Failure Is NOT An Option

What successful schools are doing to ensure they leave no children behind

Dropout Nation

• 30-50% Dropout Rate – That’s 1 in 3 freshmen that will drop out (using the lower number).

• 67% of prison inmates are H.S. Dropouts

• ½ of all dropouts are unemployed• Kids from the lowest income quarter

are six times as likely to drop out as kids from the highest.

Dropout facts:

• Dropouts are much more likely than their peers who graduate to be unemployed, living in poverty, receiving public assistance, in prison, on death row, unhealthy, divorced, and become single parents with children who drop out from high school themselves.

Why they dropout…• Nearly 7 in 10 respondents (69 percent) said

they were not motivated or inspired to workhard.

• 80 percent did one hour or less of homeworkeach day in high school,

• two-thirds would have worked harder if more was demanded of them (higher academic standards and more studying and homework), and 70 percent were confident they could have graduated if they had tried.

• Even a majority of those with low GPAs thought they could have graduated.

Oregon’s Graduation Rates• All Students = 69%

• = 31% Failure Rate• African American Youth = 25%

• = 75% Failure Rate• Worst in the nation• National graduation average = 51.6%

• = 48.4% Failure

• Native American Students = 37%• = 63% Failure Rate

• Hispanic Students = 55%• = 45% Failure Rate

Education and Boys…

• 40% being raised without their biological fathers

• Between the ages of 5 and 14 boys are 200% more likely to commit suicide than girls.• 36% more likely to die than their female

counterparts.• 60% more likely than girls to have

repeated at least one grade (ages 5-12).

Education and Boys continued…

• “Often boys are treated like defective girls.”

• Elementary school boys are two times more likely than girls to be diagnosed with learning disabilities and twice as likely to be placed in special-ed classes.

Boys…

• The number of boys who said they didn’t like school rose 71 percent since 1980.

• In 1975 58% of college students were male –today 44%.

Traditional Solutions for failing students:

• “Credit recovery”… • “Packet Classes”…• “Night School”…• “GED Diploma”

GED Reality• A rash of studies over the last decade have

found that life outcomes for GED holders are similar to that of dropouts.

• Most employers would pass up a GED holder for a high school graduate any day.

• The Department of Defense has come to the same conclusion. The military keeps a tight ceiling on the number of GED-holders allowed to serve, from 1% in the Air Force to 10% in the Army.

“Our youth now love luxury. They have bad manners, contempt for authority; they show disrespect for their elders and love chatter in place of exercise; they no longer rise when elders enter the room; they contradict their parents, chatter before company; gobble up their food and tyrannize their teachers.”

• Socrates, Fifth Century B.C.

The Ambulance or The FenceThe Ambulance or The Fence

Twas a dangerous cliff, as they freely confessed,Though to walk near its crest was so pleasant;But over its terrible edge there had slippedA duke, and full many a peasant.The people said something would have to be done,But their projects did not at all tally.Some said, "Put a fence 'round the edge of the cliff,"Some, "An ambulance down in the valley."

The lament of the crowd was profound and was loud,As their hearts overflowed with their pity;But the cry for the ambulance carried the dayAs it spread through the neighboring city.A collection was made, to accumulate aid,And the dwellers in highway and alleyGave dollars or cents - not to furnish a fence -But an ambulance down in the valley.

"For the cliff is all right if you're careful," they said;"And if folks ever slip and are dropping,It isn't the slipping that hurts them so muchAs the shock down below - when they're stopping."So for years (we have heard), as these mishaps occurred,Quick forth would the rescuers sally,To pick up the victims who fell from the cliff,With the ambulance down in the valley.

Said one, to his peers, "It's a marvel to meThat you'd give so much greater attentionTo repairing results than to curing the cause;You had much better aim at prevention.For the mischief, of course, should be stopped at its source,Come, neighbors and friends, let us rally.It is far better sense to rely on a fenceThan an ambulance down in the valley."

"He is wrong in his head," the majority said;"He would end all our earnest endeavor.He's a man who would shirk his responsible work,But we will support it forever.Aren't we picking up all, just as fast as they fall,And giving them care liberally?A superfluous fence is of no consequence,If the ambulance works in the valley.

The story looks queer as we've written it here,But things oft occur that are stranger;More humane, we assert, than to succor the hurtIs the plan of removing the danger,The best possible course is to safeguard the source;Attend to things rationally.Yes, build up the fence and let us dispenseWith the ambulance down in the valley.

Education’s “Ambulance Down in the Valley”

• “Credit recovery”… • “Packet Classes”…• “Night School”…• “GED Diploma”

Education’s Fences Strict student accountability School-wide system of graduated

interventions. Privilege tied directly to academic

performance Full lunch time Off-campus privileges ‘Free periods’ IPODS etc…

Response to Intervention for all students who struggle.

When Students Struggle Successful Schools Respond:• Base their response on INTERVENTION rather

than remediation.• Response is SYSTEMATIC – School-wide rather

than according to the discretion of individual teachers.

• Response is TIMELY – Before it is too late. Quickly identifies students who need additional time and support.

• Response is DIRECTIVE – Students are not invited to seek additional help the plan REQUIRES students to receive additional assistance.

INTERVENTION rather than remediation.

Take action BEFORE they fail.

SYSTEMATIC Response Not left up to individual dedicated

teachers. School-wide system that supports

struggling students. Based on frequent, timely monitoring

of student learning.

Response is TIMELY

• Common = 9 weeks (progress reports)

• Better = 6 weeks• Better Yet = 3 weeks

• Best = 24/7

70% of high school students lie to their parents about schoolwork!

• Need better school to home communication.

Academic monitoring 24/7

• Two answers:• www.schoolloop.com• www.parentbroadcast.com

Response is DIRECTIVE not voluntary:• School culture DEMANDS effort and

performance.• 2 Million public school students eligible for

free tutoring in 2004• Only 225,000 (12%) took advantage of the

help.• Optional tutorial programs are accessed

mostly by motivated high-achieving students.

• PROVIDING THE OPPORTUNITY TO LEARN IS NOT ENOUGH!

It takes Courageous leadership

• “Without courage, all other virtues lose their meaning. Courage is, rightly esteemed, the first of human qualities, because…it is the quality that guarantees all others.”

• Sir Winston Churchill

High Performing Schools Answer Three Critical Questions

1. If we expect all students to learn, what is it we expect them to learn?

1. By grade level/by subject.

2. How will we know if and when they have learned it?

1. Formative and Summative Assessment.

3. What will we do when they don’t learn?1. Time and Support.

What is it we expect them tolearn?

In effective schools each of the teachers has a clear understanding of what the essential learner objectives are, grade by grade and course by course.

How will we know if and when they have learned it?

Emphasis on formative assessment Assessment ‘for’ learning. Rather than summative assessment.

Assessment ‘of’ learning.

Difference between Formative and Summative

Summative Assessment Like an autopsy – informs family what killed the

patient. Sorry you failed…

Formative Assessment Like a physical exam – doctor explains what

needs to improve and how to improve to avoid the need for an autopsy! Now we know what you need to work on …

Formative Assessment exercise:

One million?A. 3 daysB. 2 weeksC. 11 days

One billion?

A. 3 monthsB. 1 yearC. 32 yearsD. 3 years

Authentic Grading Policies

Academic grade separate from behavioral – non-academic factors.. Full credit for late work – non-academic

punishment for turning work in late (detention, etc.)

Authentic Grading:

It is essential to report academic and nonacademic factors separately. We can assess a student's ability to turn things in on time and report it as part of a nonacademic grade component. This assessment, however, should not distort feedback regarding that student's ability to understand a concept or write an essay.

ABCI

students are required to achieve a C or higher on every assignment. If a student's work is judged to be less than C quality, that student receives an I for Incomplete—and teachers give the student as much time and support as needed to complete the work and get a higher grade.

Collaborative Teaming Focused on Teaching and Learning.

1. Committed staff – Shared mission, vision, values and goals.

2. Staff is strongly supported.3. School culture of trust and respect.4. Staff authority to make decisions about

teaching and learning.5. Time is created for teams to meet.6. Clear purpose and goals.

Key Elements to High Performing Elementary

Schools

Report from EDSOURCE.ORG

Prioritizing Student Achievement –

• The highest performing schools have teachers who take responsibility for student achievement and believe the school has well defined plans for instructional improvement.

• Principals at high-performing schools also say they understand their district’s expectations for meeting the school’s API and AYP targets and make those student performance expectations clear to their teachers.

Implementing a Coherent, Standards-based Curriculum –

• School-wide alignment and consistency in curriculum, and instruction that is closely based upon state academic standards.

• Schools report that their districts have a coherent grade-by-grade curriculum and that the district evaluates principals based on the extent to which instruction in the school aligns with the curriculum.

Analyzing Student Assessment Data from Multiple Sources –

• Principals use data extensively—from a variety of student tests, including the Standards Tests. Principals personally use assessment data to identify struggling students and address their academic needs as well as to evaluate teacher practices and identify teachers who need instructional improvement. • They also report that the district uses

assessment data to evaluate the principal based upon student achievement.

Ensuring Instructional Resources

• The district ensures an adequate supply of text books and support for facilities management. Classrooms have adequate instructional materials and teacher and principal years of experience were also positively correlated with overall school performance.

Four Key Elements…

1. Prioritizing Student Achievement.

2. Implementing a Coherent, Standards-based Curriculum.

3. Analyzing Student Assessment Data from Multiple Sources.

4. Ensuring Instructional Resources