# Presentation: 036177

## No Child Left Behind:   

***No Child Left Behind*****:****   **
**Designing Your School’s Response**

**Hans K. Meeder**
**Deputy Assistant Secretary**
**Office of Vocational and Adult Education**
**United States Department of Education**
**February 2004**

**Archived Information**

## Designing Your School’s Response 

- Expectations for our students
- The call to *Break Ranks*
- Promising reform models
- Literacy, the gateway to learning
- Early College Transitions
- NCLB implications
- Preparing America’s Future High School Initiative

## The critical role of education

***...******"better education, particularly in the elementary, middle and high school, would go a long way toward boosting the wages of lower skilled workers and diminishing the income inequality that has become more pronounced over the last two decades".***
***	******	******	******Alan Greenspan 2/20/04***

***The critical role of education***
*** ******in the nation's economy***

**Notes:**
At the Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce 2004 Annual Meeting, Omaha, Nebraska

Friday February 20, 3004 - Alan Greenspan said that trade barriers are not the answer to the problem of outsourcing. 

He believes the best protection against job loss is a better educated workforce. 

##  Key Challenges of 

***No Child Left Behind***

**How can ALL students reach high standards?**

**What do students need to know and be able to do?**

## American Diploma Project

*Ready or Not: Creating a High School Diploma that Counts*
- _[http://www.americandiplomaproject.org/index.htm](http://www.americandiplomaproject.org/index.htm)__)_** **

## American Diploma Project

*“**Successful preparation for both postsecondary education and employment requires learning the same rigorous English and mathematics content and skills.  No longer do students planning to go to work after high school need a different and less rigorous curriculum than those planning to go to college.”*

## American Diploma Project 

- Most high school graduate need remedial help in college
- Most college students never attain a degree
- Most employers say high school graduates lack basic skills

## American Diploma Project 

- Too few high school students take challenging courses
- Most high school exams don’t measure what matters to colleges and employers

## Breaking Ranks II

*“**Public high schools in the United States are at a crossroads.*
***Breaking Ranks**** championed the cause of all students achieving at high levels; federal and state legislation will require it.”*

**Notes:**
Mandate – What will be judged is the percentage of students who meet the standard overall and within the subgroups.

Enticement – Realizing the educator’s dream means realizing each student’s dream.

Breaking Ranks II pp xiv-xv

## Breaking Ranks II

- Why Reform Now?
- Mandate - What will be judged is the percentage of students who meet the standard overall and within the subgroups
- Enticement - Realizing the educator’s dream means realizing each student’s dream.

**Notes:**
Mandate – What will be judged is the percentage of students who meet the standard overall and within the subgroups.

Enticement – Realizing the educator’s dream means realizing each student’s dream.

Breaking Ranks II pp xiv-xv

## Breaking Ranks II

- Core Recommendations
- Collaborative Leadership and Professional Learning Communities
- Personalization and the School Environment
- Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment

**Notes:**
Mandate – What will be judged is the percentage of students who meet the standard overall and within the subgroups.

Enticement – Realizing the educator’s dream means realizing each student’s dream.

Breaking Ranks II pp xiv-xv

## Breaking Ranks II

- Three Step Process
- Recognize the need
- Help others see the need to change
- Promote improved student performance

**Notes:**
Mandate – What will be judged is the percentage of students who meet the standard overall and within the subgroups.

Enticement – Realizing the educator’s dream means realizing each student’s dream.

Breaking Ranks II pp xiv-xv

## Breaking Ranks II  

***Featured High School Models****** ***

-  Noble High School, North Berwick ME
-  Wyandotte High School, Kansas City KS
-  Littleton High School, Littleton CO

- Breaking Ranks II

##    “High schools today must meet the dual challenge of preparing all students to function at higher levels and performing better for those least well served.”

-    “*High schools today must meet the dual challenge of preparing all students to function at higher levels and performing better for those least well served.”*
- 	Hilary Pennington, Jobs for the Future *Accelerating Advancement in School and Work*

## High School Reform Models 

**High Schools That Work**
**Talent Development**
**First Things First**
**America’s Choice**

## High Schools That Work 

- Established in 1987 by the SREB State Vocational Education Consortium to raise the academic achievement of high school vocational students. The *HSTW* goals, key practices and key conditions are a framework for whole-school improvement at more than 1,100 high school sites in 27 states.

## High Schools That Work 

**Key Practices **
** ****High expectations **
** ****Career/technical studies**
** ****Academic studies**
** ****Programs of study**
** ****Work-based learning**
** ****Teachers working together**
** ****Students actively engaged**
** ****Guidance**
** ****Extra help **
** ****Keeping score**

**Notes:**
Program of study – having students complete a challenging program of study with an upgraded academic core and a major. 
Work-based learning – giving students and their parents the choice of a system that integrates school-based and work-based learning. The system should span high school and postsecondary studies and should be planned by educators, employers and employees. 
Teachers working together – having an organization, structure and schedule giving academic and vocational teachers the time to plan and deliver integrated instruction aimed at teaching high-level academic and technical content
High expectations – setting higher expectations and getting more students to meet them. 
Vocational studies – increasing access to intellectually challenging vocational and technical studies, with a major emphasis on using high-level mathematics, science, language arts and problem-solving skills in the modern workplace and in preparation for continued learning. 
Academic studies – increasing access to academic studies that teach the essential concepts from the college preparatory curriculum by encouraging students to use academic content and skills to address real-world projects and problems. 
Students actively engaged – getting every student involved in rigorous and challenging learning. 
Guidance – involving each student and his or her parents in a guidance and advising system that ensures the completion of an accelerated program of study with an in-depth academic or vocational-technical major. 
Extra help – providing a structured system of extra help to enable students who may lack adequate preparation to complete an accelerated program of study that includes high-level academic and technical content
Keeping score – using student assessment and program evaluation data to improve continuously the school climate, organization, management, curricula and instruction to advance student learning and to recognize students who meet both curriculum and performance goals. 

## High Schools That Work 

**“****The resurgence of public confidence in Taconic High School stems from our implementation of the HSTW key practices. Our restructuring efforts have been driven by technical support and data. Our faculty has been energized by participating in the staff development.”**
**Doug McNally, Principal**
**Pittsfield MA**

## Talent Development High Schools 

- The Talent Development High School with Career Academies was initiated in 1994 through a partnership of the Johns Hopkins University Center for Research on the Education of Students Placed At Risk (CRESPAR) and Patterson High School in Baltimore and has now expanded to high schools in 11 states across the country.

## Talent Development High Schools 

- The model consists of:
** **specific changes in school organization and management;
-  curricular and instructional innovations;
**  **parent and community involvement activities to encourage college awareness; and
-  professional development systems to support the implementation of reform.

**Notes:**
THE TALENT DEVELOPMENT HIGH SCHOOL WITH CAREER ACADEMIES is a comprehensive reform model for large high schools that face serious problems with student attendance, discipline, achievement scores, and dropout rates. The model consists of specific changes in school organization and management to establish a strong, positive school climate for learning; curricular and instructional innovations to transition all students into advanced high school work in English and mathematics; parent and community involvement activities to encourage college awareness; and professional development systems to support the implementation of the recommended reforms. 

Key Components of the TDHS Model:
Academy/SLC Formulation 
Building a Ninth Grade Academy 
The Extended Class Period 
Whole-School Reform Strategies 
Planning and Implementing Career Academies 
Scheduling and Managing Career Academies 
Leadership Administration 
Attendance and Discipline 
Twilight School 
Parent and Community Involvement 
Student Team Literature 
Talent Development Writing 
Strategic Reading (Grade 9) 
Literacy Lab (Grade 9) 
Reading and Writing in Your Career (Grade 10) 
Freshman Seminar (Grade 9) 
Transition to Advanced Mathematics (Grade 9) 
Geometry Foundations (Grade 10) 
Principals' Network 

## First Things First 

- Developed by the Institute for Research and Reform in Education (IRRE), First Things First is a whole-school reform that calls for changes in school structure, instruction, and governance in an effort to increase student and teacher engagement and academic achievement in low-performing schools.

## First Things First 

- The Seven Critical Features

- Lower student-adult ratios
- Provide continuity of care  by forming small learning communities
- 3.  Set high, clear, and fair academic and conduct standards
- 4.  Provide enriched and diverse opportunities to learn
- 5.  Equip, empower, and expect all staff to improve instruction
- Allow for flexible allocation of available resources
- Assure collective responsibility

**Notes:**
The Seven Critical Features of First Things First

Structural changes

1. Lower student-adult ratios to 15:1 during language arts and math classes for at least 10 hours per week.
2. Provide continuity of care across the school day, across the school years, and between school and home by forming small learning communities. The same core group of eight to ten professionals stays with the same group of 150-350 students for extended periods during the school day for all three years of middle school and for at least two-year periods in high school. The Family Advocate System is also aimed at ensuring continuity of care between staff of the small learning communities and students’ families.

Instructional changes

3. Set high, clear, and fair academic and conduct standards that define clearly what all students will know and be able to do by the time they leave high school and at points along the way. Performance on standards-
based tests is linked directly to students’ advancement and grading, drives curriculum and instruction in all courses, and is discussed regularly with students and their families. Adults and students agree
on conduct standards, which are reinforced by adults modeling positive behaviors and attitudes and which are sustained by clear benefits to students and adults for meeting them and consequences for violating
them.
4. Provide enriched and diverse opportunities to learn, by making learning more active and connected in safe and respectful learning environments; to perform, by linking assessment strategies that use multiple modes of learning and tie performance directly to standards; and to be recognized, by creating individual and collective incentives for student achievement and by providing leadership opportunities in academic and nonacademic areas.
5. Equip, empower, and expect all staff to improve instruction by creating a shared vision and expectation of high-quality teaching and learning in all classrooms; supporting small learning communities’ implementation
of research-based instructional strategies to fulfill that vision; and engaging all staff in ongoing study to improve curricular and instructional approaches.  

Accountability and governance changes 

6. Allow for flexible allocation of available resources by teams and schools, based on instructional and interpersonal needs of students. Resources include people (students and staff); instructional facilities; time for instructional planning and professional development; and discretionary funds.
7. Assure collective responsibility by providing collective incentives and consequences for small learning communities, schools, and central office staff that are linked to change in student performance. 

## America’s Choice 

**America's Choice high schools aim to prepare every student to graduate ready to do rigorous college-level work. Every student is expected to be a competent reader and writer and to complete algebra and geometry by the end of 10th grade.**** **

**Notes:**
The America's Choice® School Design is the result of our extensive study of the best educational practices in the U.S. and abroad. The aim of the design is to ensure that every student is successful on state and local assessments and prepared for college. The design complies in every respect with the requirements of the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001.

## America’s Choice 

**Five Key Tasks**
** ****Standards and assessments**
** ****Aligned instructional systems**
** ****High performance management,    ****	****leadership and organization**
** ****Professional learning communities**
** ****Parent and community involvement**
**   ****	**

**Notes:**
Standards and Assessments
America's Choice schools have high expectations for all students and communicate those expectations through explicit performance standards that are carefully aligned to assessments.
Aligned Instructional Systems
Students use powerful standards-based curriculum and instructional strategies that build key skills, convey core concepts and enable students to apply what they know. Our pedagogical techniques enable every student to hit high standards, and we have many levels of safety nets for students who are struggling academically.  
High-Performance Management, Leadership and Organization
We enable school leadership teams to build the capacity of faculty to implement every component of the design. The teams also learn how to think strategically, use data effectively, build strong faculty teams, and create small, supportive learning communities for students. 
Professional Learning Communities
Teachers receive extensive training in our design and ongoing assistance in implementing the design. 
Parent/Guardian and Community Involvement
America's Choice schools use a variety of strategies to draw parents/guardians and communities into the educational lives of children

## Adolescent Literacy 

- The National Reading Panel defined reading as:
*A complex system of deriving meaning from print that requires all of the following:*
- the skills and knowledge to understand how phonemes, or speech sounds, are connected to print;
-  the ability to decode unfamiliar words;
-  the ability to read fluently;
-  sufficient background information and vocabulary to foster reading comprehension;
- the development of appropriate active strategies to construct meaning from print; and
-  the development and maintenance of a motivation to read.

## Adolescent Literacy 

- The National Reading Panel’s research identified key components of reading as:
** **Phonemic awareness and phonics
** **Fluency
** **Comprehension

**Notes:**
The report examined effective reading instruction and conducted meta-analyses where appropriate. The three areas were elaborated on so  
that knowledge of the  alphabetic principle became
 phonemic awareness (the ability to manipulate sounds in oral language) and phonics (knowledge of the correspondence between letters and sounds).

 Fluency was divided into reading practice and guided reading (reading accompanied by  feedback to correct errors). 

Comprehension was divided into vocabulary (knowledge of words) and comprehension strategies (procedures that guide students as they read).  

Current thought is that 20% of struggling adolescent reader need assistance in phonemic awareness and phonics

## Adolescent Literacy 

- Building on National Reading Panel’s research, key elements of high school reading and comprehension skills include:
** **Extended learning time
** **Teacher modeling of reading and thinking   strategies
-  Cooperative learning and text-based discussion
-  Self-selected reading at students’ ability-levels
-  On-going progress monitoring

## Reading Interventions 

** ****READ 180**** (www.teacher.scholastic.com/read180)**
** ****Strategic Reading**** (www.csos.jhu.edu/tdhs/stl.htm)**
** ****Reading is FAME**
**(****www.girlsandboystown.org/pros/training/education/FAME_program.asp)**

## Early College Transitions 

- Three broad categories of intensity:
- Singleton programs – stand-alone college-level courses;
- Comprehensive programs –which subsume most of a student’s academic experience; and
- Enhanced comprehensive programs, which offer college coursework coupled with guidance and support to ensure success in postsecondary education.

## NCLB challenges 

- Adequate Yearly Progress
- Students who are Limited English Proficient
- Students with Disabilities

## Preparing America’s Future 

**High School Initiative**

- To ensure that all students graduate with the knowledge and skills they need for good jobs or further education

##  Preparing America’s Future 

**High School Initiative**

- High expectations for all
- Innovative learning structures that fully engage students
- High-quality teaching and leadership, and
- Accelerated transitions to work or additional education.

## Resource Guide

**www.ed.gov/highschool**

## Resource Guide

**www.ed.gov/highschool**

**Key Essays and Research **
**Federal Legislation and Policies **
**Federal Programs **
**National Organizations' Projects and Initiatives **
**State Policies **
**State Programs **
**Local/District Policies **
**School-level programs **

## PAF Regional Summits

- 	The purpose of these regional summits is to convene small teams of state-level policy makers to assist in the development or refinement of a customized state strategy that will help high schools to better meet the goals of *No Child Left Behind.*

## PAF Regional Summits

- Billings MT		March 12-13, 2004
- Atlanta GA		March 26-27, 2004
- Phoenix AZ 		April 16-17, 2004
- St. Louis MO 	April 23-24, 2004
- Sacramento CA 	May 7-8, 2004
- Cleveland OH 	May 14-15, 2004
- Boston MA		May 21-22, 2004

## American Diploma Project 

*Anchor Academic Standards *
*in the Real World*
- Align academic standards in high school with the knowledge and skills required for college and workplace success.
- Back-map standards to create a coherent, focused, grade-by-grade progression from kindergarten through high school graduation.

## American Diploma Project 

*Require All Students to Take a Quality College and Workplace Readiness Curriculum*
- Define specific course-taking requirements in English and mathematics
- Provide the option to organize curriculum differently while keeping constant state  standards and tests
- Ensure other disciplines reinforce college and workplace readiness expectations.

## American Diploma Project 

*Measure What Matters and Make It Count*
- Use high school graduation exams to ensure that students meeting standards before earning a high school diploma.
- Do not set the floor too low.
- Do not let the floor become the ceiling.

## American Diploma Project 

*Measure What Matters and Make It Count*
- Do not rely exclusively on large-scale assessments.
- Regularly validate high school assessments as accurate predictors of postsecondary performance.

## American Diploma Project 

*Bridge the Gap Between High Schools and College*
- States should:
- Hold postsecondary institutions accountable for the academic success of students they admit.
- Postsecondary institutions should:
- Use high school assessments for college admissions and placement.
- Provide information to high schools on the academic performance of their graduates in college.

## Jobs for the 21st Century Initiative 

-      Funding to initiate or expand activities that help meet the goals of the President's new Jobs for the 21st Century initiative by ensuring that all students are prepared to succeed in postsecondary education and the workforce.

## Jobs for the 21st Century Initiative

- Secondary and Technical Education Excellence Act (Perkins reauthorization)
- A secondary school reading initiative, **Striving Readers**
- A new **Secondary Education Mathematics Initiative**
- Increase the number of States implementing **State Scholars** programs

## Jobs for the 21st Century Initiative

**Enhanced Pell Grants for State Scholars**
- An **Adjunct Teacher Corps Initiative**
- The **Advanced Placement** program – teacher training

##  Key Principles to Design Your School’s Response to NCLB  

- High expectations for all
- Innovative learning structures that fully engage students
- High-quality teaching and leadership, and
- Accelerated transitions to work or additional education.

## “you have to change enough, 

- “you have to change enough,
-  quickly enough,  so that gravity
-  cannot drag you back”
- 	Ted Sizer to a group of teachers

**Notes:**
Coalition of Essential Schools

Within three years, the changes dramatically impacted student learning. 

Test scores escalated, the number of students attending college nearly doubled, and 10 years later, the rural school community of 1,200 students lives in a new building designed for 15 small learning communities.

Breaking Ranks II p. 47

## No Child Left Behind:   

***No Child Left Behind*****:****   **
**Designing Your School’s Response**
***www.ed.gov/highschool***

**Hans K. Meeder**
**Deputy Assistant Secretary**
**Office of Vocational and Adult Education**
**United States Department of Education**
**February 2004**