Gap Closed: Ten Essential Best Practices

Asad Zaman

June 20, 2012Gap Closed: Ten Essential Best Practices

National Charter Schools Conference

What is the Achievement Gap? Disparity in student performance of

different genders, ethnicities, and socioeconomic statuses

The gap exists in standardized test scores, grade point average, dropout rates, and college-enrollment and college-completion rates

Minnesota has one of the largest Achievement Gaps in the nation

Minnesota’s Achievement Gap has persisted for more than two decades

Percentage of MN 8th-graders proficient in math (Source NAEP via 50can.org)

Percentage of MN 8th-graders proficient in reading (Source NAEP via 50can.org)

Defining the Problem

The thousands of papers and books mostly seek to define the problem or identify their root causes

Very few works seek to identify solutions

We come across as “celebrating the problem”

Identifying Solutions

A “practice” typically employed by the “best” participants in a specific industry

Several Gap Closing Schools identified by Charter School Partners (CSP) met in 2011 & 2012 to deliberate on the Achievement Gap

Gap-Closing schools tend to have many common features or practices

Ten of these “Best Practices” are employed by ALL the Gap-Closing schools in MN

10 Essential Best Practices1. Coherent Instructional Philosophy2. Culture of Achievement & High Expectations3. Rigorous Curriculum4. Data Driven Decision Making5. Continuous Formative Assessments6. Frequent Informal Observations7. Targeted Student Support & Intervention8. Reading & Writing Across Curriculum9. Teaching the Whole Child (Beyond Academics)10. Staff Training & Development

Coherent Instructional Philosophy

All staff members understand the purpose of the school

The school exists to facilitate student success

Success does not just happen “Begin with the end in mind” Student success is measurable

Culture of Achievement & High Expectations

Every student can grow Every student must grow Growth and Learning are the norms Student needs are accommodated Student excuses are not Real life examples of student

success

Rigorous Curriculum

Gap-Closing schools don’t just wing it The curriculum is used as a road map The curriculum is not a straight jacket Deviations from the curriculum are

planned & analyzed, not ad hoc Gap-Closing schools self develop a

curriculum map to align the curriculum with the benchmarks

Data Driven Decision Making Live and die by the data Claims of student growth need to be backed

by objective data Data is pushed down to the grass-roots Data is used in real-time (daily or weekly) Teachers are intimately familiar with the

data of their students Students are familiar with their data All data is used: Summative, Formative &

Informal

Continuous Formative Assessments

Assessment does not cause growth Assessment paired with instructional

modifications can generate growth Student mastery of each benchmark is

verified immediately after the benchmark is taught (Weekly or bi-weekly)

Student intervention is delivered throughout the year, not at the end of the year

Frequent Informal Observations

Formal teacher evaluations are used for evaluation purposes and drive salary increases, bonuses, etc

Informal observations are used fromatively to help improve teachers throughout the year

Teacher improvement protocol

Targeted Student Support & Intervention

Student intervention is delivered throughout the year, not at the end of the year

Gap-Closing schools do whatever it takes If a student genuinely needs some

support, the Gap-Closing school will find a way to give it to her or find a viable alternative for her

Teachers stubbornly keep at it until the student gets it

Reading & Writing Across Curriculum

Most disadvantaged students are significantly behind their peers in language acquisition and mastery

Every teacher (Math, Science, Social Studies) teaches reading and writing

Every teacher incorporates ESL and SpEd techniques even in mainstream classes

This maximizes language acquisition throughout the school day

Teaching the Whole Child (Beyond Academics)

Although Gap-Closing schools live and die by the data, they also understand that the child cannot be reduced to a test score

Many essential aspects of education cannot be adequately measured

Behavior, student well being, happiness, etc

Staff Training & Development

Staff at Gap-Closing schools want and appreciate regular staff development

Training is targeted to student needs using student data

Professional Learning Community Practitioner Focused