Challenges of Conflicting School Reforms: Effects of New American Schools in a High-Poverty District

by Mark Berends, Joan Chun, Gina Schuyler, Sue Stockly, R. J. Briggs

Overview

A decade ago, New American Schools (NAS) launched an ambitious effort for whole-school reform to address the perceived lagging achievement of American students and the lackluster school reform attempts that have produced so few meaningful changes. RAND assessed the effects of NAS designs on classroom practice and student achievement in a sample of schools in a high-poverty district. It found that while high-stakes tests may motivate these schools to increase performance, they may also provide disincentives to adopt richer, more in-depth curricula that could improve students' learning opportunities.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780833031167
Publisher:	RAND Corporation
Publication date:	04/28/2002
Pages:	163
Product dimensions:	6.14(w) x 8.96(h) x 0.41(d)
Lexile:	1370L (what's this?)

Read an Excerpt

New American Schools (NAS) offers whole-school designs for schools and districts seeking to significantly raise the achievement of large numbers of students; RAND evaluated NAS reforms effects on students and teachers in high-poverty schools.

Table of Contents

	Preface	iii
	Figures	xiii
	Tables	xv
	Summary	xvii
	Acknowledgments	xxix
	Acronyms	xxxi
Chapter 1	New American Schools' Ambitions for Changing High-Poverty Classrooms	1
	Scaling Up NAS Design Teams	1
	Relationship of NAS to Federal Support for Schoolwide Change	4
	Purpose and Study Questions	5
	Study Design	6
	Understanding the Relationships Among NAS Designs, Classroom Instruction, and Student Achievement	8
	Core Elements of Designs	10
	Student Characteristics	11
	Teacher Characteristics	11
	School and Classroom Characteristics	12
	District/State Context	13
	External Assistance by Design Teams	15
	Organization of Report	16
Chapter 2	Sources of Data	17
	Teacher Data	20
	Surveys	23
	Longitudinal Sample of 40 Teachers Compared with Elementary Teachers in District	24
	Observations and Logs of Instructional Activities	25
	Interviews	26
	Student Data	26
	Student Achievement	26
	Student Characteristics	27
	Examples of Student Work	27
	Caveat	28
Chapter 3	The District Context for Implementation of New American Schools' Designs in San Antonio	29
	District Context Before the New, Reform-Minded Superintendent	30
	Instructional Leadership	30
	Curriculum and Instruction	31
	Professional Development	32
	Parent and Community Involvement	33
	District Reorganization	33
	Instructional Leadership at the District Level	34
	Instructional Leadership at the School Level	35
	Collaboration and Communication	36
	Curriculum and Instruction	37
	Professional Development	39
	Parent and Community Involvement	40
	New American Schools in San Antonio	41
	The Introduction of NAS Designs to Schools	42
	The District's Role in Supporting Comprehensive School Reform	43
	Impact of Increasing State Accountability	45
	Summary	46
Chapter 4	Implementation of New American Schools Within A System of High-Stakes Accountability	49
	NAS Designs Provided Assistance to Challenging Schools	50
	Pressures to Improve State Test Scores	53
	Adoption of Designs	58
	District Assistance for Design Implementation	61
	Professional Development	62
	Design Team Assistance	62
	Training by Design Teams	63
	District Training and Professional Development	65
	Principal Leadership	67
	Teacher Collaboration	70
	Teacher Support for the NAS Designs	73
Chapter 5	Classrooms Implementing Nas Designs in A Reform-Minded District	77
	District Restructuring of the Curriculum	78
	Mathematics	78
	Reading and Language Arts	80
	Classroom Organization	83
	Class Size	83
	Grouping Practices	84
	Instructional Practices	87
	Conventional Instructional Practices	87
	Reform-Like Instructional Practices	89
	Use of Assessments	93
	Use of Instructional Materials	96
	Examples of Student Work	98
	Use of Technology for Instructional Purposes	101
	Teacher-Reported Effects of Reform	103
	Teacher Reports of NAS Design Effects on Teaching and Learning	103
	Overarching Themes	106
Chapter 6	Effects of Instructional Conditions on Student Achievement	113
	District-Level Data and Dependent Variables	115
	Operationalizing the Independent Variables	116
	Student Characteristics	116
	Teacher Background and Classroom Characteristics	117
	School Characteristics	118
	Student Achievement in San Antonio: Multilevel Analysis	119
	Analysis of the District Sample	119
	Multivariate Results for San Antonio	122
	Student-Level Effects	122
	Teacher- and Classroom-Level Effects	124
	School-Level Effects	125
	Goodness of Fit	126
	RAND's Survey Sample Data and Dependent Variables	127
	Additional Independent Variables from the Teacher Survey	128
	Multilevel Analysis in the Survey Sample	129
	Analysis of the Survey Sample	130
	Multilevel Results for the Survey Sample	130
	Summary	133
Chapter 7	Implications for School Improvement in High-Poverty Settings	135
	Toward Better Educational Policy	136
	Specificity	137
	Power	138
	Authority	138
	Coherence and Alignment	139
	Stability	140
	School Leadership	141
	Support for Schoolwide Reform	142
	Appendix
A.	Multilevel Models Used to Examine Relationships Among Classroom Conditions and Student Achievement	145
B.	Multilevel Results for the Relationships of 1998 Test Scores to Student, Classroom, and School Factors in Fourth Grade Sample	151
	Bibliography	155

Editorial Reviews

Researchers (presumably from the RAND Corporation) assess the success of the private nonprofit corporation New American Schools in transforming elementary and secondary schools. The team compares the conditions in classrooms that have and have not undergone the program in a high-poverty district in San Antonio, Texas. The study is not indexed. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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