Core Practices in Math & Science: An Investigation of Consistently Higher Performing Schools in Five States - Muriel S. Snowden International School at Copley, Boston Public Schools (MA)7a8

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 Muriel S. Snowden International School at Copley Boston Public Schools (MA) 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 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 the interview data, researchers collected pertinent documents, observed secondary level algebra classes, and invited participants to take part in the NCEA Self-Assessment online. District and School Profile The Boston Public Schools serves approximately 56,000 students in 144 schools. In 2006, The Boston Public Schools received the $1 million Broad Prize for Urban Education. The district was a Broad Prize finalist from 2002 through 2005. Approximately 74% of Boston students are eligible for free and reduced-price meals. All high schools in Boston are citywide schools, with any student in the district able to apply to attend a particular school. The district uses a computerized lottery system to determine admission to most district high schools. Snowden International School is a college preparatory high school with a focus on international studies and world languages. The school is housed in four separate buildings in the Copley Square area of downtown Boston. Of Snowden’s 448 students, 66% are eligible for free and reduced-price meals. The majority of the school’s students are African-American and Hispanic. Approximately two percent of Snowden students are English language learners. Snowden’s curriculum and graduation requirements reflect the school’s dual focus on college preparation and international studies. All students at the school must take core academic courses for all four years, including four years of the same foreign language. Foreign language offerings include Spanish, French, Japanese Figure 1: Student Demographics Snowden International High School12%35%6%1%46%0.2%% African American% Asian% Hispanic% Native American% White% Other 3 and Mandarin. There are no honors classes or remedial classes. Advanced Placement (AP) courses are available in Composition, European History, and Calculus. 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 Snowden 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 Snowden particularly based on the percentage of economically disadvantaged students. In Massachusetts, the state department of education pilot tested the new high school science assessment in 2006 and did not release the collected student data. Therefore, high schools in Massachusetts were identified based only on their mathematics performance over three years. All educators teach a rigorous, standards-aligned curriculum. Detailed curriculum documents and vertical teaming meetings help teachers plan instruction from the district curriculum. ƒ The district curriculum taught in