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

The Quality of Eisenhower-assisted Activities

We measured the quality of Eisenhower-assisted activities based on six features of best practice that were identified through a review of the available research on professional development and the opinions of expert practitioners:^[18]

• the form or organization of the activity—that is, whether the activity is organized as a reform type, such as a study group, teacher network, mentoring relationship, committee or task force, internship, individual research project, or teacher research center, in contrast to a traditional workshop or conference;
• the duration of the activity, including the total number of contact hours that participants are expected to spend in the activity, as well as the span of time over which the activity takes place;
• the degree to which the activity emphasizes the collective participation of groups of teachers from the same school, department, or grade level, as opposed to the participation of individual teachers from many schools;
• the degree to which the activity has a content focus—that is, the degree to which the activity is focused on improving and deepening teachers' content knowledge in mathematics or science;
• the extent to which the activity offers opportunities for active learning—that is, opportunities for teachers to become actively engaged in the meaningful analysis of teaching and learning, for example, by reviewing student work or obtaining feedback on their teaching; and
• the degree to which the activity promotes coherence in teachers' professional development, by encouraging the continued professional communication among teachers, and by incorporating experiences that are consistent with teachers' goals and aligned with state standards and assessments.

• Most Eisenhower-assisted activities are traditional in form, such as workshops, courses, or conferences. Relatively few Eisenhower-assisted activities are reform types of activities, such as study groups, networks, or mentoring relationships.
• About 79 percent of teachers in district activities are in traditional types of activities—primarily workshops and conferences. About 76 percent of teachers in SAHE-grantee activities are also in traditional activities—primarily workshops and college courses.
• About 22 percent of teachers in district activities and 26 percent in SAHE-grantee activities are in reform activities, including teacher networks, study groups, mentoring, committees and task forces, internships, and resource centers.
• On average, SAHE-grantee activities are of longer duration than district activities.

Indicator. Sustained Professional Development. By 1998, 35 percent of teachers participating in district-level Eisenhower-assisted activities will participate in activities that are a component of professional development that extends over the school year; by 2000, over 50 percent will.

• The average amount of time teachers in district activities report spending in Eisenhower-assisted activities is 25 hours, compared to 51 hours for teachers in SAHE grantee activities. The average length of district activities, in hours, has approximately doubled since the last evaluation was conducted in 1988-89.^[19]
• A higher percentage of SAHE-grantee activities than district activities span an extended period of time. For example, 46 percent of teachers in SAHE-grantee activities are in activities lasting at least six months, including 2 percent lasting more than one year, 20 percent lasting 10-12 months, and 24 percent lasting 6-9 months. (See Exhibit ES.2.) Twenty percent of teachers in district activities are in activities lasting at least six months.
• ED's performance indicator for sustained professional development requires at least 35 percent of teachers to be in activities that extend over the school year. If "lasting at least six months" is used as the standard, then district activities do not yet meet the standard, while many SAHE-grantee activities exceed the standard by a substantial amount.^[20]

Exhibit ES.2

Source: Mail Survey of Teachers Participating in Eisenhower-assisted Professional Development Activities, 1998. How to read this exhibit: The first column shows that 2 percent of the teachers who participated in district activities were engaged in the activity over more than a year. Each dot represents one teacher. If more than one teacher reported the same span, the teachers are displayed in a horizontal line with length proportional to the number of teachers. Each column represents the distribution for a particular group of teachers. The number on the top of each line is the percent of teachers participating in the corresponding time span. Note: "Districts" refers to teachers who participated in Eisenhower-assisted activities provided through the district component of the program. "SAHE Grantees" refers to teachers who participated in Eisenhower-assisted activities supported through the SAHE component of the program.

• Relatively few district or SAHE-grantee activities emphasize the collective participation of teachers from the same department, grade level, or school. District activities give more emphasis to collective participation than do SAHE-grantee activities.
• Twenty percent of teachers in district Eisenhower-assisted activities report participating with other teachers in their department or grade level, compared to 7 percent of teachers in SAHE-grantee activities; and 19 percent of teachers in district activities report participating with all teachers in their school, compared to 11 percent of teachers in SAHE-grantee activities.
• On average, SAHE-grantee activities give more emphasis than do district activities to the last three dimensions of quality—content focus, active learning, and coherence.
• Two thirds of teachers participating in SAHE-supported Eisenhower activities participate in activities that place a major emphasis on content, compared to fifty-one percent of teachers in district Eisenhower-assisted activities.
• The percentage of teachers reporting a major emphasis on each of 18 separate indicators of active learning is higher for SAHE grantees than for districts, but relatively few teachers in either district or SAHE-grantee activities report some elements of active learning. For example, only 5 percent of teachers in district activities and 16 percent of teachers in SAHE-grantee activities report that their teaching was observed by the activity leader.
• Teachers in both district and SAHE-grantee activities report that the activities have elements that promote coherence with other aspects of their professional experiences. For example, more than three quarters of teachers in both district and SAHE-grantee activities report that their activities are aligned with state and district standards. Somewhat more teachers in SAHE-grantee than district activities, however, report that their Eisenhower activities built on prior professional development (39 percent compared to 31 percent) or were followed up with later activities (70 percent compared to 53 percent).

Indicator. High Quality. By 1998, over 50 percent of teachers participating in district-level, Eisenhower-assisted professional development activities will participate in activities reflecting best practices, including a focus on continuous improvement. By 2000, over 75 percent will.

• ED's performance indicator for high-quality professional development requires that at least 50 percent of teacher participants be in activities reflecting "best practice." The data collected by the evaluation show that district and SAHE-grantee activities meet this standard for some dimensions of high quality, but not others. For example, as discussed above, more than 50 percent of teachers in SAHE-grantee and district Eisenhower activities are in activities that place a major emphasis on mathematics and science content, and thus ED?s standard for high quality is met in this domain. But districts do not meet the high quality standard for any of the characteristics of active learning, and SAHE grantees meet the standard for only a few characteristics of active learning.
• There is enormous variability in the quality of Eisenhower-assisted activities; thus, some districts are providing the same kinds of high-quality professional development activities that SAHE grantees provide.
• For example, although many district activities are short, 2 percent of teachers in district activities are in activities spanning more than one year, 8 percent are in activities lasting 10-12 months, and 10 percent are in activities lasting 6-9 months. (See Exhibit ES.2.)
• That some districts provide activities of extended duration, with collective participation, a major focus on content knowledge, a major emphasis on active learning, and coherence with teachers' other experiences, represents an "existence proof" that it is possible for districts to provide such activities.

We do not know whether all districts possess the organizational capacity and staffing to provide high-quality professional development. Districts lacking the capacity to plan and implement high-quality professional development themselves may well be able to purchase it (e.g., from institutions of higher education) if they are aware of and insist upon the dimensions of quality we have identified.

• The average differences in quality observed between district and SAHE-supported activities are associated with corresponding differences in cost.
• SAHE grantees spend over twice as much per teacher participant as do districts. We estimate that SAHE grantees spend about $512 per participation, in comparison to $185 per participation for districts.^[21]

It is unclear why SAHE grantees spend more money per participation than do districts. The competitive process of the SAHE grants may reward proposals that offer professional development with the six quality features, which are expensive to provide.^[22] In addition, compared to SAHE grantees, districts may feel a responsibility to provide professional development to all of their teachers. This may push them in the direction of professional development with lower costs per participation.

• Districts have met ED?s standard for participation of teachers from high poverty schools, but there remains room for improvement (see box). SAHE grantees have not met ED's standard.

Indicator. High-poverty Schools. The proportion of teachers participating in Eisenhower-assisted activities who teach in high-poverty schools will exceed the proportion of the national teacher pool who teach in high-poverty schools.

• Teacher participations in district Eisenhower-assisted activities are slightly more likely to be from high-poverty schools than are teachers in the national teaching force as a whole (23 percent compared to 21 percent).
• Teacher participations in SAHE-grantee activities, however, are less likely to be from high-poverty schools than are teachers in the national teaching force (13 percent compared to 21 percent).

To some extent, the results for districts are encouraging: they indicate that the program has been somewhat successful at targeting resources on teachers of disadvantaged children. But the percentage of teachers from high-poverty schools served by the program is only modestly higher than the rate for the nation, indicating that more progress might be made in this area.

[Effectiveness of Eisenhower-assisted Professional Development Activities]

[Features of Professional Development That Promote Improvements in Teaching]