This page holds information and research touching on things that have been shown to positively impact education.
Summary of Effective Schools Research & Correlates
Summary of Effective Schools Research – Marzano 2003
Iowa School Board COMPASS – Fall 2000. This issue reviews findings of the Iowa Lighthouse Research. It discusses: school boards and student achievement, 7 conditions for school renewal central to achievement, and results from interviews with superintendents and staff exploring the presence of the conditions for school renewal. Much of what is presented is broken into two categories: Moving – where achievement is improving, or Stuck where achievement was relatively stable.
IASB Lighthouse Study – School Boards and Student Achievement – Fall 2000
Impact of Physical Education, Fitness and Recess on Academics
- School Recess and Group Classroom Behavior – 2009
- Physical Education in Schools – Both Quality and Quantity Are Important – 2008
- Physical Fitness and Academic Achievement in 3rd & 5th Grade Students – 2007
- Physical Education Matters – 2007
- Physical Education and California Schools – 2006
- Recommendations for Physical Activity Policies in Utah Schools – 2005
- Recess in Elementary School – What Does the Research Say – ERIC 2002
- Recess in Elementary Schools – 2001
May 20 2009
Comments on an influential education paper
At a recent Ames school improvement committee (SIAC) meeting I was in a discussion of a research paper that influences the new schedule and other changes for our elementary schools. The paper (Douglas B. Reeves 2003 High performance in high poverty schools: 90/90/90 and beyond. 20 pages. Center for Performance Assessment) is posted online. It cites references and is part of a cluster of related work. I have not read the related papers and I do not have training in education to put this paper in the context of competing reforms.
The paper is about innovations used at schools that have bad (low Socio-Economic-Status) predictors, but perform very well in the No Child Left Behind expectations. The school schedules are adapted so that teaches can spend three-hour blocks on basic literacy. The grading rubric is the subject of group process of many teachers, which has the effect of increasing fairness; and coordination on a school-building level. Science and other topics are taught less in order to make time to raise literacy, and prepare for improved science learning in higher grades. Non-fiction writing is emphasized. There is more but you will need to read the paper yourself.
The author does not explain how each separate innovation is distributed among more and less successful schools. The innovations are presented as just one set. The author does not explain what the high achieving students are doing when three-hour basic literacy blocks are ongoing. No mention is made of class size in the 1st through 3rd grades, which I believe is the main opportunity to advance student performance. The paper is optimistic, the results are admirable, and I would like to have gone to as good of a school.
Here in Ames, Iowa we have college-town advantages at the high end of educational performance. Our educational achievement statistics are bimodal. We have high-achievers, low achievers, and a gap between them. The bimodal student population is frustrating for everyone and a special problem in the No Child Left Behind era. Our school leaders in Ames are trying to help the lower achieving students. I do not know what this will mean for the high achieving students. I imagine the high-achieving student having less attention from teachers and more time to read in elementary school.
David Brenner
Comment by David Brenner — May 20, 2009 @ 8:26 pm |