Curriculum & Instruction Idaho Falls District # 91

Factors Associated with High Achieving Schools findings of Gordon Cawelti – Education Research Service 1.The reliance and persistent focus on standards and clear goals established in the schools. 2.The daily presence of visible principal working continually to keep a focus for everyone. 3.A faculty of teachers deeply committed to ensuring that all are taught and learn the schools high standards.

Factors Associated with High Achieving Schools Cont. 4.A team structure in which teachers regularly work collaboratively to improve the achievement levels of their students. 5.Sustained concentration over a period of time on the multiple changes needed to improve student achievement.

Without guaranteed & viable curriculum, four variables predict student achievement… Type of community Poverty rate The education of their parents Number of parents in home

Curriculum in Chaos Written Reported Tested Taught

Curriculum Unity Model Taught Written Tested Reported

Talking the Talk Coordination : To provide consistency within subject areas and across grade levels and schools. Articulation : To ensure that there are no gaps or unnecessary overlaps on a K-12 continuum of curriculum objectives. Alignment : To match the test to what is taught and to the context and cognitive level in which it is taught. The closer the match between the written, taught, tested, and reported curriculum, the deeper the alignment.

Three Levels of Alignment The test Teaching Test Teaching Test Teaching No Alignment Surface Alignment Deep Alignment

No Alignment Student writes poems and keeps a journal. Direct Writing Assessment (DWA) tests students ability to write an informational essay.

Surface Alignment Student reads an informational essay as part of his/her literature study. Direct Writing Assessment (DWA) tests students ability to write an informational essay.

Teacher instructs student in informational writing and student submits an original essay that is assessed using DWA guidelines. Direct Writing Assessment (DWA) tests students ability to write an informational essay. Deep Alignment

Four Lenses of Learning

The Achievement Lens How are we doing compared to everyone else? Other Districts? Other Buildings? Other Classrooms? Other Students?

The Proficiency Lens How are we doing against the state selected cut score? What percentage of our students is proficient? Ex: If the cut score for mathematics at 10 th grade is 242 what percentage of our students has reached that score or higher?

The Growth Lens How much growth did our students make this year from fall to spring? Ex: Whether students have reached a cut score or not, how much growth did they make in our district in one year? Six months worth? Two years worth?

The Instructional Lens Using the data available from state, district, and classroom assessments, what do I as a teacher need to change or do to make sure that all of my students are learning the curriculum?

Do Tests Improve Learning? No. Learning only improves if we change what we are doing based on what we learn from the test results. Allan Olson, NWEA

Tests, by themselves, do not improve learning, any more than a thermometer reduces fever. (Hubert, 2000)

The main factor in improving achievement is a knowledgeable, skillful teacher. (Breaux & Wong, 2003)

Percentile Entering Percentile Leaving Highly Ineffective School/50 th 3 rd Highly Ineffective Teacher Average School/50 th 50 th Average Teacher Highly Effective School/50 th 37 th Highly Ineffective Teacher Highly Ineffective School/50 th 63 rd Highly Effective Teacher Highly Effective School/50 th 78 th Average Teacher Highly Effective School/50 th 96 th Highly Effective Teacher

Teacher Effectiveness (Randall, 2001) In a study, researchers determined that students assigned to three effective teachers in a row grew from the 59th to 76th percentile in three years. A different group, assigned to three ineffective teachers for three years dropped from the 60th to the 42nd percentile in the same time period.

1900Agricultural –Capital = Land 1950Industrial –Capital = Labor 2005Information –Capital = Knowledge In each age, people with enough capital could buy a home and raise a family.

A Little History Practically, if not idealistically, poor education for many students was not a social problem when plenty of low-skilled jobs offering good wages were to be had. It is a problem today when most jobs demand much greater competence. Linda Darling-Hammond, Teacher and Professor

A Look at the Future The traditional outcomes of our school systemsacademic success for some and failure for othersare now more problematic than ever. High school dropouts now have less than one chance in three of finding work, and if they do find a job, they typically earn less than half as much as they would have twenty years ago. William T. Grant Foundation, 1988

A Look at the Future In 1950 there were sixteen workers for every person on social security; by 2010, there will be only three (SSA, 1996). If not all of these potential workers are productive, our nations social compact will crumble. Linda Darling-Hammond

Two things U.S. schools have never before been called upon to do: To teach for understanding. That is, to teach all students, not just a few, to understand ideas deeply and perform proficiently To teach for diversity. That is, to teach in ways that help different kinds of learners find productive paths to knowledge as needed.

Clear Targets Are Key It is 99.9% impossible for a blind man, on his own, to hit a bulls eye, but the percentage drops dramatically when he is instructed by someone who can see the target clearly with the desired results in mind.

Clear Targets If students can see the target, and it stands still for them, they can hit it. Dr. Richard Stiggins