Evidence of Deeper Learning Outcomes. Findings from the Study of Deeper Learning Opportunities and Outcomes: Report 3
Author: Zeiser, Kristina L.
Date: 2014-09-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Outcomes of Education,Transformative Learning,Critical Thinking,High School Students,Comparative Analysis,Control Groups,Graduation Rate,College Attendance,Enrollment,Interpersonal Competence,Student Characteristics,Background,Cognitive Ability,Cognitive Tests,Achievement Tests

The &quot;Study of Deeper Learning: Opportunities and Outcomes&quot;--funded by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation--aimed to determine whether students attending high schools with a mature and at least moderately well implemented approach to promoting deeper learning actually experienced greater deeper learning opportunities and outcomes than they would have had they not attended these schools. In this report--our third in a series of three--we focus specifically on key questions about student outcomes: Did students who attended participating network high schools perform better on tests of cognitive competency, report higher levels of interpersonal and intrapersonal competencies, or attain higher rates of high school graduation and college enrollment than they would have had they not attended the network schools? The analyses in this report focus on students from between 10 and 13 pairs of matched deeper learning network and comparison schools in California and New York (the number of pairs included in specific analyses varied based on the availability of data). After statistically accounting for differences in student background characteristics, we found that students who attended participating network high schools that explicitly focused on deeper learning experienced superior outcomes compared to students who attended non-network comparison high schools. Key takeaways include the following: 1. On average, students who attended the network schools in the study achieved higher scores on the OECD PISA-Based Test for Schools (PBTS)--a test that assesses core content knowledge and complex problem-solving skills--than did similar students who attended non-network high schools. Students who attended network schools scored higher on all three PBTS subjects tested (reading, mathematics, and science). They also earned higher scores on the state English Language Arts (ELA) and mathematics tests. 2. Students who attended participating network schools reported more positive interpersonal and intrapersonal outcomes than students who attended non-network schools. In particular, they reported higher levels of collaboration skills, academic engagement, motivation to learn, and self-efficacy. There were no significant differences between students who attended network and non-network schools on reported creative thinking skills, perseverance, locus of control, or self-management. 3. Students who attended participating network schools were more likely to graduate from high school on time (within four years of entering Grade 9) than were students who attended non-network high schools. The graduation rate among students who attended network schools was estimated to be about 9 percentage points higher than among similar students who attended non-network schools. 4. Students who attended participating network schools and non-network schools had similar rates of enrollment in postsecondary institutions overall. However, students who attended network schools were more likely to enroll in four-year institutions and in selective institutions. 5. Although there were significant positive effects of attending a network school averaging across the pairs of network and non-network schools in our sample, for many outcomes--for example, PBTS mathematics scores--the effects of attending a network school varied significantly across individual pairs of schools. Attending a network school had similar benefits for students who entered high school with low achievement and those who entered with high achievement, particularly for the test score and high school graduation outcomes. However, while attending a network school increased the postsecondary enrollment rate of students who entered high school with low achievement, it had no effect on the postsecondary enrollment rate of students who entered with high achievement. [See: Report 1 at ED553360; and Report 2 at ED553361.]