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.
Data Driven Instruction
Success Stories
Story posted August 13, 2009
Results:
• Dramatic improvement in student scores on state standardized tests--a 15% gain in reading and 14% gain in math over a three year period in which overall state performance remained fairly stable
• Most demographic subgroups significantly improved, narrowing achievement gaps
When Stephanie Smith became the principal of Seaford (DE) Middle School four years ago, she was told to accept the fact that the school would never be able to change its status as a school that needed to improve. She didn't accept that. In fact, Smith took the incident as a personal challenge, disdaining the very thought of setting low expectations. To improve performance levels, she set the expectations high.
Her defiance paid off: [in 2007] the school [was] rated "commendable" and the staff members, students, and parents are justifiably proud of their accomplishments. 
Student achievement has improved, the school climate is more positive, and the school reaches out to parents and the community.
Early in her principalship, Smith accepted a $25,000 grant from the Wallace Foundation to train her staff members in the tenets of distributive leadership. She admits that she momentarily thought to herself: "Wait a minute, I just got the job and now you want me to let the teachers run the show?" But she knew no other style of leadership, and ...
Story posted August 6, 2009. Results updated August 2012.
Results:
- In 2012, Vallivue was recognized as a NASSP Breakthrough School.
- In 2011, 87% of 6th graders reached or exceeded proficiency in reading, up from 73% in 2008
- 57% of 7th graders did so in science, up from 35% in 2008
- 80% of 8th graders did so in language useage, exceeding the state average of 71%
- In math, the percentage of 8th graders scoring at or above proficient exceeded the state average of 80% by 10 points, reaching their all time high (so far) of 90% [math proficiency rates hovered around 50% prior to 2005]
On any given day in one of Debbie Watkins’s seventh-grade math classes you might find a student standing under a giant lightbulb, calling a parent, family member, or guardian on an old white telephone attached to the wall. Occasionally, the 
entire class will turn to watch the student make the call. Other times they barely notice, it’s become so commonplace.
It may sound like a punishment, but it’s actually a unique reward. A student gets to turn the light bulb on when they’ve finally demonstrated mastery of a difficult concept, typically one that has been causing them grief for several weeks. Then they get to call an adult of their choosing to share the good news.
It’s a small victory—one little step on the ladder of improvement—but the phone calls can be emotional moments. Once in a great while a student chokes back tears. Other times, they high-five or strut to the phone as if ...
Story posted July 30, 2009. Results updated August 31, 2010.
Results:
• In 2010, more than 84% of 6th, 7th and 8th graders met state reading standards, outperforming the state as a whole in 6th and 8th grades
• The school continues to show improvement in math test scores, with the proficiency rate increasing at least six percentage points in all grade levels--and fifteen percentage points at the 8th grade level--over the past four years
Relentless is the word that staff members at Stelle Claughton Middle School in Houston, TX, use to describe how they operate: "We don't give up on our students, their families, or our own commitment. We recognize that our own attitudes, choices, and behaviors toward our
students and about their learning have the greatest impact on their achieving excellence."
The relentless pursuit of excellence is everywhere in the school, and it reflects Principal Delic Loyde's approach to staff members, students, and instruction. No detail, no matter how small, is overlooked. A few years ago, when the school missed its attendance target by a 10th of a percent, Loyde stressed to the faculty that the number represented only a few students and that every adult had a responsibility to ensure that every student was at school every day. The target was never missed again and ...
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 ...
Catching Kids Up: A Math Club Success Story
Story posted April 17, 2009
Results:
• Most participants make significant gains in both district benchmark testing and class grades
• Students report greater interest in and understanding of math
• Teachers report increases in participants' attention to instruction and class participation
At Mechanicsburg Middle School, we recognized the need to help our lowest-achieving math students improve their skills. In addition, because many of these students had low confidence in their abilities based on past failures in Math, we knew we needed to provide a model that not only would be academically beneficial but also give the students an opportunity to view Math in a new light. Using collective teaching strengths, we created a model that has resulted in higher performance and an overall love of ...
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 ...
Feinstein Elementary School Cooks Up Success
Story posted February 26, 2009. Results updated April 1, 2010.
Results:
• Between fall 2005 and fall 2009, the percent of students scoring proficient or better in mathematics on the New England Common Assessment Program (NECAP) more than doubled, increasing from 14% to 31%
• In fall 2009, 52% of students scored proficient or better in reading on the NECAP, up from 29% in fall 2005
Named after philanthropist Alan Shawn Feinstein, who is said to have established the first-ever public high school with community service as its theme, Alan Shawn Feinstein Elementary at Broad Street in Providence, Rhode Island, serves a largely Hispanic population, many of whom have emigrated from the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico. Of the nearly 400 children enrolled, 90 percent qualify for subsidized meals, an indicator of the school's poverty level.
To serve these students, Principal Christine Riley and her staff came up with a recipe for student success:
1. Use large measures of data-driven instruction, research-based teaching practices and ...
Calling for Excellence with One Voice
Story posted September, 2008. Results updated April 2, 2010.
Results:
• Now one of the top high schools in Memphis, outperforming the district as a whole on nearly all End-of-Course exams in 2009
• In 2009, 99% of students met or exceeded proficiency standards in reading and 95% of students did so in math, outperforming the state as a whole despite serving a population that is much more economically disadvantaged
What does shared leadership look like? At Westwood High School in Memphis, TN, it is evident when teachers and staff members talk with students in the halls between classes; when students demonstrate pride in themselves and their school by being fully engaged in their classes; when parents participate in their children's school life; and when community members are regular partners in the school. ...
Story posted August 19, 2008. Story updated April, 24, 2012.
Results:
• 60% of students enroll in honors classes, with 26% in AP classes
• The school's pass rate on the state algebra exam, at 88%, exceeds the state's by four points; the pass rate for English met the state's at 82%.
Data-driven decision-making, targeted staff development, collaborative leadership, and the sheer will of committed staff members have launched Wheaton High School on a promising trajectory. Located in Montgomery County, MD, a predominately affluent area that has more than 20 high schools, Wheaton (which is 51% Hispanic, 26% African American, and 37% free or reduced price lunch) has always received attention, but unfortunately, for many years the attention focused on lackluster student achievement. ...
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.
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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!
