A Tale of Two Districts: One High Poverty, One High SES

2008 IES Research Conference

Dr. Jane T. Plenge

Dr. Antoinette Rath

Overview of DistrictsW-NJ

“B” District 3/5 schools made AYP

in 2007 Majority white & black

MT-NJ

“J” District 5/5 schools made AYP

in 2007 Majority white & Asian

W-NJ 05-06

LAL PartProf/Prof/AdvProf

Wh – 40 32.5% 37.5% 30.0%

Bl – 33 36.4% 60.6% 3.0%

MATH Wh - 40

32.5% 55.0% 12.5% Bl – 32

59.4% 40.6% 0.0%

MT-NJ 05-06

LAL PartProf/Prof/AdvProf

Wh - 287 2.1% 45.3% 52.6%

As - 69 0.0% 30.4% 69.6%

MATH Wh - 288

3.5% 43.1% 53.5% As - 69

1.4% 17.4% 81.2%

State Assessment Results 2005-06

Use of Research – W-NJWRITE in all content areas UPenn – PENN Literacy Network Writing Across the Curriculum – teacher

constructed writing prompts Administered every course, every period, 3x per

marking period Accountability: Teacher portfolio due at time of APR Teachers not writing specialists; focus on content

understanding PD for full staff + on-site graduate courses

Use of Research – W-NJ

Writing in all content areas Research & data from Education Trust –

PD - Standards in Practice Full staff study - use of standards (1 content, 1

writing) in teacher assignments and resulting student work samples

Cross content, within content, in grade level

Use of Research – W-NJ

Achievement Gap PD to prep for research & data collection –

Ron Ferguson, Harvard University - Tripod Project

PD with Psychologist Howard C. Stevenson, Jr. –GSE UPENN Playing with Anger: Teaching Coping Skills to

African American Boys Through Athletics and Culture

Use of Research – W-NJAchievement Gap Minority Task Force – community & staff Book Study Groups for Staff – Lisa Delpit, Gary

Howard, Ruby Payne Membership in Delaware Valley Minority Student

Achievement Consortium African-American Male Group, student focus groups On site qualitative study – Gender, Race, and

Representation in US History Films: Impact on Identity Development in Black and White Females

W-NJ – After Research-Based Program Interventions Over 2 Yrs (2003-04)Language Arts Literacy – 99 tested PartProf Prof AdvProf

22.2(31.5) 64.6(59.6) 13.1(9.0) Passing 77.7 (04) 68.6 (03) gain = 9.1

Math – 99 tested PartProf Prof AdvProf

38.4(57.3) 36.4(36) 25.3(6.7) Passing 61.7 (04) 42.7 (03) gain = 19.0

Use of Research – MT-NJMath & Science curriculum renewal process Change deeply held beliefs of teachers and

administration to change practice E.g. Everyday Math & Physics First – Promising

programs based on empirical data – NCTM and NSF

Implement standards-based instruction and assessment

Encourage constructivist & inquiry learning - more than just procedural, i.e., conceptual understanding

Support - extensive PD

Use of Research – MT-NJ

TIMSS Focal Points

Makes TIMSS research applicable Shifted emphasis for grade levels De-emphasized and eliminated some areas Moves closer to national curriculum

NJ in process of planning implementation of Alg I, Alg II, Bio, Chem. end-of course assessments

Use of Research – MT-NJ

Elementary Principal: With parents to support instruction or issues with

practice To redirect a teacher, e.g. use of negative discipline

system Planning – budgeting for resource purchases Answering questions from teachers and parents Move to non-fiction story books rather than history

text

Use of Research – MT-NJ

ETS – Non-cognitive measures Construct and administer HS student survey Provide actions for self monitoring based on

responses Utilize findings for research

ERS Class size, study skills, reading recovery,

grading/student evaluation, first grade, transitional/junior kindergarten, full day kindergarten, gifted education, MS transitional programs

Thanks for your attention

and your interest!