High Schools That Work in Kansas A Progress Report

Transcription

1 High Schools That Work in Kansas A Progress Report High Schools That Work is a comprehensive, results-based school-improvement initiative of the Southern Regional Education Board-State Vocational Education Consortium. The High Schools That Work framework of goals, key practices and key conditions is designed to blend the essential content of traditional college-preparatory studies with quality career/technical studies to raise career-bound students academic and technical achievement. 1 The initiative involves more than 1,100 public high school sites in 26 states. High Schools That Work Objectives All high school students will meet performance standards necessary for continued learning in a work or educational setting. All high school students will complete a demanding academic core and a career or academic concentration. States will provide leadership, policies and resources so that all high school students can meet High Schools That Work performance and curriculum standards. Progress in Achieving the HSTW Objectives This report describes the progress that Kansas is making in achieving the HSTW objectives and recommends further actions for Kansas to take in the future. 1. Number of High Schools Participating in HSTW Total in the state Southern Regional Education Board th St. N.W. Atlanta, GA (404) Much of the information in this report is based on career-bound students. These students are the 60 percent to 65 percent of high school students who plan to work, attend a two-year technical or community college, enroll in a four-year college or university with an open admissions policy, or enter the military after high school graduation.

2 2. Percentages of students in participating schools Goal meeting the HSTW NAEP-based performance goals 2 2 High Schools That Work uses National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) 12th-grade tests to measure students progress in meeting performance goals. On the NAEP scale of 1 to 500, the HSTW reading goal is 279, the mathematics goal is 295 and the science goal is Students who meet the reading goal can seek and use information from manuals, journals, periodicals and other documents; identify and solve stated problems; and recognize limitations in information. 4 Students who meet the mathematics goal understand concepts from algebra, geometry and probability; can apply those concepts to solve multi-step problems; and can explain their reasoning in a variety of problem-solving situations. 5 Students who meet the science goal can apply knowledge, skills and reasoning to interpret scientific and technical data from tables and to make inferences about outcomes of experimental procedures; evaluate the appropriateness of the design of an experiment; and interpret sci - entific text and graphs. 6 The HSTW-recommended academic curriculum includes a minimum of: four credits in English courses with the content and performance standards of college-preparatory English; three credits in mathematics, including two credits in courses with the content and performance standards of college-preparatory Algebra I, geometry, Algebra II and trigonometry; and Reading 3 48% 64% 67% 85% Mathematics 4 57% 74% 75% 85% Science 5 48% 65% 72% 85% 3. Percentages of students in participating schools completing the HSTW-recommended curriculum 6 Language Arts 20% 24% 34% 100% Mathematics 63% 68% 75% 100% Science 33% 50% 56% 100% 4. Percentages of students in participating schools who scored below basic on the HSTW NAEP-based tests Reading 42% 22% 20% 0 Mathematics 12% 2% 3% 0 Science 12% 6% 4% 0 5. Percentages of students in participating schools who completed at least one semester of algebra or prealgebra before grade nine Not Available 38% 49% 100% 6. Percentages of students in participating schools who met the HSTW curriculum and performance goals (Award of Educational Achievement) 7 37% 25% 36% 80% 7. Percentages of students in participating schools reporting daily or weekly use of academic content to complete vocational assignments Reading 35% 38% 36% 100% Writing 37% 42% 42% 100% Mathematics 50% 51% 55% 100% Science 29% 26% 36% 60% three credits in science, including two credits in courses with the content and performance standards of college-preparatory biology, chemistry, physics or applied physics. 7 To qualify for the High Schools That Work Award of Educational Achievement, students must score at or above the High Schools That Work performance goals in reading, mathematics and science; complete four units in a vocational concentration; and complete two of the three components of the HSTW-recommended academic core. 2

3 8. Percentages of students in participating schools who: Goal Read more than two hours a week Not Available 26% 26% 100% Completed short writing assignments daily or weekly Not Available 21% 14% 100% Did one or more hours of homework daily 35% 48% 51% 100% Had content in most courses that they had already learned Not Available 38% 71% 0% Were encouraged to take more challenging mathematics courses Not Available 51% 78% 100% Planned postsecondary study 69% 70% 72% 100% 9. Percentages of students in participating schools who: Met with their parents and a counselor or a teacher-adviser 9% 27% 35% 100% to plan a program of study Needed but did not receive extra help in mathematics Not Available 29% 13% 0% English Not Available 35% 27% 0% Took a mathematics course in senior year 46% 59% 62% 100% 10. Percentages of academic and vocational teachers in participating schools who agreed strongly that: Teachers maintain a demanding yet supportive 13% 21% 100% environment that pushes students to do their best Teachers are encouraged to teach more demanding content 24% 29% 100% Teachers and school administrators work together 20% 27% 100% to improve student achievement 11. Percentages of vocational teachers in participating schools Needed staff Had 21-plus hours reporting that they needed and received staff development in: development in the past three years Mathematics content and methods 38% 17% Reading and writing for learning 30% 9% Science content and methods 30% 24% Revising vocational courses to meet national standards 34% 9% New teaching methods for getting students to work harder 45% 10% to improve performance 12. Percentages of academic teachers in participating schools Needed staff Had 21-plus hours reporting that they needed and received staff development in: development in the past three years Mathematics content and methods 38% 16% Reading and writing for learning 48% 3% Science content and methods 31% 1% New teaching methods for getting students to work harder 39% 6% to improve performance 13. The state provides: Status Recommendation Workshops and institutes to upgrade teachers No At least two major events academic knowledge of 21-plus hours annually Workshops and institutes on new teaching methods No At least two major events of 21-plus hours annually Short-term staff development, site development Yes At least two major and networking opportunities to help school events annually leaders and teachers align their practices to HSTW 3

4 Major Challenges for Kansas HSTW Sites The High Schools That Work Assessment revealed five major challenges for Kansas HSTW sites. Improve the reading, mathematics and science achievement of all students. Only 36 percent of Kansas students met all of the HSTW curriculum and performance goals in Reading. One-third of students did not meet the HSTW reading goal on the HSTW Assessment. Two-thirds of Kansas students are not taking English courses that prepare them for postsecondary education, although 72 percent say that they plan to pursue further study. Mathematics. Twenty-five percent of students did not meet the mathematics goal on the 2000 HSTW Assessment and did not complete the HSTW-recommended mathematics curriculum. Slightly more than half of the students reported using mathematics daily or weekly to complete career/technical assignments. Science. Twenty-eight percent of students failed to meet the science goal on the HSTW Assessment and only 56 percent completed the HSTW-recommended science curriculum. Thirty-six percent of students reported using science daily or weekly to complete career/technical assignments. Involve more parents in helping students set post-high school goals and plan high school programs of study aligned to those goals. Thirty-five percent of Kansas students met with their parents and a counselor or teacher-adviser to plan a high school program of study. Increase the rigor of career/technical programs by getting vocational teachers to emphasize reading, writing, mathematics and science. In completing career/technical assignments, 36 percent of students had to read technical materials weekly, 42 percent had to write weekly, and 36 percent had to use science weekly. Almost 40 percent of career/technical teachers said they needed professional development to integrate reading, writing and science into their assignments, yet only 20 percent of these teachers received 21 or more hours of professional development in these subjects in the past three years. Raise expectations for all students. Twentysix percent of students said they read more than two hours per week, less than 15 percent completed short writing assignments daily or weekly, and 71 percent said most courses contained content they already had learned. Twenty-one percent of teachers said they maintained an environment that pushes students to do their best, and less than 30 percent of teachers reported that they were encouraged to teach more demanding courses. Increase the number of HSTW sites. One new HSTW site has been added in Kansas since This brings to nine the total number of HSTW sites in the state. Sites that have made progress in raising student achievement can serve as mentors in providing technical assistance to new sites. 4

5 State Leadership, Policies and Support for High Schools That Work Schools make more progress in implementing High Schools That Work when certain conditions of leadership and support are present. Kansas status is summarized below. Kansas Meets the HSTW HSTW-recommended Conditions Status Recommendation Equivalent of one full-time state staff person No No for every 40 HSTW sites Technical assistance visits to one-third of Yes Yes HSTW sites annually Follow-up contacts provided routinely Yes Yes A minimum of $25,000 annually to each site No No HSTW-recommended State Board of Education Meets the HSTW Graduation Requirements Graduation Policy Recommendation 4 credits in college-preparatory-level English 4 units of English/language arts No 3 credits in mathematics, including 2 units of mathematics No 2 credits at the college-preparatory level 3 credits in science, including 2 units of science, including No 2 credits at the college-preparatory level one unit of lab science 4 credits in a career or academic None No concentration HSTW s Recommendations for Kansas Meets the HSTW Setting and Assessing High Status Recommendation Standards for High Schools The state sets clear, consistent, Kansas Curricular Standards are used for Yes rigorous content standards for all language arts, mathematics, science and students in academic courses. social studies. These standards include Accompanying exams measure benchmarks and indicators that are assessed student achievement. by using a series of state assessments related to each set of standards. These assessments are given in grades four through 11. The state sets clear, consistent, There are state content and program- No rigorous content standards for all approval standards for some career/technical students in career/technical courses. areas and local standards for other areas. No Student achievement is measured by state assessments are given. end-of program or end-of-course exams that are scored externally. 5

6 HSTW s Recommendations for Kansas Meets the HSTW Setting and Assessing High Status Recommendation Standards for High Schools The state tracks and reports test As part of the Quality Performance accredita- Yes results in academic areas by district tion process, districts and schools receive and school and uses the results to report cards that reflect student achievement focus on helping all students meet in reading, writing and mathematics. The higher expectations. results are compared to state averages. Achievement scores for science and social studies will be added in The state tracks and reports test Kansas is implementing 13 core indicators in No results in career/technical programs accordance with the new Perkins Act. When by district and school and holds these indicators are implemented, the state schools accountable for using the will be able to track students achievement in results to focus on helping all academic and career/technical programs. The students meet higher expectations. results will be reported. Increasing Participation in High Schools That Work and Linking to Broader School-reform Efforts Kansas encourages schools to participate in High Schools That Work and promotes the school-improvement advantages of HSTW at state conferences such as the Comprehensive School Reform Demonstration (CSRD) conference. Actions Kansas Can Take to Get 85 Percent of Career-bound Students at HSTW Sites to Meet HSTW Performance Goals Establish state graduation policies to require: four credits in college-preparatory English aligned to the standards of the Council for Basic Education. 8 physics or applied physics, and anatomy/physiology. an academic or career concentration of four credits in addition to the academic core. three credits in mathematics, including Algebra I and higher courses. All students should take at least pre-algebra prior to grade nine. three credits in science, including two units in high-level courses such as chemistry, Raise the quality of teaching in career/technical courses. Establish an accountability goal that high schools will increase annually the percentages of students who: 8 The Council for Basic Education has developed rigorous language-arts standards that include some specificity in the amount, complexity and variety of reading and writing that should be expected of students. These standards also emphasize higher-order thinking skills in relation to reading and writing. 6

7 complete the HSTW-recommended academic curriculum and a planned sequence of at least four credits in career courses, additional academic courses or a combination of academic and career courses; and meet performance goals in reading, mathematics and science in preparation for career-pathway jobs and/or further education without remediation. Adapt and administer the HSTW Assessment to all graduating seniors to enable the state to: track whether students complete the HSTW-recommended curriculum and meet the performance goals in reading, mathematics and science on NAEPbased exams; inform local educational leaders about classroom practices that work and do not work; and recognize students who meet both achievement and performance goals. Make career/technical achievement a part of the state accountability system. Require all career/technical students to take technical literacy exams to assess whether they are able to read and comprehend technical information, use mathematics to solve career-related problems, and understand major technical concepts in a broad career field. Report the results of technical literacy exams by career/technical specialty at each high school. Make the exams count by giving special recognition to students who make passing scores and hold schools and programs accountable for increasing the percentages of students passing the exams. Work with teacher-education institutions to strengthen the language arts, mathematics and science skills of prospective career/technical teachers. Revise certification to require future career/technical teachers to acquire solid mathematics and science skills in addition to completing a teaching major. Offer at least 40 hours of staff development to upgrade vocational teachers academic skills. The staff development should include: reading for learning across the curriculum; mathematics content and ways to integrate mathematics into career/technical courses; and science content and ways to integrate science into career/technical courses (especially for teachers in programs that have a science base). Invest in a state initiative to improve instruction in reading, writing, mathematics and science. Reading and writing Use the Council for Basic Education s standards to develop standards for the English/language arts curriculum. At minimum, specify the number, type and variety of books and materials students are expected to read and analyze; the frequency, type and quality of short writing assignments; the major research papers students are expected to complete each year; and the progressive standards these assignments should meet. 7

8 Mathematics Conduct workshops to help teachers align all English courses to CBE standards and conduct follow-up to see if teachers assignments, students work and course exams reflect the standards. Require high schools to make reading and writing across the curriculum a priority by getting students to read the equivalent of 30 books per year, including textbooks, literature, scientific articles and technical materials. Require students to write in a variety of styles in all classes weekly and ask teachers to grade at least one formal writing assignment per week. Provide in-depth professional development to help teachers engage students in reading and writing for learning in the content areas. Require end-of-course exams in algebra and geometry to measure students grasp of mathematics concepts and improve the quality of instruction and learning. target students who need accelerated instruction in reading and mathematics in grades seven through nine to complete Algebra I and geometry and two years of college-preparatory English by grade 10; and get schools to involve parents in helping their children make successful transition from middle grades to high school. Increase the number of HSTW sites. Require each high school to adopt a research-based improvement design for raising the academic achievement of all students. Provide at least $25,000 annually to each school site to support professional development and curriculum and instructional planning. Name the state s most-improved HSTW sites as mentors to new HSTW sites and provide the mentor sites with small grants to assist them in this effort. Science Make all science courses inquiry-based. Provide professional development to help science teachers create engaging classroom and lab activities. Develop a ninth-grade transition policy to increase the percentages of students completing Algebra I and geometry and two years of college-preparatory language arts by the end of grade 10. The policy would: establish indicators of readiness for doing high school work, including taking prealgebra; (01V10)