Transforming School Counseling: School Counselors Count in Accountability

1
Talking about Achievement Gaps and
NCLBStrategies, Tools, and Tips

• School Counselors Count in Accountabily
• Norfolk, Va
• June 3-5, 2004

2
NCLB Statement of Purpose
Closing the achievement gap between high- and
low-performing children, especially the
achievement gaps between minority and nonminority
students, and between disadvantaged children and
their more advantaged peers. 20 U.S.C. 6301
3
Proactive Communication Is Essential

• How you talk about the achievement gap,
  disaggregated data and the new public reporting
  requirements will have a profound impact on
  student achievement in your state.

4
Without the possibility of action, all knowledge
comes to one labeled file and forget, and I can
neither file nor forget.

• -- Ralph Ellison, Invisible Man

5
Five Big Strategies

• 1. Talk about disaggregated data and
  achievement gaps proactively, clearly, and
  frankly
• 2 . Use data to dispel the destructive myths
  about the gaps and the belief that theres
  nothing schools can do about them
• 3. Convey a Concrete Vision of What You Expect
  Educators to Do and Not Do about the Gaps
• 4. Describe NCLB and state goals for achievement
  in terms of an everybody wins scenario
• 5. Dispel myths about how long it takes to get
  results and the possible pace of improvement

6
1. Talk About Group Scores and Achievement Gaps
Clearly and Frankly
7
Recognize the Concerns

• Group data, especially race data, can initially
  make many people uncomfortable
• Many dont understand why its necessary to
  separate scores by race and poverty
• There are a number of myths and some legitimate
  concerns about consequences of releasing
  disaggregated test scores, e.g.
• disaggregation means segregation
• fear that it will reinforce negative group
  stereotypes

8
Tip Communicate Why You Believe Publishing Group
Data is Necessary

• Focusing on averages has allowed too many kids to
  fall through the cracks unnoticed.
• Allows us to figure out how well our
  school/district/state is doing IF we really
  believe all kids can and should learn.
• Appeals to the publics sense of moral
  responsibility. (Its the right thing to do.)

9

• It dissagregated data will encourage schools
  to focus their efforts and look at data to
  determine which groups are low and target their
  efforts.
• Liz Talbot, special programs coordinator
  with the San Benito County Office of Education,
  Hollister Free Lance (CA), 4/30/03

10

• Each of our teams probably thought they knew
  what the trends in student achievement were.
  But when some of the teams looked at our data, it
  wasn't necessarily what they thought it was. And
  that was good.
• -- Kim Von Stein, a reading resource teacher
  in a high-poverty school, Washington Post, 5/18/03

11

• "You look at the numbers and you see this huge
  division. It's clearly not a random glitch.
  Something is seriously wrong. Nobody wants to
  talk about race. Nobody wants to talk about
  failing. But guess what? Kids are failing. And if
  you look at the scores, it's very much about
  race."
• -- Rob Howard, president of the North County
  branch of the National Association for the
  Advancement of Colored People, North County
  Times, 5/25/03

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breaking out test scores for minority and
ethnic groups is long overdue. It's one of the
strongest features of No Child Left Behind.

• -- Paul Vallas, chief executive officer of the
  Philadelphia School istrict, Philadelphia
  Inquirer, 12/14/03

13
Tip Be Up Front about How NCLB Redefines What It
Takes to Be a Good Enough School or District
14
A New Definition of Good Enough

• What makes for a good school?
• What makes for a good district?

Academic Bragging Rights
In So Five Minutes Ago
Out
Apologies to Entertainment Weekly
Its mostly about our best and brightest How
many merit scholars last year? How many
grads accepted to elite colleges last year?
Its mostly about our average students Is our
average score above average? Is the average
going up by a few points each year?
Its about all students Are all students and
all student groups making enough progress toward
academic proficiency? Are gaps between groups
closing?
15
Parents and the Public Support New Definition of
Good Enough
Concerned Parents 93 Voters 88
SOURCE Business Roundtable Survey conducted by
SDS (June 2003).
16
Abraham Lincoln Middle School Gainesville, Florida

• 31 White
• 59 African American
• 58 Low Income
• An A School Under the Florida Accountability
  Model
• Did Not Make AYP for 2002-03

Source Florida Department of Education,
http//web.fldoe.org School
Information Partnership, http//www.schoolresults.
org
17
Achievement Gaps at Lincoln2003 Reading Composite
AYP Target 31
Source School Information Partnership,
http//www.schoolresults.org
18
Achievement Gaps at Lincoln2003 Math Composite
AYP Target 38
Source School Information Partnership,
http//www.schoolresults.org
19
Union Elementary SchoolBelleville, Illinois

• 46 African American
• 52 White
• 54 Low Income
• 32 Students with Disabilities
• Made AYP for 2002-03

Reflects Enrollment on First Day of Testing
Source Belleville Public Schools,
http//www.belleville118.stclair.k12.il.us
20
Achievement at Union2003 Reading Composite
AYP Target 40
Source Belleville Public Schools,
http//www.belleville118.stclair.k12.il.us
21
Achievement at Union2003 Math Composite
AYP Target 40
Source Belleville Public Schools,
http//www.belleville118.stclair.k12.il.us
22
Tip Lead by Example Talk About Achievement
Gaps Up Front

• Shows that its O.K. to openly and publicly
  discuss uncomfortable subjects like race and
  achievement.
• Categorically reject that this is about
  scapegoating kids or reinforcing group
  stereotypes.
• Provides a model for HOW to talk about
  disaggregated data and gaps.

23

• In some districts, for example, "it would appear
  that a school was successful, but when you looked
  closer, we discovered the system was failing
  Hispanic, African American and other minority
  children."
• -- Kevin Gordon, executive director of the
  California Association of School Business
  Officials. Associated Press, 8/16/03

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• We used to say, Ten percent of our students are
  not succeeding thats not too bad. Now those
  10 percent are being put under a microscope. The
  focus now is on every single child.
• Christopher Spezialetti, Principal, Ernie
  Davis Elementary School, The New York Times,
  11/10/02

25
"Even with a score of 933, we still have kids who
are not proficient in math and not proficient in
language arts. . .Until every kid in Mound is
proficient, we haven't met our goal."

• -- Mound Principal Rich Kirby, Los Angeles
  Times, 3/10/04

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Tip Be Brutally Frank about How Serious the Gaps
Are
Tip Use innovative ways to flesh out what the
test scores mean in terms of real achievement
27
U.S. Eighth Grade Math NAEP Achievement By
Group
Source US Department of Education, National
Center for Education Statistics Web site,
http//nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/naepdata/
28
African American and Latino 17 Year Olds Read at
Same Levels as White 13 Year Olds
Source Source NAEP 1999 Long Term Trends
Summary Tables (online)
29
California Black and Latino 11th Graders Score
Only as High as White 6th Graders in Math
Sources CA Department of Education Web site,
http//www.eddataonline.com/CST2002/
White
Black
Latino
30
Tip Two Cardinal Rules for Displaying Data of
Any Kind

• Keep it simple.
• Tell a clear story.

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Keep It Simple This is NOT
32
Keep It Simple Like This
33
Keep It Simple Like This
34
Five Big Strategies

• Talk about disaggregated data and achievement
  gaps proactively, clearly, and frankly
• Use data to dispel the destructive myths about
  the gaps and the belief that theres nothing
  schools can do about them

35
2. Use Data to Dispel the Belief that Theres
Nothing Schools Can Do about the Gaps
36
Recognize the Concerns about Achievement Gaps

• Kids come from poor neighborhoods
• Poor/minority kids have hard lives that prevent
  them from learning
• Peer cultures discourage kids from wanting to
  learn and/or working hard in school
• Parents dont care, arent involved, are
  uneducated, dont have time to check homework,
  dont read to kids at night

37
Tip Acknowledge Your Opportunity Gaps

• Low Expectations
• Watered down curriculum
• Teacher Quality

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Talking about Expectations

• Quite frankly, we are not living up to our
  obligation to educate all of our high school
  students the best we possibly can. Our students
  are being deprived of opportunities because of
  low expectations. . .
• -- California State Schools Chief Jack
  O'Connell, Contra Costa Times, 2/12/04

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Much to our surprise, attitudes really had
changed considerably since NCLB. . . There are
high expectations and we did not have to twist
any arms. --Ricki Sabia, parent of fifth
grade with learning disabilities said she is
finding it much easier to get him into mainstream
classes despite his learning disabilities,
Washington Post, 3/10/04
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Nationwide, "there's been a tendency to dummy
down the curriculum particularly for poor and
minority children The effect of that has been
to institutionalize poor achievement. The way to
close the gap is to teach to high standards.
Talking about Curriculum

• -- Paul Vallas, chief executive officer of the
  Philadelphia School District, Philadelphia
  Inquirer, 12/14/03

41
A Work in Poor Schools Would Earn Cs in
Affluent Schools
Source Prospects (ABT Associates, 1993), in
Prospects Final Report on Student Outcomes,
PES, DOE, 1997.
42
Acknowledge Your Teacher Quality Gaps

• Teacher Quality Low-income and minority students
  are far more likely to be assigned to
  under-qualified teachers.

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High School Math Classes Where Teacher Not
Certified in Math, by Student Poverty Level
Source The Education Trust and Dr. Richard M.
Ingersolls analysis of the federal 1999-2000
Schools And Staffing Survey (SASS) database, 2002.
44
CA Middle School Math Classes Where Teacher Has
No Major OR Minor In Field, by Income
Source The Education Trust and Dr. Richard M.
Ingersolls analysis of the federal 1999-2000
Schools And Staffing Survey (SASS) database, 2002.
45
K-3 Teacher Credentials in California Schools
with Different Proportions of Low-Income Students
Source Class size reduction in California
1998-99 evaluation findings, 2000, CDE.
46
Californias Teacher Quality Gap

• The number of under-qualified public school
  teachers in California dropped in 2002-03, but
  the teaching ranks are not improving fast enough
  to ensure that every student will be taught by a
  credentialed, experienced educator in the near
  future
• -- Sacramento Bee, 12/3/03

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Californias Teacher Quality Gap

• This notion that, if you're a child from a
  low-income area you're more likely to be taught
  by a teacher who is not qualified, is something
  that should not be acceptable in California."
• -Assemblyman Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento,
  Sacramento Bee, 12/3/03

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Tip Use Scatterplots to Dispel the Myth that
Achievement Is Perfectly Predictable by SES
49
Source Education Trust analysis of data from
National School-Level State Assessment Score
Database (www.schooldata.org).
50
Source Education Trust analysis of data from
National School-Level State Assessment Score
Database (www.schooldata.org).
51
Source Education Trust analysis of data from
National School-Level State Assessment Score
Database (www.schooldata.org).
52
Tip Use Frontier Data and 1) Lists/Examples
of High-Poverty/Minority Schools that Are
High-Performing2) Lists/Examples of Schools
that Are High-Performing for a Particular Group
of Students3) Lists/Examples of Schools with
High Performance for All Groups Small or No
Gaps between Groups
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Dispelling the Myth Online, Version 2.0!!!!

• Dispelling the Myth Online (Version 2.0), a
  powerful school data website featuring
  disaggregated data of the kind required by No
  Child Left Behind.

54
Centennial Place Elementary SchoolAtlanta Public
Schools

• 91 African American
• 79 Low Income
• In 2002, performed as well or better than 88 of
  Georgia schools in 4th grade math
• In 2002, performed as well or better than 93 of
  Georgia schools in 4th grade reading
• Made AYP for 2002-03

Source Georgia Department of Education,
http//www.doe.k12.ga.us
Dispelling the Myth Online, http//www.edtrust.org
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High Achievement at Centennial Place2003 Reading
Composite
AYP Target 60
Source Georgia Department of Education,
http//www.doe.k12.ga.us
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High Achievement at Centennial Place2003 Math
Composite
AYP Target 50
Source Georgia Department of Education,
http//www.doe.k12.ga.us
57
Leland Elementary SchoolChicago, Illinois

• 99 African American
• 98 Low Income
• In 2002, performed as well or better than 73 of
  Illinois schools in 3rd grade math
• Made AYP for 2002-03

Source Chicago Public Schools,
http//www.cps.k12.il.us Dispelling
the Myth Online, http//www.edtrust.org
58
High Achievement at Leland2003 Reading Composite
and Math Composite
AYP Target 40
Source Chicago Public Schools,
http//www.cps.k12.il.us
59
Charlotte-Mecklenburg, North CarolinaRaising
Achievement, Closing GapsGrade 3 Math
19
35
40
Source North Carolina Department of Public
Instruction, http//www.ncpublicschools.org
60
Norfolk, VirginiaRaising Achievement, Narrowing
GapsHigh School Math
Source School Information Partnership,
http//www.schoolresults.org
Research by the National Center for Educational
Accountability
61
Five Big Strategies

• Talk about disaggregated data and achievement
  gaps proactively, clearly, and frankly
• Use data to dispel the destructive myths about
  the gaps and the belief that theres nothing
  schools can do about them
• Convey a Concrete Vision of What You Expect
  Educators to Do and Not Do about the Gaps

62
3. Convey a Concrete Vision of What You Expect
Educators to Do and Not Do about the Gaps
63
Recognize the Concerns/Myths About What Schools
Districts Will Have to Do to Close Test-Score
Gaps

• Teaching to the test
• Ignoring non-tested subjects
• Encouraging older students to stay home on test
  day or drop out altogether
• Cheating on tests

64
Tip Give Examples of Ethical and Professionally
Sound Responses to Gap Data
65
Reaffirm that Teaching to Particular Test Items
Is Not Educationally Sound in the Long Run

• Judith Langer, Beating the Odds Teaching Middle
  and High School Students To Read and Write Well,
  Center on English Learning Achievement (2001)
• Examined the methods of highly successful English
  teachers in high-performing schools, compared
  with teachers who had average levels of success.
• The most successful teachers were far more likely
  to integrate the skills and knowledge that was to
  be tested into the larger ongoing curriculum.
• The less successful teachers were more likely to
  focus on test preparation skills and to treat the
  knowledge to be tested separate from the ongoing
  curriculum, the so-called teaching to the test
  approach.

66
The Old Way

• Curriculum is left up to individual schools or
  teachers
• Teachers broadcast the content a kind of
  one-size fits all approach
• Some students get it and some dont
• Teachers dont exactly know which students are
  really getting it and they couldnt do much
  about those who arent anyway.

Much is left to chance.
67
The New Way

• All teachers teach a common, coherent curriculum
  that clearly lays out what kids are supposed to
  have learned at each step of the way.
• Teachers use a variety of strategies to help
  students master a common set of knowledge and
  skills individualized instruction
• Teachers know which students arent getting it
  the first time and which students are falling
  seriously behind
• Teachers can tap into a variety of strategies for
  providing additional instruction to students who
  dont get it the first time or who are falling
  seriously behind.

Little is left to chance.
68
Tip Name and refute the culture of
powerlessness among educators by talking about

• Building effective instructional systems that
  work for all not just some students
• Roll up our sleeves and engineer common-sense,
  practical solutions big and small to known
  instructional obstacles

69
Example Parents, Homework, and Practical
Solutions to Problems

• Teachers say they are powerless because parents
  of poor kids cant/wont/dont have time/dont
  have capacity to make sure homework gets done.
• If we decide to keep using it, are there
  common-sense, practical solutions to this
  obstacle? (E.g., Extra time built into or around
  the school day.)

70
Various excuses have been used to explain poor
performance here in Tucson "The test is
culturally biased." So change it. "The reading
level is too high." So teach kids to read better.
"The students have limited English proficiency."
So immerse them in English. Stop whining and
just do what's necessary. Start at the
kindergarten level and make sure students don't
move on until they've met the standards - be it
in reading, writing, or math. It's not a
difficult concept. All too often we see students
struggling, and rather than find a different
approach to teaching them, we just want to get
them out of our hair.

• -- Sahuaro High School Science Teacher Bruce P.
  Murchison, Christian Science Monitor, 3/23/04

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Tip Offer examples of classroom teachers and
administrators who take bold actions to close
achievement gaps
72

• "If that's not happening at the home, it has to
  be explicitly taught in school."
• Deputy Superintendent Christine M. Johns
  (Baltimore County) re developing strong reading
  skills in students who arrive at school behind
  their more privileged peers, The Baltimore Sun,
  6/9/03.

73

• Medley said Christopher's kindergarten teacher
  has the patience and skills to teach him what she
  cannot. And she is grateful.
• I'm not more equipped than a teacher to
  give him that head start.
• The Baltimore Sun, 6/9/03

74
Five Big Strategies

• 1. Talk about disaggregated data and achievement
  gaps proactively, clearly, and frankly
• 2 . Use data to dispel the destructive myths
  about the gaps and the belief that theres
  nothing schools can do about them
• 3. Convey a Concrete Vision of What You Expect
  Educators to Do and Not Do about the Gaps
• 4. Describe NCLB and state goals for achievement
  in terms of an everybody wins scenario

75
4. Describe NCLB and State Goals in Terms of an
Everybody Wins Scenario
76
Recognize the Concerns/Myths

• Doesnt Gap Closing Mean Holding
  White/Affluent/Gifted/High-Achieving Groups of
  Kids Down?
• Taking Resources Away from Them?
• Ignoring Them and Their Needs

77
Tip Talk about Dual Goals for Student Achievement

• We expect two things
• 1) That all groups of students improve, and,
• 2) At the same time, that we accelerate the
  improvement of poor and minority students.

78
Tip Use Longitudinal Data from Your State or
Elsewhere to Show What You Expect the Achievement
Patterns to Look Like
79
Aldine, TX Raising Achievement for All While
Narrowing Gaps
Source Texas Education Agency-Academic
Excellence Indicator System Report 1994 through
2001.
80
Aldine, TX Raising Achievement for All While
Narrowing Gaps
Source Texas Education Agency-Academic
Excellence Indicator System Report 1994 through
2001.
81
Tip Use Data to Show That Theres Plenty of Room
for Improvement for All Groups
82
NAEP Proficiency Gap Grade 4 Reading
61
88
86
Source U.S. Department of Education, National
Center for Education Statistics, National
Assessment of Educational Progress.
83
California2003 English Language Arts Composite
45
43
63
79
76
79
Source California Department of Education,
http//www.cde.ca.gov
84
Pennsylvania2003 Math Composite
41
70
79
74
48
Source Pennsylvania Department of Education,
http//www.pde.state.pa.us
85
Tip Emphasize that This Isnt About Taking
Anything Away from Anyone, but Rather Making Sure
All Students Get What They Need to Learn
86
We're seeing remarkable gains for both the
regular students in her class and the
special-education students. To have students who
were non-readers when they came into her class
and become on the border of being independent
readers, that's really remarkable. . ." --
Assistant Principal Randy Willis re First Grade
Teacher remarkable progress with the special
needs kids in her class, Cincinnati Enquirer,
4/14/04
87
Five Big Strategies

• 1. Talk about disaggregated data and achievement
  gaps proactively, clearly, and frankly
• 2 . Use data to dispel the destructive myths
  about the gaps and the belief that theres
  nothing schools can do about them
• 3. Convey a Concrete Vision of What You Expect
  Educators to Do and Not Do about the Gaps
• 4. Describe NCLB and state goals for achievement
  in terms of an everybody wins scenario
• 5. Dispel myths about how long it takes to get
  results and the possible pace of improvement

88
5. Dispel Myths about How Long It Takes to Get
Results and the Pace of Improvement
89
Recognize the Concerns/Myths

• Doesnt it take XX years of school improvement
  efforts before you get any results?
• Isnt the NCLB timeline way too short for
  schools to get poor and minority students to
  proficiency?

90
High Performing Districts Accomplish their Goals
in a Short Amount of time

• They not only really believed that literally all
  children can learn, they decided that they could
  accomplish this in their districts and in the
  immediate future rather than in some distant,
  mythic future.

Source Equity-Driven Achievement-Focused School
Districts, Sept. 2000, The Charles A. Dana
Center, The University of Texas at Austin.
91
Tip Actively Rebut the It Takes a Long Time to
See Any Improvement Myth
92
Gap Narrows in Virginia
22
33
Source Virginia Department of Education Web site.
93
Norview High School, Norfolk, VA
(1,560 students 70 African American and Latino)
Sources Virginia Department of Education Web
site, http//www.pen.k12.va.us/VDOE/Assessment/200
2SOLpassrates.html.
94
North CarolinaRaising Achievement, Closing Gaps
Grade 4 Reading
18
25
28
Source North Carolina Department of Public
Instruction, http//www.ncpublicschools.org
95
North CarolinaRaising Achievement, Closing Gaps
Grade 4 Math
8
16
24
Source North Carolina Department of Public
Instruction, http//www.ncpublicschools.org
96
Tip Provide Examples of Schools in your District
that are Fast Improving
97
A Tale of Two Schools

• Annandale Elementary
• 92 Latino
• 92 low-income

• Magnolia Street Elementary
• 94 Latino
• 95 low-income

Both schools are in Los Angeles Unified School
District
98
A Tale of Two Schools
Source Education Trust, Dispelling the Myth
Online, www.edtrust.org
99
A Tale of Two Schools
Source Education Trust, Dispelling the Myth
Online, www.edtrust.org
100
A Tale of Two Schools
Source Education Trust, Dispelling the Myth
Online, www.edtrust.org
101
A Tale of Two Schools
Source Education Trust, Dispelling the Myth
Online, www.edtrust.org
102
A Tale of Two Schools
Source Education Trust, Dispelling the Myth
Online, www.edtrust.org
103
Five Big Strategies

• 1. Talk about disaggregated data and
  achievement gaps proactively, clearly, and
  frankly
• 2 . Use data to dispel the destructive myths
  about the gaps and the belief that theres
  nothing schools can do about them
• 3. Convey a Concrete Vision of What You Expect
  Educators to Do and Not Do about the Gaps
• 4. Describe NCLB and state goals for achievement
  in terms of an everybody wins scenario
• 5. Dispel myths about how long it takes to get
  results and the possible pace of improvement

104
"Our focus needs to be on the children. . . We
need to do everything possible to help them
achieve the standards.
Rememberwhat you say matters a lot.

• Rick Mills, New York State Education
  Commissioner, RE the release of AYP scores,
  Albany Times Union, 9/6/03

105
www.edtrust.org