Core Practices in Math & Science: William H. Turner Technical Arts High School, Miami-Dade County Public Schools (Florida)
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 William H. Turner Technical Arts High School Miami-Dade County Public Schools (Florida) 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 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 secondary level algebra classes, and invited participants to take part in the NCEA Self-Assessment online. District and School Profile The Miami-Dade County Public School system is the fourth largest district in the United States. A finalist for the Broad Prize in Urban Education in 2006, 2007, and 2008, Miami-Dade serves a diverse population of more than 350,000 students in 378 schools. The majority (68%) of the students are eligible for free and reduced-price meals, and 16% are English language learners. Over 1,700 students attend William H. Turner Technical Arts High School, known as Turner Tech. Approximately 63% of the students are African-American and 34% are Hispanic. Approximately 2% of the students are English language learners, and 89% qualify for free and reduced-price meals. Turner Tech is a school of choice, but admissions are not selective. All students at Turner Tech are assigned to one of seven academies, each related to a particular career path: Construction Management and Architectural Technology Finance Health Industrial/Entertainment Technology Information Technology and Entrepreneurship Public Service Veterinary Science and Agriculture Technology Figure 1: Student Demographics William H. Turner Technical Arts High School63%34%0.5%0.3%2%1%% AfricanAmerican% Asian% Hispanic% NativeAmerican% White 3 Each student selects a preferred academy when applying to the school. Students remain with the same academy for all four years of high school, allowing them to receive the individualized attention that comes from membership in a small learning community. 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 Turner Tech for the years of 2004, 2005, and 2006. The state averages included in the tables represent student performance among 2004 2005 2006 Grade 9 10 11 9 10 11 9 10 11 Mathematics 57% 66% Not Tested 59% 67% Not Tested 61% 69% Not Tested Science Not Tested Not Tested Not Tested Not Tested Not Tested 17% Not Tested Not Tested 19% State Average for Similar Schools (Math) 33% 46% Not Tested 37% 45% Not Tested 38% 47% Not Tested Table 1: Performance Trends based on Proficiency Standard State Average for Similar Schools (Science) Not Tested Not Tested Not Tested Not Tested Not Tested 13% Not Tested Not Tested 16% 2004
