STUDY FROM ACT: COLLEGE READY = WORKFORCE TRAINING READY

And those demanding courses are not just demanding in name only. #4. Higher performing secondary schools put all kids—not just some—in a demanding high school core curriculum. And those demanding courses are not just demanding in name only.

The single biggest predictor post-high school success is the QUALITY AND INTENSITY OF THE HIGH SCHOOL CURRICULUM Cliff Adelman, The Toolbox Revisited, U.S. Department of Education But are most of our kids getting anything that even remotely resembles INTENSE?

Leading states are making college prep the default curriculum. Texas, Indiana, Arkansas, Michigan, Oklahoma, South Dakota, New York

#5. High performing schools are obsessive about time, especially instructional time.

High Performing High Schools “Behind” students spend 60 additional hours (25% more time) over 1 year in reading related courses “Behind” students get 240 additional hours over 4 years! In other words, high performing schools both maximize time and don’t leave its use to chance. N/A

#6. Principal leadership matters hugely, they are ever present, but NOT the only leaders in the school

In high performing schools… Teachers regularly observe other teachers Teachers have time to plan and work collaboratively New teachers get generous and careful support and acculturation Teachers take on many other leadership tasks at the school N/A

#7. Good schools know how much teachers matter, and they act on that knowledge.

Students in Dallas Gain More in Math with Effective Teachers 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 Beginning Grade 3 Percentile Rank= 57 Beginning Grade 3 Percentile Rank= 55 Heather Jordan, Robert Mendro, and Dash Weerasinghe, The Effects of Teachers on Longitudinal Student Achievement (1997)

Good teachers matter a lot. No matter what proxy we use for quality, Latino and Black kids don’t get their fair share of quality teachers.

Core classes in high-poverty and high-minority secondary schools have much more OUT-OF-FIELD teachers High Poverty Low Poverty High Minority Low Minority Note: Data are for secondary-level core academic classes (Math, Science, Social Studies, English) across United States. High-poverty ≥75% of students eligible for free/reduced price lunch. Low-poverty school ≤15% of students eligible. High-minority ≥ 75% students non-white. Low-minority ≤ 10% students non-white. The Education Trust, Core Problems: Out-of-Field Teaching Persists in Key Academic Courses and High-Poverty Schools, (2008)

High-Latino and Black Schools More Likely to Be Assigned NOVICE TEACHERS Data is from the 2003-2004 Schools & Staffing Survey (SASS) SASS surveys a nationally representative sample of teachers. Analysis examines out-of-field teaching in core academic classes at secondary & middle school: Core academic classes are English, math, social studies and science. “Out-of-field” is defined as a teacher lacking both an in-field regular certification and a major in the subject of the classes she/he was assigned to teach Secondary classes include departmentalized classes in grades 7-12. Middle grades include 5-8. Only teachers assigned to departmentalized classes count towards middle grades. Note: Novice teachers are those with three years or fewer experience. High-minority ≥ 75% students non-white. Low-minority ≤ 10% students non-white. Analysis of 2003-2004 Schools and Staffing Survey data by Richard Ingersoll, University of Pennsylvania (2007)

High poverty/high minority schools have less the “MOST EFFECTIVE” teachers and more “LEAST EFFECTIVE” teachers Note: High Poverty/High minority means at least 75% qualify for FRPL and at least 75% are minority. Tennessee Department of Education (2007). “Tennessee’s Most Effective Teachers.” http://tennessee.gov/education/nclb/doc/TeacherEffectiveness2007_03.pdf

Low-Achieving Students are More Likely to be Assigned to Ineffective Teachers than Effective Teachers Another set of researchers in Dallas TX found that students with a previous history of low-achievement were more likely to be assigned to ineffective tchrs. Over all three grades we see more low achievers being assigned to ineffective tchrs and in 6th grade the difference is remarkable with 125 more students assigned to ineffective tchrs. S. Babu and R. Mendro, Teacher Accountability: HLM-Based Teacher Effectiveness Indices in the Investigation of Teacher Effects on Student Achievement in a State Assessment Program (2003)

High performing schools and districts… Work hard to attract and hold good teachers Make sure that their best are assigned to the students who most need them Chase out teachers who are not “good enough” for their kids. N/A

Fixing All This Is Very Hard Work! But, doable and necessary. If ours were a just profession, we wouldn’t have these gaps in the first place.

And, it is also indispensable to the Common Good.

The most important agenda for all of us? Improving Achievement and Closing Gaps.

Please Join Us November 3-5, ’10 In DC TAKING CHARGE OF CHANGE! Stay connected. Paul F. Ruiz, Senior Advisor The Education Trust, SW (210) 979-9575: pruiz@edtrust.org Join Us in DC November 3-5, ’10 Taking Charge of Change! 1250 H Street NW – Suite 700 Washington, DC 20005 (202) 293-1217