CUBE Leadership Training Workshop

1
CUBE Leadership Training Workshop
Part 2 School Reform- Key Components for Change

• john a. powell
• Williams Chair in Civil Rights Civil Liberties,
  Moritz College of Law. Director, Kirwan Institute
• May 12, 2005

2
Overview

• We have seen what school boards can do to operate
  more efficiently, effectively and communally
• We also saw how that is limited in its scope of
  what it can achieve
• Targeted strategies inside the schools and in the
  community are needed as well, to work towards
  remedying the disparities present in urban
  education today

3
Overview

• Model for Disparate Outcomes
• Defining and Remedying Disparities in Education
• Internal Factors
• External Factors
• Case Studies
• District Initiatives
• Success Stories
• Graduation Rates
• Summary Next Steps

4

• Education is perhaps the most important crucible
  for remedying disparities, enhancing life
  opportunities, and promoting a genuine
  multiracial and multi-ethnic democracy.
• -john a. powell

5
Disparities in Education
6
Why Racial Ethnic Equity?

• Why should interventions include an explicit
  focus on race and ethnicity? Shouldnt solutions
  be designed for everyone?
• There are deep and pervasive disparities between
  urban and suburban schools, schools where the
  majority are students of color and those where
  primarily white students attend, and even between
  whites and students of color in the same school
• If we do not focus on it explicitly, we cannot
  remedy it our solutions cannot be colorblind
  until our society is
• Further, interventions which target racial
  disparities and reduce segregation DO lead to
  improvement for everyone
• The Supreme Court in Grutter in 2002 asserted
  that integrated, equitable education is a
  necessity for the American economic system and
  national security

7
We are all caught up in an inescapable network
of mutuality, tied in a single garment of
destiny. Whatever effects one directly effects
all indirectly. -The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther
King, Jr.
8
Disparities in Education

• Despite increasingly racially diverse public
  school K-12 enrollment, white students are
  experiencing more isolation from black and Latino
  students
• Research by the Harvard Civil Rights Project has
  found school segregation on the increase since
  the 1980s
• Further, there is a large gap between the
  resources available to districts with a majority
  of students of color and districts with a
  majority of white students
• Racial isolation in schools strongly corresponds
  to economic isolation in schools
• Only 15 of schools that are 90-100 white are
  high poverty, but 86 of segregated black and
  Latino schools (90-100 minority) are high poverty

Source http//www.civilrightsproject.harvard.edu
9
Achievement Gap

• It is not surprising then, that there is a
  significant achievement gap between African
  American and white students
• For African American students between the ages of
  13 and 17, the gap widened between 1988 and 1994
• The National Assessment of Educational Progress
  found that amongst eighth grade students, only
  14 of African Americans were rated as being
  proficient in reading while 45 of their white
  peers were
• African American males in particular lag behind
  every other group in educational attainment

Status and Trends in the Education of Blacks.
2003 Report Published by the National Center for
Education Statistics. The Nations Report Card,
2003 Reading Results published by the National
Assessment of Educational Progress.
10
Attribution of Racial Ethnic Disparities

• In order to address these disparities we must
  examine our beliefs surrounding them- What do you
  attribute disparities to?
• Historically disparities were established and
  reinforced through inscription in the laws and
  practices, however, today policies and laws are
  facially neutral
• Disparities have also been attributed to
  individual/personal racism, yet research shows
  that attitudes have been improving, even though
  disparities have not

11
Attribution of Racial Ethnic Disparities

• So what then do we attribute these disparities to
  if they are not explained by personal
  discrimination or explicit laws and policies?
  When do disparities matter?
• Three sources
• Biology Much less prevalent today, but the
  common 19th century theory of racial, ethnic, and
  gender inferiority
• Individuals Culture Idea that individuals
  alone can (and should) rise above their
  conditions of poverty, and the idea of a
  defective culture of poverty
• Structures Institutions States that even
  within neutral arrangements and without racist
  actors, disparities can still exist

12
Model for Disparate Outcomes
Historically
Today
Biased Structures
De Jure Neutral Structures
Structural Racism
Disparate Outcomes
Disparate Outcomes
Individuals/ Culture
Structures/ Opportunity
13
Defining and Remedying Disparities in Education
14

• "It is precisely because education is the road
  to equality and citizenship, that it has been
  made more elusive for Negroes than many other
  rights. The walling off of Negroes from equal
  education is part of the historical design to
  submerge him in second class status. Therefore,
  as Negroes have struggled to be free they have
  had to fight for the opportunity for a decent
  education."
• -Martin Luther King, Jr., 14th March 1964

15
Current State of Schools

• Schools are in a state of crisis right now,
  especially in relation to the education of poor
  students and students of color
• Graduation rates
• Segregation
• In school performance/Tracking
• Disproportionate discipline rates
• Overrepresentation in special education
• Yet school boards are asked to do more and more
  with fewer resources

16
Effective Spending

• Urban school boards may feel constrained by
  tightly stretched budgets
• Although important, more money alone will not fix
  problems, need to strategically use resources
  through proven, targeted interventions
• What needs to be done to ensure spending
  generates the results your school board seeks?
• Define basic constructs
• Identify problem areas
• Define goals
• Review research on strategies to reach those
  goals
• Implement proven strategies
• Develop clear measures of success

17
Define Constructs

• Begin by collaboratively defining the role of
  education and its most important functions with
  parents, the superintendent, and the community
• Examples
• Develop good citizens/provide the social capital
  needed to take part in society
• Reduce stereotypes
• Prepare students for work or higher education
• Act as a leveler between the rich and the poor

18
Education Initiatives
The function of education is to teach one to
think intensively and to think critically....Intel
ligence plus character-that is the goal of true
education. -Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The
Purpose of Education Speech
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Identify Problem Areas

• With the understanding of the overarching mission
  of your district, evaluate your success in
  achieving it
• Identify areas of weakness in each school, and
  the district as a whole
• Following are ten common characteristics of
  school failure, evaluate these with your school
  district in mind
• Which (if any) describe your schools?
• What (if anything) is currently being done to
  address these?

20
Identify Problem Areas

• Ten common characteristics of school failure
• Highly transient teaching staff
• Inadequately trained teachers
• Inadequate textbooks and computers
• Decrepit facilities
• Overcrowded conditions
• A failure to give adequate attention to the
  core-curriculum
• A lack of administrative leadership
• Class-sizes that are too large for the many high
  need children in the classes
• School buildings that house too many students to
  give children and parents a sense of community
• An inability to involve parents in the activities
  of the school
• Inadequate programs in art, music and athletics
• http//www.nyclu.org/education_reform_testimony_12
  1203.html

21
Define Goals

• Once the mission is defined and problem areas are
  identified, begin collectively defining goals
• Can be multiple
• To curb declining enrollment
• To narrow the achievement gap
• Reduce stereotypes
• Increase graduation rates
• Impact students self esteem
• Improve test scores
• Ensure students are receiving more accurate,
  comprehensive information
• Promote positive cross racial interaction
• Increase the number of students going on to
  college

22
Factors in Education That Reinforce Disparities
An equity-centered, multi-faceted approach is
needed to drive a wedge in those factors which
perpetuate and compound disparities
23
Reaching Educational Goals

• In considering ways to accomplish these goals,
  think broadly
• As we have seen, structural racism is deep,
  pervasive, and complex, and is intertwined with
  our societal institutions, including education
• This infection has led to, and perpetuates
  disparities between white students and students
  of color
• In our attempts to remedy disparities, we must
  look not only at the internal factors in school
  that add to the problem, but the external factors
  that exacerbate it as well

24
Reaching Educational Goals Internal Factors

• Example Consider the common goal of increasing
  academic achievement and narrowing the
  achievement gap in an urban school-how would you
  suggest accomplishing that?
• Research shows us that there are multiple factors
  within the school, or internal factors that
  influence that students performance including
• Overrepresentation of students of color in
  special education
• Higher discipline rates of students of color
• Lack of multicultural curriculum
• Experience levels of teachers
• Lack of diversity among teaching staff
• Tracking

25
Academic Achievement Internal Factors
Special Education

• Although African Americans represent 16of
  elementary and secondary enrollments, they
  constitute 21 of total enrollments in special
  education
• (U.S. Department of Education, 1998)
• African American males are three times as likely
  to be placed in special education than white
  males
• (Coutinho, M.J. Oswald, D.P. Best, M. The
  Influence of Sociodemographics and Gender on the
  Disproportionate Identification of Minority
  Students as Having Learning Disabilities)
• Poor African American children are 2.3 times more
  likely to be identified by their teacher as
  having mental retardation than their White
  counterparts
• (Oswald, Coutinho, Best, and Singh, 1999. Ethnic
  Representation in Special Education)
• Large urban programs are far more likely to have
  higher percentages of minority and poor children
  in special education than rural programs
• (Patton, 1998. The disproportionate
  representation of African Americans in special
  education).
• Almost 75 of diagnoses of mild mental
  retardation are linked to various
  socioeconomic-related environmental contingencies
• (U.S. Department of Education, 1998)

26
Academic Achievement Internal Factors
Discipline Rates

• African American males have been found across
  multiple studies to be subjected to greater, and
  more harsh disciplinary measures, with suspension
  rates more than double those of their white male
  counterparts

Source 1992 Office of Civil Rights Report as
cited in Fremon, C. Hamilton, S.R. (1997). Are
Schools Failing Black Boys? Parenting Magazine.
27
Academic Achievement Internal Factors
Multicultural Curriculum

• Need to focus not only on what is taught in
  low-income, urban schools, but how it is taught
• Research suggests that the incorporation of a
  multicultural curriculum may be a modest positive
  impact on academic achievement
• One study however implies that this impact may be
  less a factor of the simple incorporation of
  other cultures into the curriculum, and more due
  to the revision of teaching method and techniques
• The incorporation of a multicultural curriculum
  also has been shown to have positive effects on
  students self esteem

28
Academic Achievement Internal Factors
Teacher Experience
Poor and minority students get more inexperienced
teachers.
Teachers with 3 or fewer years of experience.
Highand low refer to top and bottom
quartiles. Source National Center for Education
Statistics, Monitoring Quality An Indicators
Report, December 2000. As referenced on
www.edtrust.org
29
Academic Achievement Internal Factors
Teacher Experience

• The more impoverished and racially isolated a
  school, the greater the likelihood that students
  in the school will be taught by inexperienced
  teachers, uncertified teachers, and out-of-field
  teachers who do not hold a degree in the subject
  they are assigned to teach1
• Teacher quality is a stronger predictor of
  student achievement than variables such as
  student socioeconomic status, the racial/ethnic
  composition of the school, and the average level
  of achievement of the entire school2

Sources 1. Prince, Cynthia. 2002. The Challenge
of Attracting Good Teachers and Principals to
Struggling Schools. American Association of
School Administrators. 2. Darling-Hammond, L.
(1995). Inequality and access to knowledge. In
J.A. Banks C.A. McGee Banks (Eds.), Handbook of
research on multicultural education. 2. 1.
Sanders, W.L., Rivers, J.C. (1996.) Cumulative
and residual effects of teachers on
future student academic achievement. University
of Tennessee Value-Added Research and Assessment
Center.
30
Academic Achievement Internal Factors
Teacher Experience

• Ferguson found that teacher expertise (as
  measured by performance on state teacher
  assessments, years of teaching experience, and
  completion of an advanced degree), accounted for
  roughly 40 of the variance in student
  achievement on standardized tests in reading and
  mathematics in Texas1
• When socioeconomic status was controlled, the
  effects of teacher expertise were so strong that
  the achievement gap between black and white
  students was almost entirely explained by
  differences in teacher qualifications1
• The effects of teacher expertise on student
  learning are long lasting. One study found that
  third graders who were taught by weak teachers
  three years in a row scored more than 50
  percentile points lower by Grade 5 than did
  students who had been assigned highly effective
  teachers2

Sources 2. Ferguson, R. (1991, Summer). Paying
for public education New evidence on how and why
money matters. Harvard Journal of Legislation 28.
2. Prince, Cynthia. 2002. The Challenge of
Attracting Good Teachers and Principals to
Struggling Schools. American Association of
School Administrators.
31
Academic Achievement Internal Factors
Teacher Diversity

• In 2001 African American teachers represented 7
  of the public school teaching force, whereas
  African American students represented 17.1 of
  the public school student population1
• In 1990, more than 70 of all teachers were
  middle-aged, white, and female2
• 85 of the students currently enrolled in
  undergraduate teacher education programs are
  white females3

Sources 1. The Harvard Civil Rights Project.
Brown at 50 Kings Dream or Plessys Nightmare?
2. Trent, W.T. (1990). Race and ethnicity in the
teacher education curriculum. Teachers College
Record. 3. Gursky, D. (2002). Recruiting minority
teachers. American Teacher.
32
Academic Achievement Internal Factors
Teacher Diversity

• Racially and ethnically diverse educators serve
  as role models, encourage students to perform
  better, better understand cultural differences,
  and break down the students' stereotypes3
• Research has shown the tendency of teachers to
  perceive the academic potential of black and
  white students differently1
• Salinas (2002) suggests the extremely low
  percentage of minority teachers in public schools
  has led to a high dropout rate among minority
  students3
• Teachers of color are less likely to expel and
  suspend students of color, and less likely to
  assign them to lower track and special education
  courses2

Sources 1. Ferguson, R. F. (1998). Teachers'
perceptions and expectations and the black-white
test score gap. 2. Denn, Rebekah. (2002) Black
Teachers are Hard to Find. Seattle
Post-Intelligencer. 3. Salinas, J.P. (2002) The
Effectiveness of Minority Teachers on Minority
Student Success.
33
Academic Achievement Internal Factors
Tracking

• African Americans are half as likely to be in a
  gifted class than white students1
• Through tracking schools can often communicate
  the implicit message that some students are
  expected to achieve, while others are not
• The use of tracking increases when there are
  sizable enrollments of black and Hispanic
  students2
• Low-income students of color outnumber
  middle-class white students in lower track
  classes by as many as seven times3

1. Ford, D. Y., Harris, J. J., III. (1996).
Perceptions and attitudes of Black students
toward school, achievement and other educational
variables. Child Development, 67, 1141-1152. 2.
Braddock, J. H. (1990). Tracking Implications
for student race-ethnic groups. Baltimore John
Hopkins University, Center for Research on
Effective Schooling for Disadvantaged Students.
3. Rand Corporation Study as cited by Sanders, R.
Holt, W. (2001). Still separate and unequal
Public education more than 40 years
after Brown. In Motion Magazine..
34
Reaching Educational Goals External Factors

• At every opportunity structure, students are
  impacted in ways that extend into the school. To
  make a lasting difference we cannot work in
  isolation of the other structures, but instead
  must recognize the collective, holistic nature of
  society and the multiple factors that impact an
  individual

35
Reaching Educational Goals External Factors

• In addition to those internal factors that
  influence an urban students academic
  achievement, particularly low-income African
  American or Hispanic students, there are multiple
  variables outside the school, or external factors
  that have an impact as well
• A few of these include
• Segregation/Integration
• Concentrated Poverty
• Environmental factors
• Nutrition
• Early childhood education
• And many more

36
Academic Achievement External Factors

• Integration

• Mickelson (1997) found that the more students
  (both black and white) that were exposed to
  desegregated education, the better were their
  academic achievements (as measured by
  standardized tests), and the higher their
  secondary track placements

Source Mickelson, Roslyn. (2003). The Academic
Consequences Of Desegregation And
Segregation. Chart Orfield, G. Lee, C. Brown
at 50 Kings Dream or Plessys Nightmare? The
Harvard Civil Rights Project
37
Academic Achievement External Factors
Integration

• Recent research shows that attending an
  integrated school with diversity an integral part
  of the curriculum leads to the following, for all
  students
• Higher levels of reasoning
• Reduced prejudice
• Increased perspective taking
• The opportunity to interact with others in deeper
  ways
• A stronger commitment to multiculturalism and
  promotion of racial understanding
• These same environmental characteristics have
  long-term positive impacts on students, including
  higher completion rates of college, greater
  overall college satisfaction, higher college GPA,
  and greater intellectual and social
  self-confidence

Chang, M. J. (Winter 1996). Who benefits from
racial diversity in higher education? Diversity
Digest. Conrad, B. D. (1988). Cooperative
learning and prejudice reduction. Social
Education, 52, 283-286. Mickelson, R. (2003). The
academic consequences of desegregation and
segregation. North Carolina Law Review, 81,
1513-1562. Astin, A. (March/April 1993).
Diversity and multiculturalism on the campus How
are students affected? Change.
38
Academic Achievement External Factors
Concentrated Poverty

• Resources are tied to property values segregated
  inner-city schools have less resources
• In 86 of states, school districts with the
  greatest numbers of poor children have less money
  to spend per pupil than districts with the fewest
  poor children

• Studies have suggested that one of the greatest
  predictors of student success is the SES of the
  school
• A middle-class school is twenty-four times as
  likely to be consistently high performing as a
  high-poverty school

Source The Century Foundation (2004). Can
Separate Be Equal? www.tcf.org
39
Academic Achievement External Factors
Concentrated Poverty

• Low-income students attending middle-class
  schools perform higher, on average, than
  middle-class children attending high-poverty
  schools

Source The Century Foundation (2004). Can
Separate Be Equal? www.tcf.org
40
Academic Achievement External Factors
Environment

• Environmental factors affect cognitive
  development including exposure to chemicals and
  toxins
• More than one in ten children in families
  receiving welfare had asthma in 2002, nearly
  twice the national average. Higher levels of
  vacant housing are also associated with a 40
  increased risk of asthma among children over the
  age of two.
• Elevated levels of lead are nearly 9 times above
  average in communities where 20 of children
  under the age of 5 are living in poverty. Even at
  very low levels of lead in the blood, children's
  IQ points and their cognitive learning skills can
  be altered. One 2002 study reported that six
  million children have lost an average of more
  than 7 IQ points as a result of lead exposure.
• African American and Hispanic children are also
  less likely to have insurance and have overall
  poorer health status compared to white children

Sources http//www.childtrendsdatabank.org/,
Institute of Medicine, 2000. From Neurons to
Neighborhoods.
41
Academic Achievement External Factors
Nutrition

• Nutritional deficiencies have deleterious impacts
  on a childs ability to learn and perform in
  school
• Poor and minority children are at an increased
  risk of developing iron deficiency, which leads
  to long-term lower scores on measures of mental
  and motor functioning

42
Academic Achievement External Factors
ECE

• Good child care and early learning contribute
  immensely to the health and growth of children,
  as well as to their physical, emotional, social,
  linguistic, and intellectual development1
• The developing brain of a child undergoes
  architectural and structural changes based on
  experiences.
• Early exposure to a wide range of learning
  experience has a positive impact on brain
  development2
• In essence, the more we learn the more we are
  capable of learning in the future
• Studies have found that the more positive
  environment a high-income child, as compared to a
  low-income child experiences, accounts for as
  much as half of the gap in test scores in
  pre-school children, and one-third of the gap in
  achievement scores for school age children3

Sources 1. Childcare Research and Resource Unit.
www.childcarecanada.org. 2. Wesson, K.A., (2002).
Memory and the Brain How Teaching Leads to
Learning. http//www.nais.org/pubs/ismag.cfm?file_
id1382ismag_id21 3. Institute of Medicine,
2000. From Neurons to Neighborhoods The
Science of Early Childhood Development.
http//books.nap.edu/books/0309069882/html/index.h
tml
43
Examples of Success
We know that there is no single panacea to
ensure academic success. Ultimately, as our
findings suggest, a confluence of factors
determines whether or not a school works for
its students. -HEAD OF THE CLASS
Characteristics of Higher Performing Urban High
Schools in Massachusetts Massachusetts
44
Moving Forward

• In light of the multiple, compounding disparities
  discussed here that low income students of color
  face, it is easy to become discouraged and
  overwhelmed in trying to achieve substantive
  change
• However, some school boards around the country
  have implemented initiatives to narrow the
  disparity gap and alleviate racial and ethnic
  inequities in their district

45
Urban District Initiatives

• Boston Public Schools
• Acknowledged that schools alone can not address
  every student need in the classroom
• Established collaboration between parents,
  teachers, counselors, crisis and prevention
  services, and the community

• 60,774 Students
• 47 Black 30 Hispanic
• 74 eligible to receive free meals
• 19 enrolled in special education programs (above
  the 13 national average)

• Established system supports which
• were integrated with the curriculum, to enhance
  teaching and learning and accelerate student
  achievement
• Reform discussions and meetings were held with
  faith leaders, violence prevention agencies,
  higher education partners, community members, and
  parents of students with disabilities and
  bilingual needs. In total, nearly 600 individuals
  were involved
• Outcome evaluations which reached beyond
  standardized testing were established to measure
  the success of these interventions

Source National Institute for Urban School
Improvement
46
Urban District Initiatives

• Minneapolis Public Schools
• Twelve Point Plan for Improving the Academic
  Performance and Graduation Rates of Students of
  Color
• An attempt to bring the district and community
  together in a more focused and intentional effort
  toward accelerating academic achievement through
• Using student data to direct action
• Creating a more diverse workforce in the school
  district
• Targeting resources to needy schools
• Reducing over-referral to special education
• Investing in school readiness through pre-school
  programs
• Increasing support for students with behavior
  related issues

Source Minneapolis Public Schools
http//rea.mpls.k12.mn.us/
47
Success Stories

• With targeted interventions such as these, some
  schools and districts around the country have
  seen measures of success
• Although none offer an inexpensive, magic bullet
  to comprehensively alleviate disparities, they
  give us examples of and hope for what can be
  accomplished

48
Success Stories-Detracking

• South Side High School in Rockville Centre, NY
  achieved measurable results from detracking
• With the large scale structural changes that are
  needed, but limited resources, it is important to
  find the most cost-effective, long term
  components of change
• Identify leverage points- Math!
• Students whose parents never attended college
  more than doubled their chances of enrolling in a
  four-year college if they took high school math
  courses beyond Algebra 2.1
• Taking advanced math in high school was more
  strongly associated with successful completion of
  college than any other factor, including high
  school grade point average and socioeconomic
  status.2

1 Horn, L. Nunez, A.M. (2000). Mapping the
road to college First-generation students math
track, planning strategies and context of support
(NCES 2000-153). Washington, DC US Department of
Education. 2 Adelman, C. (1999). Answers in the
tool box Academic intensity, attendance patterns
and bachelors degree attainment. Washington, DC
US Department of Education, Office of Educational
Research.
49
Success Stories-Detracking

• The Problem
• Tracking Tracking contributes to low math
  performance rather than addressing it. Low-track
  classes are characterized by an exclusive focus
  on basic skills, low expectations, and the least
  qualified teachers
• Psychological and social implications Tracking
  stigmatizes children, decreases self-esteem and
  self-efficacy, reinforces racial and cultural
  stereotypes and hierarchies, and offers fewer
  opportunities for students to interact. Promotes
  in-school segregation!

50
Success Stories-Detracking

• The Solution
• Eliminate math tracking and provide accelerated
  math instruction for ALL students at Southside
  High School in Rockville Centre, N.Y
• The Results
• More students in advanced math courses in middle
  and high school
• Substantial gains in overall math achievement
• Higher scores on advanced placement exams in
  calculus
• These achievements include ALL students initial
  low achievers, initial high achievers, students
  of different socioeconomic levels and racial
  background

51
Success Stories-Detracking
Source Burris, C. C. (2004). When excellence and
equity thrive. Education Week. 23, 32.
52
Success Stories-Early Childhood Education

• The Problem
• Low reading assessments scores in elementary
  school among black and Hispanic students in
  Montgomery County, North Carolina
• The Solution
• Significant gains were made with curriculum
  changes focusing on early interventions,
  specifically early childhood education.
  Pre-school reading programs were developed,
  full-day kindergarten was established and
  extended learning programs after school were
  implemented
• The Results
• The number of black students in second grade who
  passed local and national reading tests jumped 22
  percentage points between 2004-2005, to 61.
  Hispanic children experienced an increase of 25
  percentage points, to 54

http//www.mcps.k12.md.us/departments/superintende
nt/docs/early_success.pdf
53
Success Stories-Early Childhood Education

• The Problem
• At-risk students in North Carolina entering
  kindergarten were not as prepared as their
  affluent peers and were not being provided a
  sound basic education
• The Solution
• Low-income school districts sued the State,
  charging that children in their districts had
  been denied an adequate education because the
  States system of funding public education failed
  to provide adequate resources to the low-income
  districts
• Leandro v. State (1997)
• Hoke County Board of Education v. State of North
  Carolina (2004)
• The Results
• A early childhood education program, More at
  Four, was implemented which provides
  pre-kindergarten education to approximately
  12,000 disadvantaged four-year-olds annually

http//www.startingat3.org/_documents/Court20Deci
sions-North20Carolina.pdfsearch'north20carolin
a20case20kindergarten
54
Success Stories-Multicultural Curriculums

• The Problem
• Low student achievement scores amongst middle
  school students and inadequate preparation in
  math and science
• The Solution
• The Algebra Project was created, middle school
  math program utilizing innovative experiential
  strategies, on-going teacher education, and
  grassroots community leadership to increase
  student achievement in math, and prepare students
  to succeed in college-prep math and science
  courses at the high school level. Implemented at
  22 sites in 13 states across the South, the West
  Coast, the Midwest and the Northeast
• The Results
• Participants in The Algebra Project have shown
  increased AP student performance in mathematics,
  as well as greater numbers of AP students
  enrolling in higher level mathematics classes.
• Prior to the Algebra Project, no student from
  King School had ever passed the ninth grade
  placement test. However, during the Algebra
  Project's first five years (1982-1987) more than
  half the program's students took the exam and 79
  passed

http//www.algebra.org/index.html
55
Success Stories-Multicultural Curriculums

• The Problem
• In Ypsilanti, MI, a program was sought for grades
  3-6 to integrate the reading and writing
  curriculum in a way that bridged the gap between
  cultural experiences, prior knowledge, and verbal
  language/written text for culturally diverse and
  at-risk students
• The Solution
• Multicultural Literacy Program. Ypsilanti, MI.
  Using multicultural literature to increase
  reading engagement and comprehension for upper
  elementary students in Michigan. Includes a
  teacher education component where instruction is
  given on methods and techniques for integrating
  multicultural literature-based activities with
  the reading programs
• The Results
• Significantly improved reading comprehension,
  vocabulary development, and total reading
  performance, and posttest mean and gain scores
  were higher on the California Achievement Test
  (CAT). Attitudes toward reading, writing, and
  other cultures were significantly more positive,
  with African American students demonstrating
  greater gains than mainstream students

http//www.ed.gov/pubs/EPTW/eptw4/eptw4i.html
56
Success Stories-Attracting Experienced Teachers

• The Problem
• Difficulty attracting high quality teachers to
  low-income/urban schools
• The Solution
• Provide monetary and housing incentives
• The Results
• Teachers employed in certain low-performing
  Maryland Philadelphia schools are receiving
  cash incentives of 2,000 each
• In Fairfax County VA, nationally certified
  teachers can receive an additional 3,500
  annually by working in schools that serve large
  numbers of disadvantaged students
• In South Carolina, Teachers participating in the
  states Teacher Specialist On-Site Program for
  low-performing rural schools receive bonuses of
  19,000.
• Connecticut offers low-interest mortgages and
  assistance with down payments to teachers who
  work in high-poverty neighborhoods, as well as
  those with specialties in hard-to-fill subjects
• California offers teachers and administrators
  7,500 towards a housing down payment for a five
  year commitment to teach in a low-performing
  school

Source Cited in Prince, Cynthia. 2002. The
Challenge of Attracting Good Teachers and
Principals to Struggling Schools. American
Association of School Administrators.
57
Success Stories-Attracting Experienced Teachers

• The Problem
• Difficulty attracting and retaining high quality
  teachers because of high student/teacher ratio
• The Solution
• Reduce class sizes and incentivize teacher
  retention
• The Results
• Charlotte-Mecklenburg School District in North
  Carolina In the districts lowest-performing
  schools, student-teacher ratios were reduced and
  programs were implemented to help teachers in
  those schools earn masters degrees
• Prince Georges County, Maryland For schools on
  the states watch list, incentives such as
  reduced class sizes of 15 students or less have
  been implemented if teachers promise to remain in
  the schools for several years

Source Cited in Prince, Cynthia. 2002. The
Challenge of Attracting Good Teachers and
Principals to Struggling Schools. American
Association of School Administrators.
58
Success Stories-Desegregation

• The Problem
• Economic segregation in Wake County, North
  Carolina across the district
• The Solution
• School board adopted a policy stating
• No school should have more than 40 of students
  eligible for free or reduced price lunch.
• No school should have more than 25 of students
  reading below grade level.
• The Results
• The number of students living in school districts
  with economic integration programs is nearly
  500,000, up from 20,000 in 1999
• Today 91 of 3rd-8th graders in Wake perform at
  or above grade level in math and reading, up from
  84 in 1999
• 75 of low income kids reading at or above grade
  level, up from 56 in 1999
• 78 of African American children reading at or
  above grade level, up from 61 in 1999

Source Kahlenberg, R.D. (2004). Brown at 100.
The Century Foundation. http//www.tcf.org/4L/4LMa
in.asp?SubjectID4ArticleId562TopicId3
59
Success Stories-Desegregating Deconcentrating
Poverty

• County-wide school districts
• K-12 public education in Charlotte, NC is
  administered at the County level.
• This was the result of combining the Charlotte
  and Mecklenburg County districts, producing a
  more regionalized public education system.
• This policy (combined with other initiatives)
  reduces school segregation and provides a more
  equitable resource base for school districts.
• In contrast to most urban school districts,
  school segregation in the Charlotte region is
  lower than residential segregation.

60
Success Stories-Desegregating Deconcentrating
Poverty

• The consolidated school district (and reduced
  racial segregation) also correlate with less
  student poverty in the Charlotte school district
  (compared to other large urban districts)

Sources National Center for Education Statistics
and Mumford Institute
61
Success Stories-Desegregating Deconcentrating
Poverty

• Today the Charlotte school district is one of
  the least segregated large districts in the
  nation, with student performance much higher than
  other segregated major school districts.

Sources National Center for Education Statistics
and Mumford Institute
62
Success Stories-Closing the Achievement Gap

• Princeton City School District Cincinnati, Ohio
• 5,644 students enrolled
• 50.4 African Americans, 3.9 Hispanic, 40.3
  Whites
• Committed to closing the disparity gap for
  approximately 4 years
• The disparity gap in this district is rapidly
  improving so that school officials expect it to
  close in the next 3-5 years

Source Personal Communication and information
provided by V. Darleen Opfer, Ph.D. Director and
Associate Professor The Ohio Collaborative.
041003 Ohio District data-ucea Presentation trend
63
Success Stories-Closing the Achievement Gap
Source Charts prepared and provided by V.
Darleen Opfer, Ph.D. Director and Associate
Professor The Ohio Collaborative. Princeton Data
Graphs
64
Success Stories-Closing the Achievement Gap
Source Charts prepared and provided by V.
Darleen Opfer, Ph.D. Director and Associate
Professor The Ohio Collaborative. Princeton Data
Graphs
65
Success Stories-Closing the Achievement Gap

• Steubenville City Schools Steubenville, Ohio
• 2,236 students enrolled
• 33 African Americans, 57.6 Whites
• School district integrated since 1930s
• Explicit commitment to closing the disparity gap
  for over 30 years
• Currently there is no statistically significant
  disparity gap in this district

Source Personal Communication and information
provided by V. Darleen Opfer, Ph.D. Director and
Associate Professor The Ohio Collaborative.
041003 Ohio District data-ucea Presentation trend.
66
Success Stories-Closing the Achievement Gap
Source Charts prepared and provided by V.
Darleen Opfer, Ph.D. Director and Associate
Professor The Ohio Collaborative. Steubenville
District Data Graphs Name Corrected
67
Success Stories-Closing the Achievement Gap
Source Charts prepared and provided by V.
Darleen Opfer, Ph.D. Director and Associate
Professor The Ohio Collaborative. Steubenville
District Data Graphs Name Corrected
68
Success Stories-Closing the Achievement Gap
Source Charts prepared and provided by V.
Darleen Opfer, Ph.D. Director and Associate
Professor The Ohio Collaborative. Steubenville
District Data Graphs Name Corrected
69
Pursue Equity Excellence Will Follow

• All successful programs such as these have
  something in common Clear, explicit goals to
  achieve equity for all children. These goals are
  communicated to the parents, to the community and
  to the media and progress is reported on
• Montgomery County Schools and South Side High
  Schools implemented their programs with a
  specific focus on providing an opportunity for
  all students to achieve
• Carol Corbett Burris, Superintendent at South
  Side High School stated Every one of these
  achievements is a result of the pursuit of
  equity. Excellence followedTo pursue excellence
  without equity not only would be ineffective, it
  would make us feel ashamed.

Burris, C. C. (2004). When excellence and equity
thrive. Education Week. 23, 32.
70
Graduation Rates

• We have a tragic situation today under which
  high school graduation in America now is
  literally a 50-50 proposition for minority
  students.
• Christopher Edley, Co-Director Civil Rights
  Project of Harvard

71
Graduation Rates

• High school graduation rates have been falling in
  the United States- only 68 of the nations
  students graduated on-time from high school with
  regular diplomas in 2001.1
• For minority students, only 50 of Blacks, 51 of
  Native Americans, and 53 of Latinos graduated
  alongside their peers.1
• If there were a minimum graduation rate
  requirement of 66, 46 states and the District of
  Columbia would fail to meet this benchmark for
  the education of its student population as a
  whole or for at least one major racial or ethnic
  student group.2

1. http//www.civilrightsproject.harvard.edu/conve
nings/dropouts05/dropsouthern.php 2.
www.civilrightsproject.harvard.edu/research/reseg0
4/brown50.pdf
72
A Structural Perspective

• The problems plaguing our urban school districts
  are not in isolation of other structural
  arrangements
• In every state, districts with high minority
  concentrations had lower graduation rates than
  districts where whites were the majority
• Low graduation rates also show a strong
  relationship with indicators of school
  segregation- This relationship is independent of
  poverty
• There is a progressive trend towards increasingly
  segregated schools

http//www.civilrightsproject.harvard.edu/research
/deseg/reseg_schools02.php
73
Social Consequences

• As the Harvard Civil Rights Project reported, the
  social consequences of this are devastating
• High school dropouts constitute 68 of prison
  inmates
• Millions of dollars each year in revenue and
  taxes are lost because of the high numbers of
  unemployed and underemployed dropouts
• Communities with large numbers of high school
  dropouts experience poverty, incarceration,
  unemployment, drug abuse and addiction, and
  intergenerational dependency
• Many studies estimate significant losses in
  earnings and taxes with economic and societal
  effects that last generations

Orfield, G., Losen, D., Wald, J., Swanson, C.,
(2004). Losing Our Future How Minority Youth are
Being Left Behind by the Graduation Rate Crisis,
Cambridge, MA The Civil Rights Project at
Harvard University. Contributors Advocates for
Children of New York, The Civil Society Institute.
74
Graduation Rates

• One of the first steps in remedying education
  inequities is to ensure that students stay in
  school
• In order to accomplish this we need a better
  understanding the mechanisms affecting students
  including
• An understanding of how many students are
  dropping out
• Patterns in the race/ethnicity/gender of those
  students
• The causes of high dropout rates

http//www.civilrightsproject.harvard.edu/research
/dropouts/dropouts04.php
75
Graduation Rates

• Information is needed on dropout and graduation
  rates at the school and district levels
• However methods for collecting graduation and
  dropout data are inconsistent, inaccurate, and
  misleading
• There are four common ways of measuring
  graduation rates longitudinal, NCES, completion
  rate, and through dropout data

76
Ways of Measuring Graduation Rates

• Four most common ways of measuring graduation
  rates
• 1. Longitudinal
• Rate based on data from students tracked
  individually over time. Percent of students from
  an entering a 9th grade cohort who graduate with
  a regular diploma in four years
• Adjustments to the original cohort may be made
  for students who join or leave the school system
  at grade-level during that four-year period
• Only 10 states reported using a true longitudinal
  graduation rate calculated using data from
  individual students tracked over time

Nclb Implementation Report State Approaches For
Calculating High School Graduation Rates
Christopher B. Swanson Education Policy Center
The Urban Institute. 2003.
77
Ways of Measuring Graduation Rates

• Four most common ways of measuring graduation
  rates
• 2. NCES
• Rate based on an adaptation of the National
  Center for Education Statistics (NCES)
  completion rate
• Regular diploma recipients as a percent of
  students leaving high school over a four-year
  period (estimated as the sum of diploma
  recipients and dropouts during the past four
  years in grades 9 through 12 respectively)
• Used by 30 states including the District of
  Columbia

Nclb Implementation Report State Approaches For
Calculating High School Graduation Rates
Christopher B. Swanson Education Policy Center
The Urban Institute. 2003.
78
Ways of Measuring Graduation Rates

• Four most common ways of measuring graduation
  rates
• 3. Completion Ratio
• Rate based on the number of graduates in a
  particular year divided by the number of entering
  students at some earlier point in time
• The most basic form of this indicator divides
  graduates by the number of 9th graders four
  school years earlier
• Adjustments to this basic indicator may be made
  to accommodate more detailed information such as
  mobility in and out of a school system

Nclb Implementation Report State Approaches For
Calculating High School Graduation Rates
Christopher B. Swanson Education Policy Center
The Urban Institute. 2003.
79
Ways of Measuring Graduation Rates

• Four most common ways of measuring graduation
  rates
• 4. Dropout Rate
• State uses a dropout rate to calculate graduation
  rates as opposed to a direct measure of
  graduation rates

Nclb Implementation Report State Approaches For
Calculating High School Graduation Rates
Christopher B. Swanson Education Policy Center
The Urban Institute. 2003.
80
Accountability

• The disparities in graduation rates between white
  students and students of color produce a call for
  immediate action informed by research
• Graduation rates must be
• Accurately assessed
• Disaggregated by race and gender
• Reported to the public
• Currently only 9 states hold schools and
  districts accountable for the low graduation
  rates of minority students
• (Hawaii, Colorado, Illinois, Kansas, North
  Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, and
  Wisconsin)

http//www.civilrightsproject.harvard.edu/research
/dropouts/LosingOurFuture.pdf
81
Graduation Rate Accuracy

• There is little, or no, state or federal
  oversight of dropout and graduation rate reports
  for accuracy
• The most commonly used measures of graduation
  rates often dramatically underestimate the number
  of students who leave school without high school
  diplomas
• Why would schools not accurately assess
  graduation rates?

82
Accountability

• In data collection, school districts are
  challenged with distinguishing students who have
  dropped out from students who have relocated,
  which is difficult
• Schools in urban areas often have a much higher
  mobility rate for students
• These high mobility students pose a unique
  challenge to the districts
• High mobility students may also be high need- 41
  of those who change schools frequently are low
  achievers
• Achievement scores may not be representative of
  the school as they may not have been taught in
  the school in which they are testing

http//www.bc.edu/research/nbetpp/statements/nbr3.
pdf
83
Accountability

• Schools are also incentivized to assume students
  have relocated as opposed to dropped out
• Over the last thirty years, there has been a rise
  in standards based reform and high stakes
  testing, which has only increased with NCLB
• With this, testing began influencing decisions
  not only about particular students, but about
  schools as well
• This changed the focus from the best interests of
  the students to those of the school

http//www.bc.edu/research/nbetpp/statements/nbr3.
pdf
84
NCLB

• Under No Child Left Behind, schools are being
  punished for having high needs students
• Schools can no longer afford to provide a quality
  education to those who score low or fail
  achievement tests
• Instead, those students are held back or pushed
  out to eliminate the threat of loss of funding or
  a district takeover
• Hence the rise in standards based reform
  coincides with an increase in the dropout rate

http//www.bc.edu/research/nbetpp/statements/nbr3.
pdf
85
Dropout Rates the Testing Movement

• The rate at which students disappear between
  grades 9 and 10 has tripled over the last 30
  years
• 70-80 of students who are flunked to repeat
  grade 9 will not persist in school to high school
  graduation

http//www.bc.edu/research/nbetpp/statements/nbr3.
pdf
86
Next Steps

• What needs to change to relive the pressure of
  high stakes testing so that high need students
  can get their educational needs met?
• Bring awareness to the mechanisms used to
  reinforce and perpetuate disparities
• Are the measures we use to evaluate students
  achievement accurate or are they biased?
• What are the tests and assessments in place in
  school actually measuring?
• How valuable are the tests, are they predictors
  of success or measurements of just one type of
  intelligence?
• Are there other diagnostic tools that can more
  effectively help students?
• Increase knowledge of differences between groups,
  but also within groups- identify those factors
  that contribute to resiliency

87
Summary
Education has the power to level the playing
field. It is an arena where, through targeted
reform, we can see our ethical and moral goals
realized.
88
Measures of Success

• Our focus should be goal-oriented, not just
  simple process or input focused
• Once goals are identified use research to
  determine the most effective ways to produce our
  desired outcomes
• Establish baseline measurements and benchmarks
  for measuring progress and success
• Use ongoing research to monitor progress or
  potential retrenchment in other areas
• How do we know when were there? What does it
  look like for students? Teachers? Administrators?

89
Moving Forward

• We need to not only consider our choices in
  education reform, but also the forces that are
  constraining these choices
• Its not that we dont know how to close the
  achievement gap-we do- it is that to close the
  gap, we must address the deeper issues that have
  caused and continue to perpetuate the inequities
• Often education reform initiatives attempt to
  remedy disparities without disrupting the
  structures which caused them (i.e. school
  vouchers)
• These efforts, although allowing short-term
  progress, will inevitably fail until we remedy
  racial disparities on a greater scale

90
Moving Forward

• Implementing initiatives is often the greatest
  challenge. Schools boards must
• Choose which initiatives to focus on
• Consider parental, community and political wills
• Work within funding constraints
• When efforts at implementation reach opposition,
  they are often abandoned for new initiatives
• Coalition and community building are key!

91
Moving Forward

• It takes a village
• No singular approach will be enough to close the
  achievement gap, and it cannot be done by school
  boards alone
• We often work within our immediate district,
  which is limited
• Many of the disparities children or color are
  faced with at school are compounded because of
  poverty at home. Talk to parents, find out the
  resources they need in helping their child learn,
  and develop supportive programs
• Partner with community agencies, colleges and
  universities, and faith-based organizations
  dedicated to remedying social inequities and
  disestablishing racial hierarchy

92
Summary

• The obstacles that children in poverty face can
  seem insurmountable, especially considering the
  complex web of opportunity structures which work
  collectively to compound disparities
• Through a comprehensive structural understanding
  and the development of a collaborative prevention
  agenda, we can make great strides in addressing
  and remedying disparities along racial lines
• Strategic transactional change, can ultimately
  accomplish transformation
• Eyes on the prize(s)
• Remember- We Have, And Can Make Progress

93
www.KirwanInstitute.org
94
Addendum

• Minority Student Achievement Network Lessons
  Learned about the Achievement Gap
• We cant fix what we will not recognize
• Be willing to lead and take part in an honest
  discussion about race
• Recognize that cultures of blame do not produce
  success
• Let data speak and be guided by research
• Invest heavily in creating a culture of learning
  for all
• Create opportunities to hear the voice of
  students listen!
• Change the system to ferret out the hidden
  curriculum
• Build a culture safe for intellectual risk taking
• Focus, focus, focus
• Remember, there is no magic bullet

http//www.apiecenj.org/achievement_gap.htm
95
Addendum

• Suggestions on how to detrack by Carol Corbett
  Burris, Superintendent at South Side High School
• Begin by eliminating the lowest track. Low-track
  classes depress student achievement, causing
  students to fall further and further behind.
• Allow any student who wants the challenge of
  studying at the Advanced Placement or
  International Baccalaureate level to do so.
  Achievement will not go down. Our high school has
  multiyear achievement data to support this
  contention.

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