The Education Gadfly Weekly

High school students are taking more courses now than they were two decades ago, and more are opting for rigorous curricula, according to the 2009 NAEP High School Transcript Study (HSTS). According to the nationally representative study, 2009 graduates earned three more course credits than their 1990 peers, translating into 420 more hours of instruction. Even better, students are earning more credits in the core courses (English, math, science, and history). Unfortunately, the HSTS can’t explain how these shifts occurred, while noting that neither the school day nor the school year has been altered. (The authors do offer potential explanations, including an increase in voluntary summer school, supplemental online courses, etc. But the data doesn’t allow for concrete explanations.) There’s more good news: Students in 2009 are, on average, taking a more rigorous course of study than their 1990 counterparts. The shift has been particularly prominent for African Americans. In 1990, 60 percent of all black graduates took a “below basic” curriculum, and only 26 percent took a “midlevel” or “rigorous” one. In 2009, only 21 percent took a below basic curriculum, and 57 percent engaged in a midlevel or rigorous one. This shift seems promising for NAEP scores: The HSTS reports that students who take rigorous curricula score proficient in NAEP math and science. Whether the strong NAEP performance is due to the rigorous curricula or not requires further analysis. Even though the HSTS leaves many questions unanswered, the report brings to the fore some heady policy issues and offers, for those willing to sift through the silt, a few golden policy nuggets.

This Aspen Institute paper provides impressive detail on Michelle Rhee’s hard-fought IMPACT teacher-accountability system, explaining its mission, underlying principles, and implementation. The paper is more than just a primer on IMPACT—though it does offer a comprehensive look at the program’s rationale, philosophy, and structure. Aspen also provides principal and teacher perspectives and analyzes the program’s first year of data, offering lessons learned thus far. From the data, Aspen reports a “moderately strong correlation” (r=.57) between principal and master-educator evaluations, implying consistency in judging teacher performance. Yet, it only finds a modest correlation (r=.034) between scores generated from IMPACT’s instructional rubric and teacher value-added data, implying that the IMPACT evaluation system still needs some fine-tuning. Among the lessons offered for districts trying similar teacher-evaluation reforms: Create common expectations about what effective teaching means and looks like; understand that the hardest part of creating a teacher-performance system is helping educators improve their skills; and be aware that continued development of organizational capacity is crucial to success.

Rachel Curtis, “District of Columbia Public Schools: Defining Instructional Expectations and Aligning Accountability and Support” (Washington, D.C.: The Aspen Institute, March 2011).

In 2008, Steve Barr’s Green Dot charter-school network took over the illustrious, dangerous, and historically under-achieving Alain Leroy Locke High School in South Central Los Angeles. In this in-depth qualitative look at the takeover, Alexander Russo discounts rhetoric both from those who exaggerate and those who belittle Locke’s recent success. As Russo points out, Locke’s transformation has been a long slog, not an unmitigated success, and has been possible only through the grit and perseverance of dedicated teachers and administrators. Russo reports teachers with blood-shot eyes, exasperated with their efforts, puking before starting class in the mornings, or crying quietly in the bathroom after a long day with the students. He chronicles powerful stories—both positive and negative—that have helped to shape Locke over the past three years. Among them: The tale of Keron, a football player who was pepper-sprayed by a rogue security officer after being caught gambling at school and one of Miss K., who battled to keep David, a defiant upperclassman filled with potential, in the school through graduation. This honest on-the-ground portrayal reminds us: School turnarounds are a hard business, indeed.

In the third in its series of state test-score trend analyses, the Center on Education Policy examines the achievement of eighth-grade students on states’ reading and math exams from 2002-03 to 2008-09. Surprisingly—and counter to previous research—the study found that eighth graders are performing just as well as those in fourth grade and high school, and that, of the three, eighth-grade scores are the fastest-improving. Furthermore, at the advanced-achievement level, gaps have widened in a majority of states between white students and their African American, Latino, and Native American counterparts. And Asian Americans have surpassed all other students by a notable margin. It’s hard to know what to make of these findings. It’s certainly possible that we’re finally seeing real improvements in the nation’s long-challenged middle schools. But it’s also likely that the trends simply reflect changes in state tests and cut scores. A more reliable indicator, as always, is the NAEP, where these gains all but disappear.

Jonathan Mahler recounts a powerful, yet tortured, tale of MS 223 in the South Bronx in the most recent New York Times Magazine. Focusing on the school’s dynamic leader, Ramón González, Mahler articulates well the tribulations of Gotham’s tenth-best middle school. Throughout the piece González—and Mahler it seems—struggles with the disjoint between charter and district policy, between the status quo and education reform. Despite the principal’s outspoken disdain for charters, their fingerprints are all over his school: González unofficially requires students to wear uniforms, and peppers his hallways with college pennants (tactics used by KIPP to create a college-bound culture). And while González purports to cringe at some of the Klein edu-reforms in NYC (the school leader “worries that the reform movement’s infatuation with competition will undermine the broader goal of improving public education”), he has taken full advantage of Klein initiatives to better MS 223. Thanks to Klein, González has has been able to create his own curricula, micromanage his students’ days, and spend his school’s annual budget as he wishes. The story of MS 223 offers smart lessons for principals and district administrators nationwide: Principals, like González, should grab the best practices wherever they find them—from charters or traditional public schools alike. And district leaders should create policies that afford principals that opportunity. The children will thank you.

“The Fragile Success of School Reform in the Bronx,” by Jonathan Mahler, New York Times Magazine, April 6, 2011.

   Since the time of Horace Mann, in secondary schools of all stripes, the education delivery model has looked something like this: The teacher lectures to the students, educating them on the War of 1812, the circumference of a circle, or dangling modifiers. Further practice is done as homework—far away from a teacher’s watchful eye and helpful instruction. A provocative new idea from Salman Khan (the face and brains behind the Khan Academy videos) flips this delivery model on its head. In classrooms with which Khan partners, students are given the lectures for homework (to be watched online); the problems are done in class. This allows teachers to provide direct guidance to, immediate feedback for, and more personalized instruction time with their students. A bright idea from a bright individual—Khan’s proposal could be a huge win for champions of individualized instruction and teacher professionalization alike. Let's hope it catches on. (Photo by A. Turkus)

It’s an exciting time in the Peach State, as Georgia is on the road to eliminating seniority-based layoffs—and is doing so in a smart, constructive manner to boot. See, Georgia’s law would create a flexible plan for performance evaluation, mandating that local school and district managers revamp teacher-evaluation systems, but allowing them the flexibility to determine what those systems will look like. SB 184 sets three basic policies: Local school boards can no longer use length of tenure as the “primary or sole determining factor” in layoff decisions; performance should be the primary determining factor in making these layoffs (and “one measure of [teachers’ skills] may be student academic performance”); effective professional development must be identified by 2015 to help all teachers improve their craft. This approach provides a strong model for Georgia’s neighbor to the Southeast. Instead of pushing forward a broad framework for reductions in force while empowering districts to work out the details locally, Florida’s recently enacted SB 736 mandates state-level salary structures, establishes a learning growth model to measure teacher effectiveness, and limits district freedoms when it comes to letting teachers go. Kudos to Georgia for their smart thinking. Let’s hope the Gators take heed.

“Performance trumps seniority for teachers in House vote,” by April Hunt and Nancy Badertscher, Atlanta Journal Constitution, April 11, 2011.

“Florida’s Senate Bill 736: With ‘Wins’ Like These…,” by Rick Hess, Straight Up Blog, April 4, 2011.

High school students are taking more courses now than they were two decades ago, and more are opting for rigorous curricula, according to the 2009 NAEP High School Transcript Study (HSTS). According to the nationally representative study, 2009 graduates earned three more course credits than their 1990 peers, translating into 420 more hours of instruction. Even better, students are earning more credits in the core courses (English, math, science, and history). Unfortunately, the HSTS can’t explain how these shifts occurred, while noting that neither the school day nor the school year has been altered. (The authors do offer potential explanations, including an increase in voluntary summer school, supplemental online courses, etc. But the data doesn’t allow for concrete explanations.) There’s more good news: Students in 2009 are, on average, taking a more rigorous course of study than their 1990 counterparts. The shift has been particularly prominent for African Americans. In 1990, 60 percent of all black graduates took a “below basic” curriculum, and only 26 percent took a “midlevel” or “rigorous” one. In 2009, only 21 percent took a below basic curriculum, and 57 percent engaged in a midlevel or rigorous one. This shift seems promising for NAEP scores: The HSTS reports that students who take rigorous curricula score proficient in NAEP math and science. Whether the strong NAEP performance is due to the rigorous curricula or not requires further analysis. Even though the HSTS leaves many questions unanswered, the report brings to the fore some heady policy issues and offers, for those willing to sift through the silt, a few golden policy nuggets.

This Aspen Institute paper provides impressive detail on Michelle Rhee’s hard-fought IMPACT teacher-accountability system, explaining its mission, underlying principles, and implementation. The paper is more than just a primer on IMPACT—though it does offer a comprehensive look at the program’s rationale, philosophy, and structure. Aspen also provides principal and teacher perspectives and analyzes the program’s first year of data, offering lessons learned thus far. From the data, Aspen reports a “moderately strong correlation” (r=.57) between principal and master-educator evaluations, implying consistency in judging teacher performance. Yet, it only finds a modest correlation (r=.034) between scores generated from IMPACT’s instructional rubric and teacher value-added data, implying that the IMPACT evaluation system still needs some fine-tuning. Among the lessons offered for districts trying similar teacher-evaluation reforms: Create common expectations about what effective teaching means and looks like; understand that the hardest part of creating a teacher-performance system is helping educators improve their skills; and be aware that continued development of organizational capacity is crucial to success.

Rachel Curtis, “District of Columbia Public Schools: Defining Instructional Expectations and Aligning Accountability and Support” (Washington, D.C.: The Aspen Institute, March 2011).

In 2008, Steve Barr’s Green Dot charter-school network took over the illustrious, dangerous, and historically under-achieving Alain Leroy Locke High School in South Central Los Angeles. In this in-depth qualitative look at the takeover, Alexander Russo discounts rhetoric both from those who exaggerate and those who belittle Locke’s recent success. As Russo points out, Locke’s transformation has been a long slog, not an unmitigated success, and has been possible only through the grit and perseverance of dedicated teachers and administrators. Russo reports teachers with blood-shot eyes, exasperated with their efforts, puking before starting class in the mornings, or crying quietly in the bathroom after a long day with the students. He chronicles powerful stories—both positive and negative—that have helped to shape Locke over the past three years. Among them: The tale of Keron, a football player who was pepper-sprayed by a rogue security officer after being caught gambling at school and one of Miss K., who battled to keep David, a defiant upperclassman filled with potential, in the school through graduation. This honest on-the-ground portrayal reminds us: School turnarounds are a hard business, indeed.

In the third in its series of state test-score trend analyses, the Center on Education Policy examines the achievement of eighth-grade students on states’ reading and math exams from 2002-03 to 2008-09. Surprisingly—and counter to previous research—the study found that eighth graders are performing just as well as those in fourth grade and high school, and that, of the three, eighth-grade scores are the fastest-improving. Furthermore, at the advanced-achievement level, gaps have widened in a majority of states between white students and their African American, Latino, and Native American counterparts. And Asian Americans have surpassed all other students by a notable margin. It’s hard to know what to make of these findings. It’s certainly possible that we’re finally seeing real improvements in the nation’s long-challenged middle schools. But it’s also likely that the trends simply reflect changes in state tests and cut scores. A more reliable indicator, as always, is the NAEP, where these gains all but disappear.