State Reports and Resources
Dropout Prevention/Recovery
- Best Practices in Dropout Prevention
This 2008 study found three programs that were positively associated with dropout prevention in Texas schools: Career Academies, Communities In Schools, and Project GRAD. The researchers examined national and statewide dropout prevention efforts and research and found that most effective dropout programs had certain components, including school-community collaboration, safe learning environments, family engagement, mentoring/tutoring, alternative schooling, active learning, and career and technology education. Additionally, the report identifies national dropout programs with potential for success in Texas.
- Dropout Recovery Resource Guide
This 2008 guide was developed specifically for Texas and is intended for districts and schools that want to develop and implement dropout recovery strategies or a comprehensive dropout recovery program. The guide examines components of dropout recovery programs, including program planning and administration, staffing, collaborative partnerships, student identification and tracking, re-enrollment, program options, support, program funding and costs, and evaluation. Small, mid-sized, and large school districts with effective and innovative dropout recovery/prevention programs are identified in the guide, and information about these programs is provided. Emerging best practices include: removing all barriers; providing greater service differentiation following re-enrollment; connecting the recovered dropout to a caring adult; integrating a case management model; offering greater flexibility; increasing range of program choices; assigning high quality staff; tailoring the academic program to the recovered dropout’s academic status; focusing on post-high school directions; collaborating with post-secondary institutions; following students in college; and providing workforce preparation. Ineffective strategies are also identified in the guide.
English Language Learners
- Best Practices for English Language Learners
This 2006 report presents best practices for English language learners (ELLs) based on findings from two studies that included Texas campuses and districts: The Texas Successful School Study: Quality Education for Limited English Proficient Students (2000) and Characteristics of Effective Dual Language Programs 90:10 and 50:50 Models (2004). Effective practices focus on: consistency of implementation; administrative and staff support and knowledge of ELL research; teacher training; teacher collaboration and long-range planning of curriculum and instruction for ELL students; use of native language in instruction; differentiated and explicit instruction; and parent involvement. Best practices are provided in table format with description, national research to support the practice, and recommendations for instructional application.
State Resources
National Reports
Instruction
- The Institute of Education Sciences Practice Guide: Organizing Instruction and Study to Improve Student Learning
This 2007 practice guide provides seven evidence-based recommendations for organizing instruction and study to improve student learning based on a comprehensive assessment of existing research and evaluation studies in the field. Recommended practices include: spacing learning over time; alternating between worked example solutions and problem-solving exercises; combining graphics with verbal descriptions; connecting and integrating abstract and concrete representations of concepts; using quizzing to promote learning; helping students allocate study time efficiently; and asking deep explanatory questions. The guide provides a checklist for carrying out the recommendations and features and components associated with each.
- Raising Rigor, Getting Results: Lessons Learned from AP Expansion
This 2009 report from the National Governors Association's (NGA) Center for Best Practices provides recommendations for improving student enrollment and success in AP courses based on findings from a large-scale NGA pilot project. The Advanced Placement Expansion Project was designed to increase the participation of minority and low-income students in AP courses and involved 51,000 students in 51 high schools across six states. Across the pilot schools, the number of students taking AP courses rose 65 percent over two years, and the number of minority and low-income students taking AP exams more than doubled. In addition, mastery-level performance on the AP exam accelerated at a faster rate than the national average. Recommended strategies included: ensuring equitable access to AP classes at all high schools and requiring all students to take some AP coursework to graduate from high school; investing in training to build teacher capacity to support student success in rigorous courses; and creating incentives such as state scholarship funding for students taking AP courses. The report includes specific examples of how states have implemented the recommended strategies.
Dropout Prevention/Recovery
Reading/Language/Literacy
- The Institute of Education Sciences Practice Guide: Assisting Students Struggling with Reading: Response to Intervention and Multi-Tier Intervention in the Primary Grades
This 2009 practice guide provides five evidence-based recommendations for assisting students struggling with reading as a response to intervention in the primary grades. Recommended practices include: screening all students for potential reading problems at the beginning of the year and again in the middle of the year; (tier 1) providing time for differentiated reading instruction for all students based on assessments of students’ current reading level; (tier 2) providing intensive, systematic instruction on up to three foundational reading skills in small groups to students who score below the benchmark score on universal screening; monitoring the progress of tier 2 students at least once a month; and (tier 3) providing intensive instruction on a daily basis that promotes the development of the various components of reading proficiency to students who show minimal progress after reasonable time in tier 2 small group instruction. The guide provides a checklist for carrying out the recommendations and features and components associated with each.
- The Institute of Education Sciences Practice Guide: Effective Literacy and English Language Instruction for English Learners in the Elementary Grades
This 2007 practice guide provides five evidence-based recommendations for improving early literacy for English learners based on a comprehensive assessment of existing research and evaluation studies in the field. Recommended practices include: screening for reading problems and monitoring progress; providing intensive small-group reading interventions; providing extensive and varied vocabulary instruction; developing academic English; and scheduling regular peer-assisted learning opportunities. The guide provides a checklist for carrying out the recommendations and features and components associated with each.
- The Institute of Education Sciences Practice Guide: Improving Adolescent Literacy: Effective Classroom and Intervention Practices
This 2008 practice guide provides five evidence-based recommendations for improving adolescent literacy based on a comprehensive assessment of existing research and evaluation studies in the field. Recommended practices include: providing explicit vocabulary instruction; providing direct and explicit comprehension strategy instruction; providing opportunities for extended discussion of text meaning and interpretation; increasing student motivation and engagement in literacy learning; and making available intensive and individualized interventions for struggling readers that can be provided by trained specialists. The guide provides a checklist for carrying out the recommendations and features and components associated with each.
Math/Science
- The Institute of Education Sciences Practice Guide: Assisting Students Struggling with Mathematics: Response to Intervention (RtI) for Elementary and Middle Schools
This 2009 practice guide provides eight evidence-based recommendations for assisting elementary and middle school students struggling with mathematics. Recommended practices include: (tier 1) screening all students to identify those at risk for potential mathematics difficulties and providing interventions to students identified as at risk; (tiers 2 & 3) selecting (by committee) instructional materials intensely focused on in-depth treatment of whole numbers in kindergarten through grade 5 and on rational numbers in grades 4 through 8 for students receiving interventions; providing explicit and systematic instruction during the intervention, including providing models of proficient problem solving, verbalization of thought processes, guided practice, corrective feedback, and frequent cumulative review; providing interventions that include instruction on solving word problems based on common underlying structures; using intervention materials that include opportunities for students to work with visual representations of mathematical ideas and using visual representations of mathematical ideas proficiently; including in interventions at all grade levels about 10 minutes in each session focused on building fluent retrieval of basic arithmetic facts; monitoring the progress of students receiving supplemental instruction and other students who are at risk; and including motivational strategies in tier 2 and tier 3 interventions. The guide provides a checklist for carrying out the recommendations and features and components associated with each.
- The Institute of Education Sciences Practice Guide: Encouraging Girls in Math and Science
This 2007 practice guide provides five evidence-based recommendations for encouraging girls in math and science based on a comprehensive assessment of existing research and evaluation studies in the field. Recommended practices include: teaching students that academic abilities are expandable and improvable; providing prescriptive, informational feedback; exposing girls to female role models who have succeeded in math and science; creating a classroom environment that sparks initial curiosity and fosters long-term interest in math and science; and providing spatial skills training. The guide provides a checklist for carrying out the recommendations and features and components associated with each.
Business/Management
- Managing for Results in America’s Great City Schools: A Report of the Performance Measurement and Benchmarking Project
This 2007 report from the Council of Great City Schools describes 50 statistical indicators to measure urban school performance in the areas of transportation, food services, maintenance and operations, procurement, and safety and security. The purpose of the project is to help schools measure performance, improve operational decisions, and strengthen practices. As the project continues, the Council will provide indicators in additional areas of operations and collect data to identify trends and effective practices on a range of operational and business functions. District identification and characteristics are masked, but a list of districts included in the analysis is provided at the end of the report. Only participating districts have access to identifying information.
Other
- Improving Your Child’s Education: A Guide for Latino Parents
This 2004 guide from The Education Trust provides suggestions for how Latino parents can get involved in and serve as a better advocate for their child’s education. Suggestions for working with their child include: talking with the child about school; monitoring homework; reading with the child; meeting teachers and knowing their qualifications; finding out about classroom expectations; making sure children are in most challenging classes; becoming familiar with state academic standards; and asking for a class syllabus. Suggestions for ways in which parents can work with schools include: talking with other parents about the school; finding out how student placement decisions are made; inquiring about teacher qualifications and teacher assignments; understanding and using data to push for improvements in how well schools are preparing Latino students; and asking to see school improvement plans. The guide is available in Spanish.
- The Institute of Education Sciences Practice Guide: Reducing Behavior Problems in the Elementary School Classroom
This 2008 practice guide provides five evidence-based recommendations for reducing behavior problems in the elementary school classroom based on a comprehensive assessment of existing research and evaluation studies in the field. Recommended practices include: identifying the specifics of the problem behavior and the conditions that prompt and reinforce it; modifying the classroom learning environment to decrease problem behavior; teaching and reinforcing new skills to increase appropriate behavior and preserve a positive classroom climate; drawing on relationships with professional colleagues and students’ families for continued guidance and support; and assessing whether schoolwide behavior problems warrant adopting schoolwide strategies or programs and, if so, implement ones shown to reduce negative and foster positive interactions. The guide provides a checklist for carrying out the recommendations and features and components associated with each.
- The Institute of Education Sciences Practice Guide: Turning Around Chronically Low-Performing Schools
This 2008 practice guide provides four evidence-based recommendations for turning around chronically low-performing schools based on a comprehensive assessment of existing research and evaluation studies in the field. Recommended practices include: signaling the need for dramatic change with strong leadership; maintaining a consistent focus on improving instruction; providing visible improvements early in the turnaround process (quick wins); and building a committed staff. The guide provides a checklist for carrying out the recommendations and features and components associated with each.
National Resources
|
