A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

Fundamental Improvements Are Needed in Public Schools

Promoting student performance starts with a focus on the basics, safety, discipline, and parent involvement. Sustained improvement must be based on what works, and supported by parents, educators and the larger community. Research suggests that student achievement can best be improved by supporting a comprehensive set of district and school level reforms. [See, for example, Newmann and Wehlage, "Successful School Restructuring: A Report to the Public and Educators by the Center on Organization and Restructuring of Schools," 1995; Lein, Johnson, and Ragland, Successful Texas School-wide Programs: Research Study Results, 1996] These reforms include:

• Safe, disciplined, and drug-free schools. A prerequisite to comprehensive, enduring school reform which promotes student performance is ensuring that our children have a safe, strong, and drug-free learning environment. Providing such an environment requires a focus on strong discipline in the schools and zero tolerance for drugs.

• A clear focus on improving learning and mastering the basics. Effective schools are organized around a clear focus on educational excellence and equity for all students and have an academic orientation that challenges all students to master basic and advanced skills in reading, math, and other core subjects. The goal of learning is captured in the curriculum and the very atmosphere of the school. Time, resources, and energies center on enabling all students to achieve higher levels of performance.

• Parent involvement and public commitment to improving schools. Thirty years of research show that greater family involvement in children's learning is a critical link to achieving a high quality education and a safe, disciplined learning environment for every student. [U.S. Department of Education, Strong Families, Strong Schools, 1994] Districts and schools must reach out to parents and community members to develop a shared commitment to excellence and equity for all students and to work in partnership toward that goal.

• High academic standards and rigorous course-taking. Probably the most effective educational choice that parents and students can make is to choose to take more challenging academic courses. Taking tougher courses is one factor that produces substantial gains in student achievement. Making challenging curriculum and engaging instruction available to all students must be schools' central mission.

• Sustained and intensive professional development for teachers. In order for students' performance to improve, teachers must be able to teach to higher standards. They must know the content of the curriculum and the best strategies for engaging students in learning more challenging content. Professional development can be supported formally through intensive training and also more informally through teachers working together on common classroom concerns and learning from each other.

• Buildings and technology suited for learning. Children cannot learn to high standards in schools that are literally falling down. Environments where children learn best are schools that are safe and modern, more spacious and technologically equipped, and that can be used not only during the school day but after school and during the summer, as well.

• Reinforcement through after-school and summer programs. Research shows that students in quality after-school programs (lower student to staff ratios, age-appropriate activities, academic and enrichment activities) demonstrate higher academic achievement and have better attitudes towards school than children left alone or under the care of siblings. [Posner and Vandell, 1994] Moreover, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, youth are most at risk of getting in trouble or being victims between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m., after the regular school day.

• Greater school autonomy and accountability. Greater school autonomy when coupled with performance accountability also can contribute to conditions that make optimal learning possible. Unreasonable regulations can produce a compliance mentality in which no one takes ownership or is personally responsible. If teachers are to act as professionals and not as automatons, they need to be given responsibility for making professional decisions regarding classroom practice and school policy. Holding our students to high standards requires that adults take responsibility for improving student performance.

• Expansion of public school choice options. Public charter schools, magnet schools and open enrollment policies offer real alternatives to students and parents while maintaining the kind of accountability that is crucial to ensuring a quality education.

In some cases, drastic actions are needed to improve chronically troubled schools. For example, in San Francisco, failing schools have been "reconstituted." The district has shut down these schools and reopened them with new administrators, teachers, and programs.

National And Local Indicators Suggest Reforms Are Beginning to Work

Trends in Improvement Nationwide

• Students are taking more rigorous subjects and courses. The proportion of high school graduates taking the core courses recommended in A Nation At Risk (4 years of English, 3 years of social studies, 3 years of science, 3 years of math) increased to 52 percent by 1994, up from 14 percent in 1982 and 40 percent in 1990. Similarly, the percentage of graduates taking biology, chemistry, and physics has doubled, rising from 11 percent in 1982 to 19 percent in 1990 and 21 percent in 1994. [NCES, High School Transcript Study, various years]

  Similarly, participation in advanced placement (AP) courses has also increased, and the number of AP exams that scored at 3 or above has tripled since 1982. The number of AP examinations that received a passing score rose from 131,871 in 1982 to 523,321 in 1996. [College Board, AP Program: National Summary, various years]

• The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) has shown long-term gains in student achievement in mathematics and science, areas that have been the focus of national attention. Average performance in mathematics and science has improved since the late 1970s and early 1980s for all three age groups tested and in every quartile. The improvement in math achievement was equivalent to at least one grade level. NAEP scores in reading and writing showed small, inconsistent changes and were stable overall. The achievement gap between white and minority students narrowed substantially over the period, although improvement has stalled since the late 1980's. [NCES, NAEP 1996 Trends in Academic Progress, 1997]

• College admissions tests have shown increases in average scores even as the numbers and diversity of test-takers are increasing. On the ACT, the national composite score increased to 21.0 in 1997 (from 20.6 in 1992) -- the fourth year in the last five that the national average has increased. [ACT, Composite Averages by State, 1997] ACT president Richard L. Ferguson attributed the increase in scores to more students, especially females and minorities, taking higher-level courses in English, math, social studies, and science. [ACT, "Trend of Increases in ACT College Entrance Scores Continues," 1997] On the SAT, combined verbal and math scores increased 19 points from 1982 to 1997 (and increased by 15 points from 1992 to 1997) and the average mathematics score is at its highest level in 26 years.⁽⁴⁾ [College Board, College Bound Seniors National Report, 1997]

• Dropout rates show similar improvements, particularly for minority students. From 1982 to 1995, the dropout rate for persons 16-24 years old fell from 13.9 percent to 12.0 percent and has been relatively flat throughout the 1990's.⁽⁵⁾ For blacks, the dropout rate fell from 18.4 percent in 1982 to 12.1 percent in 1995 -- a 34 percent decrease. For whites, the rate fell from 11.4 to 8.6 percent over the same period -- a 25 percent decrease. [NCES, Digest of Education Statistics, 1996]

Exemplary Efforts at Comprehensive School Reforms in Urban Districts

• San Antonio Independent School District underwent a major organizational restructuring aimed at placing maximum emphasis on instructional needs, giving more direct support to schools in matters of instruction and curriculum, streamlining decision making, and strengthening intra-district communication and collaboration. The district implemented site-based decision making (as mandated by the state) during the 1994-95 school year by incorporating it with its broader strategic plan. Each school has an Instructional Leadership Team (ILT) composed of school staff, parents, and community residents, who receive annual training provided by the district. A ten-year grant from the Rockefeller Foundation supports professional development and technology for teachers, as well as promoting community involvement through monthly public town hall meetings and a community newsletter. In 1996, the district entered into a partnership with the New American Schools Design Corporation (NASDC), and half of the district's schools have committed to a whole school design through NASDC. Student achievement on the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills (TAAS) has shown significant gains; from 1995 to 1996, the percentage of students passing the TAAS rising from 33 percent to 41 percent for 4th-graders and from 31 percent to 36 percent for 10th graders. Math skills showed even greater improvement, with the percentage of students passing the math portion of the TAAS rising from 42 percent to 55 percent for 4th-graders and from 35 percent to 42 percent for 10th graders.

• Memphis adopted in 1993 a comprehensive school reform plan designed to raise student achievement that includes setting higher standards for all students, implementing site-based decision making and models of school reform to support students in meeting the standards, and creating a new belief system within the school system. The district developed content standards in seven core curricular areas that reflected the Lifelong Learning Standards adopted by the community and disseminated guides to show what instruction and curriculum that reflects these standards should look like in classrooms. All Memphis schools now have site-based decision-making councils composed of equal numbers of teachers and parents to set school policy and allocate school budgets. In addition, since 1995, about half of all schools have adopted a "break-the-mold" reform model, including several of the models developed by the New American Schools Development Corporation. In 1996, the district opened its new Teaching and Learning Academy, which coordinates professional development opportunities for all teachers in the district. The Academy offers workshops in all major areas of school reform including leadership, core content, performance assessment, and uses of technology.

• Milwaukee's experience in raising students' math performance to challenging standards provides a remarkable example of systemwide improvement. The impetus came out of community embarrassment over its math assessment and a requirement that students pass the assessment to graduate. While Equity 2000 provided a focus for the effort, support came from higher standards, professional development of teachers, special assistance for students who failed the test, parental involvement, and feedback on results. There has been a substantial increase in enrollment in algebra and more advanced math courses; ninth-graders' enrollment in Algebra I rose from 33 percent of all students in 1990 to 100 percent today, while the number of tenth-grade students taking geometry or more advanced math increased from 24 to 57 percent. The percent of students passing algebra has remained essentially unchanged, at about 56 percent, despite the expansion of algebra enrollment from a select group to all students.

• Cincinnati has injected accountability for both administrators and students into the educational system. School district administrators' pay raises are now linked to job performance. The policy change replaced automatic cost-of-living adjustments and salary rates with new criteria, including: performance on staff development, management, and community involvement; students' scores on standardized tests and on the state's graduation test; and graduation, promotion, passing, and dropout rates. At the student level, promotion is now based on specific standards that define what students must know and be able to do. The standards are designed to prepare students to pass a ninth-grade proficiency test. Cincinnati also reorganized its school system in 1991, cutting the central office staff -- mostly mid-level managers -- by 70 percent, in order to direct a greater share of its resources to the school and classroom levels.

• New York City's Community District 2 is a model for local districts seeking to improve instruction in fundamental ways. Serving an extremely diverse population from the Upper East Side to Chinatown, the district implements a corresponding diversity in its approaches to teaching and learning. This particular district illustrates the powerful, participatory role that a local district can play in instructional improvement. Every decision made by the district takes instructional improvement into account. It is a group effort and a long-term commitment based on high expectations, clear objectives, and shared expertise. The concrete strategies revolve around the idea that professional development is not a series of programs per se but rather an ongoing opportunity to build and bridge skills. Strategies include: a Professional Development Laboratory in which visiting teachers observe and practice with a resident teacher for three weeks while their classrooms are taught by a teacher who has also gone through the Laboratory; extensive use of visits across classrooms and schools by teachers and principals; and a core of consultants hired by the districts and available to the schools for one-on-one and small group assistance. With these strategies in hand, the district has a direct impact on improving its schools: on the 1996 assessment, District 2 ranked second in the city in math scores.

• Chicago is ensuring that promotion to the next grade reflects students' learning the content to enable them to succeed. In August 1996, the Chicago School Reform Board adopted a rigorous student promotion policy that requires underachieving students in grades three, six, eight, and nine to complete a summer school program before being promoted to the next grade. The policy sets performance standards based on test scores for third-, sixth-, eighth-, and ninth-graders. Students who score more than one year below their grade level (one-and-a-half years for sixth-graders) on the standardized tests, or who fail reading or math, must successfully complete a six- or seven-week Summer Bridge program. All ninth-graders who miss more than 20 days of school or fail to earn the required 4.5 core credits are also required to attend the summer-school programs. Students who fail the summer programs are held back. Results show that over 80 percent of Chicago students were able to meet the promotion criteria; many would not have done so without the intensive summer instruction provided through the Bridge program.

These large, urban districts face some of the most complex educational issues in the nation, yet their students are beginning to benefit from sustained school improvement efforts. We are committed to continue working for high standards of discipline and achievement and a means to assess student performance in meeting them, safe schools, technology in the classroom, quality teachers, and increased access to college. When we focus sustained effort and careful investments on critical education issues at school, neighborhood, community, and national levels, students progress and so does our nation.

5. The dropout rate is defined as the percent of 16-24 year-olds who have not completed high school and were not enrolled in school that year.

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