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AEP Online |
Blaschke on Federal FundingStudy Identifies Best Practices to Close Achievement GapsBetween 1996 and 1999, we began to see the standards movement implemented across districts and states. Now the Education Department has released the first major study to assess the impact of standards-based reform practices on student achievement. Titled the "Longitudinal Evaluation of School Change in Performance (LESCP) in Title I Schools," the 2001 report followed students in 71 high-poverty schools as they progressed from the third to the fifth grade. The study identified several practices and activities likely to help bring low-performing students' reading and math achievement closer to national norms. Reading achievement improved more quickly when teachers gave high ratings to their professional development in reading; the growth in student test scores between grades 3 and 5 was about 20 percent greater when teachers were confident of their own preparation. And schools that reported engaging in high levels of parent outreach early on ? third grade teachers were especially active with parents of low-achieving students ? also did better, with growth in test scores over the same period exceeding that of low-outreach schools by 50 percent. On the other hand, LESCP found that reading test scores grew 10 percent less when teachers spent a lot of time on basic instruction, such as filling out worksheets or reading aloud. Another important finding about reading: "Students' initial reading scores tended to be higher in classrooms where teachers reported they were aware of, and implementing, policies of standards-based reform. When third grade teachers reported very high visibility of standards and assessments and said they believe their curriculum reflected these policies, their students scored 2.8 points above the LESCP average in the third grade." Thus the study concluded that the best combination of circumstances for reading-achievement gains would include less use of basic instruction in upper elementary grades, highly rated (by teachers) professional development, more intense outreach to parents of low achievers, and higher visibility of standards and assessments in the third grade. In mathematics, the results were similar: Student test scores grew 50 percent more when teachers rated their professional development highly. And scores grew 40 percent more for students whose teachers reported high levels of current outreach. Scores of students whose fifth grade teachers reported using a relatively high level of exploration in instruction were roughly 17 percent higher than for students whose teachers reported low usage. Within LESCP,110 students had the exact combination of circumstances recommended for closing gaps in reading achievement. They were 10.6 points behind their peers in 1996, and narrowed the gap to 4.9 points in 1999. Such findings suggest that companies whose products or services can facilitate these "circumstances" should cite the study in positioning their products. Highlighting the "research-based" aspect of the products to potential customers is particularly important, because new guidelines, or nonregulatory guidance, from the national Title I office are likely to include "research-based practice," especially for low-achieving schools and "schools targeted for improvement." It is important to note that one of the members of the Technical Work Group for this longitudinal study was Joseph Johnson from the University of Texas at Austin, who is now the national Title I director. Another important member of the technical work group was Andrew Porter, Wisconsin Center for Education Research, University of Wisconsin/Madison. Porter's ongoing surveys are finding that only a few state assessments are highly correlated with content standards, and that across states, teachers' coverage of assessment-related materials is relatively low. Teachers in some states reported that less than 10 percent of their classroom content is addressed on state assessments.
Questions, ideas, or in need of more information? Please contact Dave Gladney at 856-241-7772 or dgladney@AEPweb.org. |
Click here for a copy of the Education Department's report. |
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