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| More Effective Schools/Teaching Project. A program designed to increase academic achievement for all students and to improve the organization and delivery of instruction in schools throughout a district. The program uses a change process of systematic assessment, problem solving, and development of annual school improvement plans based upon research on effective schools and school improvement. |
Audience Approved by PEP for all types of school districts.
Description The More Effective Schools/Teaching Project addresses the needs of improving achievement in the basic skill areas for all students and reducing the achievement gap between minority and nonminority students through training district-level, multirole planning teams and building-level, multirole school improvement committees. Teams and committees are trained to implement and maintain a data-based, data- driven school improvement process based upon the effective schools research. Annual plans are based on disaggregated student performance data and the results of a survey of faculty perceptions regarding the presence of correlates of effective schools. The project addresses a number of the National Goals for Education, in particular Goals 2, 3, and 4.
Evidence of Effectiveness Over a seven-year period: (1) there was a continued and significant increase in the proportion of students in the participating district scoring at or above the fortieth percentile and in stanines 7-8-9 on the Stanford Achievement Test in Reading Comprehension and Total Mathematics; and (2) the participating school district demonstrated significant improvement on the New York State Education Department Regents Exams in Math 9, Math 10, Math 11, Earth Science, Physics, and French. Improvements in institutional practices sustained over seven years included district adoption of new student outcome goals measured by standardized tests; creation of an on-going process for problem solving; formation of school improvement committees giving leadership roles to teachers; and attainment of the correlates of effective schools in participating schools.
Requirements The project requires active, visible endorsement and support by the district superintendent; designation of a district project coordinator; participation of teachers, administrators, parents, and, if desired, students on the district leadership team and school improvement committees and their participation in the training workshops; annual disaggregation of student achievement data and administration of a correlate needs assessment instrument; annual development of building school improvement plans and approval of them by the faculty; preparation and publication of an annual evaluation report; and follow-up consultation/technical assistance for the first two years of implementation.
Costs Costs vary according to district size, pay rates, and the amount of travel incurred by consultants. The approximate cost for starting the process is $25,000 to $30,000 per school district, usually spread over two fiscal years. Annual operation costs are directly related to local district decisions.
Services In addition to training and curriculum materials, follow-up consultation is available.
Developmental Funding: State and local.
PEP No. 91-24 (4/92)
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[Outcomes-Driven Developmental Model (ODDM)]