A new report by LFA and Grunwald Associates, with support from AT&T, examines how parents perceive the value of mobile devices, how they see their children using mobiles, and what they think of the possibilities for mobile learning.
Assessment
Success Stories
Aldine ISD: "Producing the Nation's Best" by Reducing Bus Accidents
Story posted February 23, 2011
Results:
- Improved school bus driving performance
- Cost savings of $104,000
- Potentially hundreds of hours of student instruction saved
In August, 2009, the Aldine ISD transportation department, under the leadership of Richard Delgado, executive director, and Alfred DeBose, assistant director, decided to work towards “producing the nation’s best” by reducing bus accidents, thus providing safer travel, reducing costs, and building stakeholder confi dence. The department set the goal of improving the current school bus accident prevention process, by developing a well defined and comprehensive fleet safety program and an accident review board through Process and Performance Management (PPM) in partnership with the American Productivity and Quality Center (APQC).
The first step was to establish a timeline for project implementation and begin to gather data that established root causes for the accident rate as of the date of the project. The team discovered that the data on accident causes was not being fed back into the Driver Academy, so a process was designed to insure that future accident data would be used to inform and improve driver training. As a result of data gathered, an accident rubric was developed for use by the district Accident Review Board, so rigorous standards and a uniform approach to documentation of ...
A Family-Oriented Learning Community
Story posted July 15, 2010. Story Updated March 21, 2012.
Results:
• In 2011, Ravenswood met or exceeded state and county proficiency rates in math, science and social studies; they are within 2% points for reading proficiency.
• Named a 2010 Breakthrough School by NASSP
Ravenswood (WV) Middle School is located on a quiet residential street, adjacent to the high school, the town library, and a community park in the small town of historic Ravenswood, WV (population 3,900). The unassuming exterior of the building belies the school’s record of continued academic growth and achievement and the warm, caring environment that it provides for the 344 middle school students in grades 6–8. The school has made adequate yearly progress for four consecutive years and was recognized as a West Virginia Exemplary School in 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009. In addition, it was recognized as a Blue Ribbon School in 2008.
The key to Ravenswood’s success becomes apparent within a few minutes of entering the building. Students, parents, community members, and graduates consistently confirm that the teachers care about and treat every student as an individual. When asked what makes Ravenswood stand out from other middle schools, a group of eighth-grade students agreed with the assessment of a peer who said, “It’s the teachers—they know us as individuals and care about each of us.” The district’s director of elementary and middle schools concurred, “Ravenswood addresses the needs of the whole child; they do whatever it takes to help their students succeed.” A school board member—a former principal in the district— expressed the belief that students respond to that caring when he said, “This is a Cadillac school; students want to go to school here.”
Principal Gary Higginbotham and Assistant Principal Sharon Carroll have worked with the staff and the community to establish a culture that exemplifies a family-oriented professional learning community. Teachers have a daily 45-minute team time built into their schedule—a best practice that ...
Story posted August 27, 2009. Results updated April 1, 2010.
Results:
• Math proficiency grew from nearly 20 percentage points below the state average in 2006 to the state average in 2009
• Reading proficiency grew over 15
percentage points between 2004 and 2009, staying consistently above the state average
• Named a 2008 National Title I Distinguished School based on "exceptional student performance for two or more consecutive years"
According to the numbers, Central Elementary School in Roundup, Montana, seems to fit the currently fashionable definition of a “turnaround” school. After many years of below-average test scores, the school has recently made double-digit gains in the number of its students meeting proficiency on the statewide assessment. In true turnaround fashion, that improvement appears to have happened in a very short period of time.
As recently as the 2005–2006 school year, for example, Central’s math score was nearly 20 percentage points below the state average. In the following school year that proficiency rate went up by 16 percent, and by 2007–2008 the school was six points higher than the state average in math. Meanwhile, the school’s reading score, while consistently above the state average, also rose by ...
Two Years to Big Reading Gains
Story posted July 7, 2009
Results:
• 75% of participating low and non-readers passed the 2007 Texas state reading test after one year in the program
Many high school teachers and administrators think that reading instruction belongs in the lower grades. But according to the National Assessment of Educational Progress (2007), only 31% of eighth graders read at or above the proficient level, meaning that many are entering high school unprepared for its advanced textbook reading and language requirements.
When Chapin High School in El Paso, TX, opened in 2000, about 25% of its students were nonreaders, and most of them came to the school after years of failure, completely unmotivated to become readers. Some of the freshmen were already parents, and because the school sits on the border between the United States and Mexico, we also had a large population of non-English speakers. We needed a way to reach those nonreaders and bring them up to grade level. Our solution? A two-year reading lab program.
Money, Money, Money
A reading lab and reading teachers are not traditionally accepted expenses for a high school, so we had to figure out how to fund the program. We were able to ...
Story posted April 2, 2009
Results:
• Consistently makes adequate yearly progress as defined by No Child Left Behind
• Received an "A" on the New York City grading rubric, which is based on student progress and performance as well as parent, teacher and student opinions of the school
In 1996, then-New York City Schools’ Chancellor Rudy Crew created a “Chancellor’s District,” a non-geographic improvement zone of chronically underperforming schools. His goal was to increase those schools’ instructional capacity and academic outcomes. Beginning with 10 schools and growing to 58 schools by 2002 (the final year of the initiative), these schools were under direct control of the chancellor and received a number of capacity-building interventions.
East Harlem’s P.S. 30, Hernandez-Hughes Learning Academy entered the Chancellor’s district in 1999. P.S. 30 serves 395 kindergarten through sixth-grade students who are mostly African-American or Latino, with 76% eligible for free or reduced price lunch. For the prior decade, the school had performed poorly on standardized assessments and was in danger of being closed for failing to meet New York State academic standards. But after ...
Story posted August 14, 2008
Results:
• In 2007, 79% and 81% of students met or exceeded state math and reading standards respectively, up from 37% and 49% five years ago
• AP participation rates among low-income students increased from 8% to 21% in one year
• The drop-out rate decreased from 7.7% in 2002 to 2.5% in 2006
From the moment you enter the lobby, it is clear that Forest Grove High School places a high value on achievement for all students. Large banners highlight the recognition the school has received for academic accomplishments (such as Oregon's Closing the Achievement Gap award, which it has received for two years running), and the school's mission-"To provide a superior education that challenges our students to achieve academic and personal excellence and to become world-class citizens"-is posted throughout the school.
...
Helping Students Demonstrate Their Math Knowledge
Story posted June, 2008
Results:
• 70% of students scored in the top levels of the MCAS in 2007, up from 35% in 2004
• 91% of 10th graders passed the math portion of the MCAS in 2007
• 83% graduation rate in 2007, with 89% graduation rate for both black and Hispanic students
Fenway High has a unique history. It was founded in 1983 as a program for students in at-risk situations who were failing in the more traditional high schools. Fenway became a pilot school in 1995 and is now open to all students, serving a diverse population that is 44% African-American, 36% Hispanic, and 15% Caucasian, with 46% receiving free or reduced lunch.
Fenway has an innovative approach to student learning, most notably in math, and has seen significant improvement in test scores over the past few years. Fenway's principal and math chair both agree that their continuous improvement in mathematics is supported by three key elements: ...
A Wake-Up Call Sparks Action in Arizona
Story posted April, 2008. Results updated October 23, 2012.
Results:
• In 2012, Vail exceeded all state proficiency averages, across grades and subjects.
• Students in all grade levels are scoring at or above proficiency at rates of 90% and higher.
Administrators and staff at the Vail Unified School District recognized they had a problem back in 2003. Student scores on the new statewide AIMS test showed a downward trend as children in Vail schools moved up through the grades. For example, while third-graders were scoring in the 70-percent range on average in math, by middle school and high school proficiency rates dropped into the teens.
"It was a real wake-up call," said Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum Debbie Hedgepeth. "Students weren't performing where we knew they could and should." ...
A Focus on Literacy Spells Success for Georgia Matthews Elementary
Story posted February, 2008
Results:
• 91.1% of 3rd graders met or exceeded the state reading standard in 2007, up from 79.1% in 2006
• 95% of 3rd grade English Language Learners met or exceeded the state reading standard in 2007, up from 80% in 2006
At Georgia Matthews Elementary School in Garden City, Kansas, developing literacy in the largely Hispanic student body is everybody's job. Students learn vocabulary and practice literacy skills not just during class periods dedicated to reading and writing, but all day long. Even physical education and art teachers bring books to their classes or use objects to introduce new vocabulary or concepts in English. Add a relentless focus on the individual needs of each student, and you've got a formula that has helped students beat the odds.
The majority of children at Georgia Matthews qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, and half are learning English as a second language. Yet the school, which has students in early childhood through 4th grade, regularly outperforms the state's learning standards. Last year, the National Association of Title I State Directors recognized the school's progress in closing achievement gaps with a Distinguished School Program award. ...
Whole-Child Education Delivers Big Gains in Chugach
Story posted December, 2007
Results:
• Cut dropout rate nearly in half
• Students now consistently test above state averages in reading, writing and math
• More than two-thirds of graduates now go to college
How does an Alaska school district serving just 250 students, most of them living in remote areas accessible only by aircraft, receive the nation's highest Presidential honor for organizational performance? The answer: by pioneering a standards-based system of "whole child education" that adapts to students' individual needs and delivers big gains in student performance.
Chugach School District was chosen for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award in 2001, just seven years after launching a comprehensive restructuring effort known as the Chugach Quality Schools Model (CQSM). The restructuring was a response by school district leaders to a plethora of challenges, including dismal test scores, high dropout rates, and the inability of graduates to hold jobs or become productive members of their communities. ...
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A VISION FOR GREAT SCHOOLS
On this website, educators, parents and policymakers from coast to coast are sharing what's already working in public schools--and sparking a national conversation about how to make it work for children in every school. Join the conversation!
