1. Orientation to HSTW Goals and Key Practices

2. High Schools That Work
For more than a decade and a half High Schools That Work has been an initiative of the Southern Regional Education Board-State Vocational Education Consortium. Today there are over 1,200 high schools and technology centers involved. We work with schools to improve students’ academic and technical achievement and high graduation rates. This effort is based on a number of unique features.
Students take the right academic courses;
Customize improvement plan to the unique needs of each schools;
Students complete quality vocational and technical courses with embedded academic knowledge and skills;
Build on existing school strengths;
Teachers engage students in difficult and authentic assignments in all courses;
Students get extra help throughout high school and t critical transition points in meeting higher standards;
Schools offer a supportive guidance system;
Schools provide time and an organizational structure allowing teachers to work together.
High Schools That Work is about raising achievement and graduation rate by changing what is taught, how it is taught, what is expected of students, and how educators work with each other, the home and the community.
SC 2009 Orientation

3. HSTW Goals
Having 85 percent of students meet college- and career-readiness standards – reading, mathematics and science
Graduating 90 percent of students entering grade nine graduating them prepared for college, training, work or all
Teaching most students the essential content of the college-preparatory academic core and a career or academic concentration
The goal of HSTW is to have 85 percent of students meet the reading, mathematics and science goals. These goals are set high enough so that students who continue their studies will be much less likely to have to take remedial courses. Meeting these goals also means that students can pass employers’ exams for decent career-pathway jobs.
The second goal is to have 90 percent of students entering grade nine graduate from high school within four years prepared fro postsecondary studies and a career.
The third goal is to teach all students -- particularly career-oriented students -- the essential content of the college-preparatory academic core along with a concentration in either academic or career concentration.
SC 2009 Orientation

4. Work Harder to Get Smarter: We need to change our thinking and our language from an ability model to an effort, interest-based model.
ACTIVITY: Name one characteristic of a high school organized on ability model and one characteristic of a high school organized on effort model. Ask them what the consequences are for the students at each type of school. Get a few responses from the audience. Record on a chart pad if appropriate and you have time.
The intent is to promote school and classroom practices that foster greater student effort to meet course standards.
SC 2009 Orientation

5. Key Practice #1 Have students complete a challenging program of study with an upgraded academic core and a major.
Professional development and support are more likely to affect school and classroom practices and student performance if they are aligned to a framework of practices that provide direction and meaning to comprehensive school improvement and to learning. HSTW’s 10 key practices provide a framework for improving high school education and increasing student achievement.
A common upgraded core for all students enables high schools to move away from a tracking and sorting mind-set to:
Teach most all students to grade level and to college- and career-readiness standards;
Expecting and teaching most students to meet higher standards;
Eliminating the notion of accommodation and use differentiated instruction to enable students to meet standards.
The concept of a major allows students to choose an area for in-depth concentration. A student major can take a variety of forms. For some students, they may begin their major as early as grade nine by taking an introductory course and taking one or more courses in their career academic focus area each year. For other students, particularly for those who are pursuing a career/technical concentration, they may wait as late as the 11th or 12th grade to take their concentration of courses. However, it has been found advantageous, particularly for at-risk students, to enroll in one or two career/technical courses each year and to organize the school in such a way that they are linked closely to their academic studies. A major can be around very occupational-specific courses leading to employer certification at the end of high school or at the end of apprenticeship or further preparation in the postsecondary institution. Other career-oriented concentrations can be a part of a theme-based program that is aligned to continued learning at the community or technical college or at a four-year institution.
Academic
Career
Both
Allows schools to change their language and behavior from ability to an effort based set of practices. Language influences behavior.
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6. Completing a Challenging Program of Study Matters
Gives focus
Prepares students for the next step
Makes high school count
Values students
Students choose based on interest
Students who are in a general track and take low-level courses lack focus. They don’t see their high school studies as connected to their future goals.
Students who do not complete a challenging program of study with a rigorous academic core are not prepared to be successful in a career or in further study after high school. More often they lack the academic and career skills to get good jobs and to complete further education and training.
Students who are required to work hard believe that what they are doing has value and will help them accomplish their goals for the future.
Students who are required to complete a rigorous program of study believe that the school values them.
Students who choose a program of academic and career study based on interest are more likely to succeed than students who are placed in courses based on past performance.
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SC 2009 Orientation

7. Recommended Academic Core for All Students
Four credits in college-prep/honors English
Four mathematics credits – Algebra I, geometry, Algebra II and above
Three science credits at the college-prep level; four credits with a block schedule
Three years of social studies; four credits with a block schedule
Career or academic concentration
High-performing HSTW sites have a core group of teachers who refuse to accept the status quo and who engage their colleagues in examining the old belief that many students are not capable of completing a solid academic core. These are the schools that have made the most progress in advancing student achievement.
HSTW recommends four credits in college-prep/honors English.
The HSTW-recommended curriculum calls for students to complete at least four mathematics credits with at least two credits being at the geometry Algebra II level. The highest-achieving students in the network are the 30 percent who are now completing four years of mathematics including taking a course the senior year.
At least three science credits, two at the college-prep level. Four are recommended if the school has adopted a block schedule.
Students complete four courses in a planned career focus and at-risk students are more likely to complete high school if they take six or more CT courses starting in grade nine.
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8. Recommended Core and Meeting Reading and Mathematics Readiness Goals
This slide demonstrates for you that students who take two or more parts of the HSTW-recommended academic core are more likely to meet college- and career-readiness goals than those students who only take one or no part of that core. For example, 68 percent of the students who completed at least two parts of the academic core meet the reading readiness goal for further study and 65 percent meet the mathematics readiness goal for further study.
Fifty percent of the students completed two or three parts of the HSTW-recommended academic core and 53 percent meet both readiness goals.
Source: 2008 HSTW Assessment and Student Survey
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9. Comparison CT Students Completing HSTW-Recommended Curriculum in 2004 and 2008
Achievement improves each year as more students complete the HSTW-recommended academic core. Between 2004 and 2008, at HSTW sites, 10 percent more students completed the recommended English and mathematics curriculum. However, at the 100 high-implementation schools in 2008, 81 percent of all students completed four years of college-preparatory English or higher and 76 percent completed four years of mathematics Algebra I and higher. Lingling fill in blanks.
Source: and 2008 HSTW Assessment
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10. Top 100 Implementation Sites vs
Top 100 Implementation Sites vs. All Other Sites: Percentages of Students Meeting Readiness Goals
All 2008 HSTW assessment data used in this presentation are PRELIMINARY AND NOT FINAL DATA.
At the 100 top implementation HSTW sites 84 percent of students completed two or three parts of the HSTW-recommended curriculum in 2008, compared with 47 percent at other sites. As a consequence of having 84 percent of students completing the HSTW-recommended academic core in the top 100 HSTW schools, they had 30 percent more students meeting the reading goal; 28 percent more meeting mathematics goal; and 29 percent more meeting the science goal, than other HSTW sites with only 47 percent completing the recommended academic core. Giving more students access to a demanding core of academic courses greatly increases the percentages of students with higher achievement.
Source: 2008 HSTW Assessment and Student Survey
SC 2009 Orientation

11. Key Practice #2 Increase access to challenging vocational and technical studies, with a major emphasis on using high-level mathematics, science, language arts and problem-solving skills.
Quality vocational curriculum and instruction:
Addresses the essential role of numeracy and technical literacy in today’s workplace and the need for change in career/technical studies to promote the development of both numeracy and technical literacy.
Have a system of assignments and learning activities for a career/technical course that will engage students in applying math and literacy skills in their particular technical field, including the following:
reading technical articles weekly and analyzing them using a rubric or scoring guide
writing technical print materials, such as brochures, guides for procedures or other print materials common to the field
researching and preparing a project plan and written report common to the field, such as a business plan in a marketing course or a construction plan in a construction course, using basic technology processes, such as Internet searches and word processing
Using math to recommend options to make cost projection, to complete projects and problem assignments, to analyze different cost benefits among options.
Southern Regional Education Board
SC 2009 Orientation

12. Quality Career/Technical Courses Matter
Increase understanding of academic content
Give meaning to school
Motivate students
Improve retention of academic skills
Intellectual development
High-quality career/technical studies promote deeper understanding of academic knowledge and skills.
High-quality career/technical studies help motivate students who need to see a connection between what they do in school and their goals for the future.
Students see purpose and meaning in their academic studies when they use academic skills in solving work-related problems.
Students retain their academic skills longer when they are required to apply them in solving authentic problems.
Authentic assignments have three elements: 1) student constructing knowledge, 2) student applying discipline acquired from an academic or technical field--ways of thinking, and 3) producing a service or product with value beyond the school.
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13. Vocational Practices and Higher Achievement
Students:
use mathematics to complete assignments weekly;
read technical books to complete assignments weekly;
do projects that require research and written plans;
meet standards on a course exam.
Use computer skills to do assignments in their CT studies monthly; and
Speak with or visit someone in a career to which they aspire.
Students have higher academic achievement and are better prepared to meet the expectations of employers or to succeed in further study who in their vocational classes are:
given assignments weekly or daily that require them to read and interpret technical materials and to use mathematics to complete.
having students complete a project that requires research and a written plan or a major senior project impacts achievement.
Each of these items are associated with higher achievement.
Lingling needs to redo this slide. Put into this slide a couple others of those 11 indicators that are also predictive of higher student achievement that are more technical in nature. Leave these four, but you need two more.
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14. Quality Vocational Studies and Higher Achievement
Intensive 51% Moderate 39% Low 11%
Intensive (7-11) Moderate (4-6) Low (0-3)
Career/technical students who frequently have intensive exposure to quality career studies (7 to 11 of them) are more likely to meet the HSTW readiness goals in reading, mathematics and science than students who have “moderate” or “low” exposure to these experiences.
Since academic achievement is a major predictor of success on employers’ exams and other written tests, it is fair to say that students who have had “intensive” experiences in quality career/technical programs are much more likely to pass career-related exams than students who are enrolled in low-quality career/technical programs that fail to provide these experiences.
This particular slide depicts the potential impact that quality career/technical studies can have on advancing student achievement in reading, mathematics and science. For example, students who had to read frequently and had quality learning experiences in their career/technical classrooms, 13 percent more met the reading readiness standards compared to those who had low-quality career/technical studies. You see similar results in mathematics and science.
Source: 2008 HSTW Assessment and Student Survey
SC 2009 Orientation

15. Key Practice #3 Give students access to a system of work-based and school-based learning planned cooperatively by educators and employers.
Planned work-site experiences provide students opportunities to reach new levels of knowledge and skills in school and at work.
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16. Quality Work-site Learning Linked to a Solid Academic Core Matters
Apply academic and technical skills
Learn that high performance counts
Have richer on-the-job experiences
Discover career options
Get on track faster after graduation
Planned work-site learning experiences give students the opportunity to apply academic and technical skills in real-life situations. This reinforces what they are learning in school and helps them see a purpose for academic learning.
Employers help send the message to students that high performance counts. Employers who place value on students’ school performance and who identify clear requirements for the academic skills expected of workers help students see the value of working hard in school. Employers who work with teachers to assign challenging projects for students to complete in the workplace also are supporting school-based learning.
According to HSTW Assessment data, students who work in school-sponsored, structured work-based learning programs have richer learning experiences on the job than students who work but are not enrolled in such programs.
Students in structured work-site learning placements are more likely to learn about all aspects of a business and learn about career options associated with a particular business or industry.
These students also receive more help in finding and getting the most out of a job and are more likely to stay on the job after high school. Quality work-site learning helps students acquire many of the traits associated with being a good worker — responsibility, cooperation, dependability, communication and problem-solving skills.
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17. Quality Work-site Learning and Higher Achievement
Intensive 53% Moderate 25% Low 22%
Intensive (3-4) Moderate (2) Low (0-1)
A higher percentage of students who reported having intensive quality work-based learning experiences met the reading, mathematics and science readiness goals in 2008 than students who had lower levels of experiences. Students who participated in moderate- to low-quality work-site learning experiences had significantly lower academic achievement.
Source: 2008 HSTW Assessment and Student Survey
SC 2009 Orientation

18. Key Practice #4 Set high expectations and get students to meet them.
Students achieve at a higher level if they:
• Have to meet graduation requirements that include completing an upgraded academic core and in-depth study in either an academic or a career field;
• Take a higher-level mathematics or science course in the senior year;
• Are required to complete noncredit catch-up courses in English and mathematics in the ninth grade if they are not prepared to do high-school-level work.
Have teachers who set high expectations for students and who make sure students understand the expectations.
At present, too many high school students are disengaged in learning in part because too little is expected of them.
Southern Regional Education Board
SC 2009 Orientation

19. Raising Expectations Matters
Communicate that high school counts
Give students a sense of self- worth
Help students see that the school believes in them
Help students be more focused, motivated and goal-oriented
Schools that set high expectations are honoring effort and hard work. This helps communicate that school counts.
High expectations give students a sense of self worth.
Students realize that they are important, that the school believes in them enough to set high standards and believes that they can meet these standards, and that the school will help them.
High expectations enables students to become more focused, motivated and goal-oriented.
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20. Expectation Practices and Higher Achievement
Students understand the amount and quality of work expected.
Students frequently receive extra help.
Students complete homework daily.
Students redo work to meet standards.
Students work hard on assignments.
One condition for improving student achievement is to have a school leader who can work with the faculty to create a climate of high expectations for all students and where “failure is not an option.” Students with higher achievement say their teachers:
state the amount and quality of work necessary for a student to earn an “A” or “B”;
are available to help students with their studies through reteaching and tutoring strategies;
require one or more hours of homework per day;
insist on giving students additional opportunities to redo work and to retake exams; and
expect students to work hard to meet high standards.
These actions are the primary evidence of high expectations. Classrooms are said to have “high” expectations if students experience at least four of the five actions listed above. Teachers do two or three of these things in moderate-expectations classrooms and no more than one of these in low-expectations classrooms.
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21. High Expectation Practices and Higher Achievement
High 26% Moderate 47% Low 28%
High (4-5) Moderate (2-3) Low (0-1)
A larger percentage of students who met the High Schools That Work reading, mathematics and science readiness goals in 2008 studied in classrooms that had high to moderate expectations. Students who know what to expect, who are required to work hard and who can count on teachers for assistance are the ones who achieve at a higher level, regardless of race or socioeconomic status.
56 percent of students at schools in the High Schools That Work network met the reading readiness goal in percent met the mathematics goal and 51 percent met the science goal. The results were much better in classrooms where expectations were high. In high-expectations classrooms, 14 percent more students met the reading goal, 9 percent more met the mathematics goal and 10 percent more met the science goal than students in the network. These differences existed regardless of racial or ethnic backgrounds or parental education levels. It is being clear about the level of quality and depth of understanding expected of students and providing the support needed to achieve at the expected level.
Source: 2008 HSTW Assessment and Student Survey
SC 2009 Orientation

22. Key Practice #5 Have teachers work together to integrate academic and technical studies.
Integrated learning gives teachers the opportunity to move beyond lecturing and giving students facts to memorize. Students construct new knowledge by working on problems, projects and products that relate academic knowledge to the work environment. When teachers link academic and technical content, they help students acquire understanding in both areas. This involves creating a schedule and school organization that gives students a choice to plan together.
Approaches to Integration
Single course integration-- using authentic projects
Joint planning around standards
Interdisciplinary Approaches
Short-term projects
Long-term projects
Thematic projects
Academic
Team teaching
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23. Teachers Working Together Matters
Makes learning count
Helps teachers “grow”
Changes teachers’ perceptions of students
Promotes professionalism
Contributes to a climate of improvement
Achievement is higher for students when they see reasons for learning and when they see how they can apply what they are learning.
Cross-curriculum planning helps teachers change their perceptions about the abilities of career-bound students.
Teachers working together in planning instruction and evaluating students’ work come to agreement on expectations and standards for student learning and are more likely to encourage students to apply higher-level academic skills in completing assignments and projects.
Teachers working together to improve achievement feel less isolated and more in control of planning what and how their students are taught.
Common planning time and cross-discipline communication help teachers examine beliefs and practices and make them more open to adopt new teaching methods and strategies. Working in teams helps build teacher support for raising standards, improving guidance and providing the extra help students need to complete a challenging program of study. Working together also seems to have an energizing effect within a school.
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SC 2009 Orientation

24. Increase in Number of CT Students per 100 Meeting College- and Career-Readiness Goals Who Experienced CT Instruction with Embedded Literacy and Mathematics Assignments
Lingling revise slide 24 and redo this slide based on 2008 data. Then you will have to revise the paragraph accordingly to make sure the numbers are correct.
Students who experienced intensive emphasis on using reading, writing, mathematics and technology in completing authentic activities, problems and projects in their career/technical classroom had a gain of 6 to 15 in the percent of students meeting college- and career-readiness standards. The problem is simply this: only about 20 to 25 percent of the career/technical students are in classrooms with such rich embedded academic learning experiences.
Intensive Emphasis on Integrating Academic means experiencing at least four to six indicators of integrated academics suggests that the school has an intensive emphasis on integrating academic content and skills in CT courses. Students report that:
Their career/technical teachers often stress reading.
Their career/technical teachers often stress writing.
Their career/technical teachers often stress mathematics.
They use mathematics to complete challenging assignments in their career/technical area at last weekly.
They read and interpret technical books and manuals to complete assignments in their career/technical area at least weekly.
They use computer skills to do assignments in their career/technical studies at least weekly.
Averages were calculated by summing the gain in the percentages of students with intensive emphasis on integrated academics and meeting the performance goals in reading and mathematics. (Note: Science Excluded) and dividing by 2.
Source: HSTW Assessment
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25. Key Practice #6 and #7 Engage students actively in learning and increase access to academic studies that teach college-preparatory content through functional and applied strategies.
Students achieve at a higher level if they:
Use academic knowledge and skills – reading, writing, math and science – for learning in other classes.
Have learning experiences that allows them to use simple real-world problems to advance student understanding of academic concepts.
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26. Engaging Literacy Practices and Higher Achievement
Students frequently:
revise written work to improve quality;
complete short writing reflective assignments;
discuss readings with other students;
read books outside of class and demonstrate understanding;
Students have higher achievement if they have opportunities across the curriculum to reflect on what they are learning and to put it into their own words. Getting faculty to take ownership for stressing literacy across the curriculum involves changing mindsets. Teachers must understand that literacy is not just the responsibility of language arts teachers; all faculty must give assignments that engage students in reading, writing and speaking in the language of the field.
These successful practices include having students frequently:
revise essays or other written work to improve quality;
complete short writing assignments of 1-3 pages in all classes at least weekly;
giving students an opportunity to frequently discuss with other students what they have read;
getting students to read books outside of class frequently and demonstrate understanding.
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27. Literacy Experiences Across the Curriculum and Higher Reading Achievement
Low 28% moderate 44% intensive 28%
Low 0-3 moderate 4-6 intensive 7-10
Students’ reading achievement in both middle grades and high school is impacted by the intensity of the literacy practices they have experienced across the curriculum.
71 percent of the students in 2008 met the HSTW readiness goals in reading who had intensive literacy experience across all classes.
59 percent met the readiness goals in reading who had moderate experiences.
Only 41 percent of the students met the reading goals with low literacy experiences.
Source: 2008 HSTW Assessment and Student Survey
SC 2009 Orientation

28. Engaging Numeracy Practices and Higher Achievement
Students:
take math the senior year;
solve real-world problems;
use math to complete career/technical assignments;
use graphing calculators; and
work with other students on assignments.
Just as engaging students in reading and writing for learning in all content areas advances both reading and discipline achievement, engaging students across the curriculum in using numeracy knowledge and skills is associated with higher math achievement. Math is learned more thoroughly and retained longer if students are engaged in using math not only in their math classes, but also in other classes. Math is a tool for thinking and solving problems in other disciplines.
Being engaged with math every year, including the senior year, improves math achievement and reduces the chance of having to take remedial courses after high school.
Using math to solve real-world problems, in the math class and in other classes, improves math achievement.
Giving students frequent math assignments in their vocational classes raises their math achievement.
Engaging students in using technology to do math, such as working with databases, spreadsheets and graphing calculators, seems to advance achievement.
Getting students to talk about math, to describe how they work problems, to work with other students on challenging problems and to brainstorm how to solve math problems all improve math achievement.
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29. Numeracy Experiences Across the Curriculum and Higher Mathematics Achievement
Intensive 39% Moderate 49% Low 12%
(8-11) Intensive (4-7) Moderate (0-3) Low
57 percent of the students met the HSTW math readiness goal who experienced intensive numeracy experiences across the curriculum.
54 percent met the math goal who had moderate numeracy experiences across the curriculum.
Only 36 percent of these students met the readiness goals who reported having very low numeracy experiences.
Source: 2008 HSTW Assessment and Student Survey
SC 2009 Orientation

30. Key Practice #8 Involve students and parents in a guidance and advisement system that ensures completion of an accelerated program of study and a major.
Student achievement improves at HSTW sites that increased the amount of time available for students to talk with counselors and teachers about planning a program of study. Achievement in mathematics and science is lower in schools where teachers and counselors do not work with individual students in developing four-year educational plans and in seeing they get the support needed to successfully complete the programs of study.
Southern Regional Education Board
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31. A Supportive Guidance System Matters
Clear goals
Focused program of study
Students have someone who cares
Students believe in themselves
Students get needed services
A guidance and advisement system matters if the goal is to encourage students to choose and complete challenging academic and technical courses in which they have an interest
The guidance program helps students and their parents make key decisions, including what to do after graduation. Exploring options and identifying goals — and reviewing and revising them as needed. Too many students and parents find out too late in a student’s high school career that they are not prepared for further study or a career.
In an effective guidance system, students are encouraged to take more challenging courses that will prepare them to achieve a goal rather than a diploma. A focused program has a solid academic core and a career or academic major or concentration. Having a focused program of study helps students connect their studies with what they want to do after graduation. This motivates them to work harder.
Students who are known by and cared about by an adult will not “slip through the cracks.” Students remain motivated when one person believes in them and listens to them. An effective guidance program is structured to assure that students have at least one such adult in the system who will know who they are, be aware of their progress, encourage them and help them make decisions.
Students begin to believe in themselves and their abilities when significant adults are committed to help them develop their potential. They also are encouraged to believe in themselves when they see that their school expects them to meet high standards and will give them the help they need to do so.
The guidance program links students to support services they need to successfully complete a challenging program of study. This includes extra help, career guidance and work-based learning and providing personal and emotional support where needed.
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32. Effective Guidance System and Higher Achievement
Intensive 63% Moderate 33% Low 5%
Intensive (6-8) Moderate (3-5) Low (0-2)
Among HSTW sites, 63 percent of students at all schools in 2008 experienced intensive guidance practices. 33 percent in the network attended schools that made a moderate effort in guidance practices. Only 5 percent were from schools where little effort was made in an effective guidance system.
This slide certainly conveys the importance of connecting every student to an adult who assists them in setting goals and a program of study for achieving that goal. Students who had adult adviser/mentors, who was assisted in setting goals often with parent involvement and who had a program of study for achieving their goal significantly more meet college- and career-readiness goals than students who had less intensive support from adults in the school. Often it is the poor students who do not get the assistance they need. HSTW is based on the notion that relationships between students and adults are important for every individual in order for them to feel that they belong, that they have an adult who believes in them and that they have a goal and a plan through high school.
Source: 2008 HSTW Assessment and Student Survey
SC 2009 Orientation

33. Key Practice #9 Provide a structured system of extra help to enable students to meet higher standards.
Most-improved schools have found they cannot stop with raising standards or enrolling students in more difficult courses; they must provide a system of extra help to assure that students will have the opportunity and ability to meet higher standards.
A structured system of quality extra help will enable high school students to complete an accelerated program of study and to meet rigorous and consistent standards.
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34. Conditions Under Which Extra Help Improves Achievement the Most
Students get extra help without much difficulty.
Help is frequently provided by the teacher.
Students receive extra help to pass more demanding courses.
Students are held to higher literacy standards in all classes.
Students are in classrooms with higher expectations.
Schools that improve achievement do so by enabling students to get extra help without much difficulty.
This extra-help is frequently provided by their teacher.
Students are given extra help to meet standards in higher-level courses. Students achieve at a higher level when they take demanding courses and receive quality extra help to meet higher standards. There is little to be gained in helping students pass low-level courses.
Extra help in reading and writing is wasted unless students are required to read and write in all classes.
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35. Quality Extra Help and Higher Achievement
Intensive 34% Moderate 21% Low45% Intensive (3-4) Moderate (2) Low (0-1)
Students in High Schools That Work network who received high quality extra help and received it timely as needed are more likely to meet the HSTW readiness goals than students who found it hard to get quality extra help.
By the same token, students who find extra help readily available are more likely to be enrolled in higher-level academic courses. Enrolling students into challenging mathematics courses pays dividends if students are held to high standards and receive help to meet them.
This slide clearly reveals that students who get intensive extra help, get it timely from their teacher are more likely to meet college- and career-readiness standards than students who fail to get it timely and who may not even get it at all.
Source: 2008 HSTW Assessment and Student Survey
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36. Extra-Help/Transition Strategies
“Fast start” seven and eight
Summer bridge program
Catch-up program in grade nine
Make students independent learners – Teach study skills
Continuous extra help and extra time
Readiness course grade 12
Good high schools work with their primary feeder middle grades school to help them identify students as early as grade seven who are not going to be ready for grade nine. They assist them through a variety of programs to accelerate instruction so that more of the students will be ready for challenging high school work.
Often high schools and middle grades students plan together a four-week summer bridge program for those students who have failed to demonstrate readiness for high school. These programs concentrate on reading, mathematics, study skills and personal and career goal setting. Teachers are drawn both from the high school and middle grades and there is an effort to get some of the best teachers to teach in the program.
Grade nine good schools identify those students who are not ready for real Algebra I, college-preparatory language arts and they provide them with a 90-day catch-up course to address those deficits they have in reading, writing and in mathematics in order to be ready for Algebra I and college-preparatory English.
The emphasis in middle grades to ninth grade transition is about teaching students study skills and good habits. Good schools build these into the regular curriculum and require students to practice those skills as they take on assignments.
Many effective schools, both in middle grades and high school, are built on the notion that failure is not an option. Students who fail to meet course standards at grade level are required to redo and relearn until they can demonstrate grade-level work. Throughout middle grades and high school, good schools provide continuous extra help and extra time support.
Effective schools identify students in grade 11 who are planning to go on for postsecondary studies, make sure they take a placement exam and those who demonstrate deficits in reading, writing and mathematics are enrolled in a special redesigned senior English or mathematics course or both.
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37. Key Practice #10 Use student assessment and program evaluation data to continuously improve curriculum, instruction, school climate, organization and management to advance student learning.
Schools that are committed to change know they need to create a climate of continuous school improvement. Successful schools involve their teachers in using data to track progress on key indicators of school practices and performance.
Each year, involve the school leadership in looking at what worked and what needs improving to improve college- and career-readiness and high school completion rates and involve the staff in the process of making the needed improvements.
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SC 2009 Orientation

38. Using Data to Keep Score Matters
Clarify where you are
Inspire change
Determine progress
Link achievement and practices
Change what doesn’t work
Celebrate accomplishments
Collecting and studying data about student achievement and school and classroom practices help schools clarify where they are and where they want to be on critical issues relating to student learning.
Getting a realistic view of student achievement and the major factors that contribute to the current level of student achievement can inspire school leaders and teachers to make changes in what and how students are taught. Most-improved schools are continually evaluating their programs and seeking new ideas.
Teachers are more inspired when they take leadership roles in collecting and analyzing data from assessment sources. When they have been involved in determining needed changes, they have more ownership in the effort.
Measuring achievement is where “the rubber hits the road.” When schools see gains in student achievement, they see that their changes are having an impact. If achievement is not improving, school leaders and teachers know more work is needed.
Linking achievement data to school practices gives schools a basis for evaluating what is working and what is not, deciding what needs attention, and revising an approach or trying a new one if needed.
Schools need to recognize their progress and celebrate their accomplishments. Change takes commitment and energy over a long period of time. Make positive gains helps a staff realize their efforts are paying off and motivates them to continue even when they encounter problems.
Southern Regional Education Board
SC 2009 Orientation

39. Leadership Practices and Higher Achievement
Goals and priorities are clear.
The school maintains a demanding yet supportive climate.
Teachers meet to examine student work.
Teachers search for new ideas.
Teachers at HSTW sites completed a survey regarding practices that promote continuous improvement.
More teachers at the top 75 HSTW sites than at other schools highly agreed with the following statements:
Goals and priorities for this school are clear.
Teachers in this school maintain a demanding, yet supportive environment.
The principal meets with groups of teachers to examine students’ work to determine if it meets standards.
Teachers in this school continually learn and seek new ideas.
Southern Regional Education Board
SC 2009 Orientation

40. Top 100 Implementation Sites vs
Top 100 Implementation Sites vs. All Other Sites: Faculty Perceptions on Continuous School Improvement
This slide conveys that if teachers perceive that the school leadership has clear goals and priorities, maintains a demanding yet supportive climate, works with teachers to better understand what grade-level work looks like and is constantly pushing to try new proven ideas, then these will be higher-achieving schools. High-performing and high-implementation schools are much more likely to have teachers who perceive that the school leadership is about continuous improvement. Teachers in low-achieving schools perceive the leadership being ineffective and is not focusing on the kind of continuous improvement that makes for advancement in student learning.
2008 teacher Continuous Improvement percentages are calculated by excluding the missing cased: 3% for top schools and 4% for others.
Source: 2008 HSTW Assessment and Student and Teacher Survey
SC 2009 Orientation

41. Teach all students an accelerated curriculum
Key Condition 1: Continuous Improvement of Curriculum, Instruction and Student Achievement
A clear mission statement – Graduate students prepared for postsecondary study and a career
Teach all students an accelerated curriculum
Believe students’ learning is first
Assess, prioritize, plan, do, evaluate and plan
Superior schools focus on the core mission graduating students who enroll in grade nine, graduating them within four years and making sure that they are prepared for further study and for a career.
Southern Regional Education Board
SC 2009 Orientation

42. School leadership teams
Key Condition 2: District and School Leadership Focus on Using Key Practices As a Guide to School Improvement
School leadership teams
Instructional teams that focus on core groups of students – on what is taught, how it is assessed and how students become independent learners
Broader definition of rigor
Feedback from students
The most improved schools in the HSTW network use the HSTW goals, key practices and assessment to keep the focus on teaching students a meaningful yet rigorous curriculum, making sure every student has a goal beyond high school and is becoming an independent learner. These schools use feedback from students to change what and how they teach students and what they expect of them.
Southern Regional Education Board
SC 2009 Orientation

43. Key Condition 3: School Board Support for Replacing the General Track
Improve the middle grades to high school transition – refocused ninth grade
Improve high school to college and career transition – revitalized senior year
Have all students complete challenging academic core and focus
A career-focused program of study
Make co-curricular activities an essential part of the high school curriculum
School boards that have a host of improving schools, have ended the general track, support the transition from middle grades to high school, look to revitalize the senior year, set graduation policies that have all students completing a solid academic core with either an academic or career focus. They recognize that co-curricular activities are an essential part of the high school curriculum.
Southern Regional Education Board
SC 2009 Orientation

44. Key Condition 4: District Leaders Support School Leaders and Teachers to Carry Out Key Practices
Financial support for materials
Time for teachers to plan together
Support at least 10 days of staff development annually focused on educators’ needs to improve student learning
Encourage planning among academic and technical teachers; high schools and career centers; and between high schools, middle grades schools and postsecondary schools
High schools making the most progress most often are supported by a school district superintendent and school board with additional financial support to provide teachers with common planning time, with staff development that is aligned to the reform initiative the schools are trying to implement. These schools make it possible for high school and middle grades teachers to plan together, for academic and career/technical teachers to plan together and for high school and postsecondary teachers to plan together to better align their curriculum and instruction.
Southern Regional Education Board
SC 2009 Orientation

45. Key Condition 5: Allow Schools to Adopt a Flexible Schedule
Allow students to earn more credits
Adopt policy to recognize hands-on, interdisciplinary and experiential learning
Reduce teacher load to no more than 80 students per day
Make greater use of off-site learning opportunities
Adopt policy to embed academics into CT courses
Good schools provide flexible scheduling. They do not try to fit all schools into a single scheduling format. They recognize that teachers can only make so many preparations a day and can only have a close working relationship with so many students. These schools form partnerships with postsecondary institutions, area career/technical centers and with employers to provide students’ learning needs off the high school campus.
They provide time for teams of teachers to plan cross-curriculum learning experiences.
HSTW works when it is implemented, when it becomes a part of the culture of the school.
Southern Regional Education Board
SC 2009 Orientation