Core Practices in Math & Science: An Investigation of Consistently Higher Performing Schools in Five States - Perry Middle School, Carrollton-Farmers Branch Independent School District (Texas)cdb
PERFORMANCE AND PRACTICE ©2008 by ACT, Inc. All rights reserved. Core Practices in Math & Science: An Investigation of Consistently Higher Performing Schools in Five States Perry Middle School Carrollton-Farmers Branch Independent School District (Texas) Introduction Since 1999, the National Center for Educational Achievement (NCEA) and its affiliated research teams have studied over 500 public schools across the country in an effort to identify and disseminate effective practices embraced by higher performing schools that distinguish their campuses from their average-performing peers. Building on the foundation established by this previous research, NCEA sought in the current study to focus specifically on educational practices in the areas of mathematics and science in five states: California, Florida, Massachusetts, Michigan, and Texas. Criteria used in school selection in the current study included three years of state assessment data in mathematics and science (2004, 2005, and 2006), campus demographic make-up, percentage of economically disadvantaged students, school size, and geographic location. In addition, all of the schools selected for participation met the state and federal requirements for Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) in 2006. Schools categorized as higher performing based on the selection criteria were those “beating the odds” with consistently better student achievement over three years, when compared to peer campuses with a similar student population. Therefore, a list of the state’s highest performing schools may contain schools different from those selected for this study.1 In order to illuminate the roles of different members in a school community, for each selected school, NCEA researchers interviewed district-level administrators, school administrators, and classroom teachers. To supplement the interview data, researchers collected pertinent documents, observed secondary level algebra classes, and invited participants to take part in the NCEA Self-Assessment online. 1 For more detailed information about the school identification process and the list of higher performing schools included in the study, please see the full cross-case report at http://www.nc4ea.org. 2 District and School Profile Situated in the northern portion of the Dallas metropolitan area (Metrocrest region), the Carrollton-Farmers Branch Independent School District (C-FB) serves 26,220 students living in portions of Carrollton, Farmers Branch, Addison, Coppell, Dallas, and Irving. The district is comprised of 4 high schools, 6 middle schools, and 28 elementary schools. Carrollton-Farmers Branch is a Texas Education Agency “Recognized” School District. The C-FB area has strong manufacturing, retail and service-related industries. The district places an emphasis on Professional Pathways, a public/private sponsored program that assists employers by offering training to assist students in their transition from school to work. DeWitt Perry Middle School enrolls approximately 1,000 students, 72% of whom receive free and reduced lunch and 19% of whom are considered English language learners. The majority (71%) of the student population is Hispanic, 18% are White, 5% are African American, and 6% are Asian. As a strong proponent of higher standards, NCEA recognizes school efforts to move more students to the state’s higher standard of achievement by accounting for those students in the analysis of consistent higher performance. Tables 1 and 2 summarize performance at both the state’s proficient and advanced standards attained by the students at Perry Middle School for the years of 2004, 2005, and 2006. The state averages included in the tables represent student performance among schools with a student population similar to Perry, particularly based on the percentage of economically disadvantaged students. Figure 1: Student Demographics Perry Middle School5%6%71%18%% African American% Asian% Hispanic% White 3 Educators in Carrollton-Farmers Branch Independent School District develop a district-wide curriculum that provides more clarity and detail to the state standards to enable focused implementation in the classroom. Standards-based, detailed district curriculum materials feature built-in resources for educators. Capturing the essence of the state standards, the district curriculum provides specificity to the state-stipulated expectations in order to eliminate variation in educators’ interpretation and achieve unity with regards to student learning results. As a district administrator explained, “The state standards are the framework or guide and the district ‘puts some flesh’ on that framework.” The curriculum materials are online and include a number of resource documents for teachers. For instance, exemplary lessons are available within the curriculum for particularly troublesome learning objectives. In addition, scope and sequence documents ensure “that all students have learning experiences with the informa
