Hawaii schools see continued increases in student achievement with EdisonLearning partnership

ThE ChALLEngE

In 2005 several schools in Hawaii were consistently falling short of state standards for math and English, based on years of state testing. The Hawaii Board of Education sought new ways to help these schools. They approved a plan to help 20 struggling schools improve test scores. The Department of Education hired three companies to help restructure these schools.

ThE SoLuTIon

EdisonLearning was one of three companies chosen for this restructuring effort by the Hawaii Department of Education. EdisonLearning was initially assigned to work with 7 schools. The company used its Alliance™ model to support these schools. Alliance is a district/school partnership model that brings together proven research-based school design elements, achievement tools and systems, professional development, and dedicated EdisonLearning experts with a local staff to transform schools.

ThE RESuLTS

• First year achievement gains for Alliance partnership schools were on average 7.5% in reading and 11% in math. Within 3 years, these schools raised achievement by 22% in reading and 30% in math.

• Initially assigned 7 schools in 2005 , EdisonLearning was awarded 38 schools by the year 2009.

• 14 Schools made AYP in 2009-2010 school year, up from 5 schools in the 2008-2009 school year.

• Students in the “Disadvantaged” subgroup have increased their combined proficiency (reading and math) by 14% during the partnership.

• English Language Learners (ELL) students have increased their combined proficiency by 21% during the partnership.

• At the end of the 2007-2008 school year, the State of Hawaii awarded the state’s two top honors for school leaders to two principals from Alliance partnership schools.

• Among all partner providers in Hawaii, EdisonLearning partnership schools continues to have the highest combined achievement results – 55.3% in the 2009-2010 school year, as well as the highest single year combined gain – 4.7%.

The Hawaii Story

An EdisonLearning Success Story

“The EdisonLearning partnership has provided us a structure to follow. I believe we are much more focused on our curriculum now than ever before. The weekly support provided by EdisonLearning has really moved our school along.” �� -��Jamie Yap, Principal

Maui Waewna Intermediate School, Hawaii

ThE STEpS ALong ThE WAy

Several schools in Hawaii were struggling, consistently falling short of state standards in math and English, based on years of state testing. These affected schools all faced some added challenges. All had a significant number of children living in poverty. Most of the campuses were in rural or remote areas. Some also had a high number of recent immigrants who spoke little English.

In 2005, the Hawaii Board of Education approved a plan to help 20 of these struggling schools improve test scores and comply with other federal No Child Left Behind Act standards. The Department of Education hired three companies to train teachers and overhaul curriculum at the affected schools. This effort was the most intense remedy that the state applied to schools. EdisonLearning was one of the companies chosen to participate in this restructuring effort. The goal was to set and meet benchmarks for student achievement and ensure that curriculum and teaching match the goals.

EdisonLearning was initially assigned 7 schools by the Hawaii Department of Education under this effort. To help these schools, EdisonLearning employed its district/school partnership model, Alliance™. With Alliance, structures are put in place that help ensure high performance on an on-going basis. Proven research-based school design elements, achievement tools and systems, professional development, and dedicated EdisonLearning experts are brought together with a local staff to transform schools, deliver on turnaround promises and make them true centers of excellence.

One of the unique challenges in working with schools in Hawaii is location. As part of the Alliance model, a local on-site EdisonLearning team is a critical component to help guide a successful Alliance implementation. This team is called the Alliance Achievement team. An island-based Alliance Achievement team was established to work closely with the Hawaii school teams. Experts on this included a reading director, math director, English as a second language specialist, two achievement advisors and a technology specialist. The team became embedded in the school community and invested in the schools’ success.

Once the Alliance Achievement team was in place, the focus of Alliance in Hawaii became turnaround curriculum, professional development and assessment programs.

EdisonLearning brought its years of curriculum expertise to develop a system to ensure standards based instruction that met the needs of students in Hawaii, including customized instruction needs for Special Education and ELL students, was provided to all students. Instruction was tied to meeting the achievement goals set by the state.

EdisonLearning also worked with the schools to put into place its online formative assessment program, the Benchmarks system. Now called eValuate™, the system combines monthly benchmark assessments aligned to individual state standards with easy-to-use reporting and analysis tools.

Students take monthly assessments online through eValuate. Teachers get instant feedback on test results. These results are invaluable to being able to understand how students are performing against state standards. Teachers analyze eValuate’s reports and use the information to make adjustments to classroom instruction to impact student achievement.

Professional Development is a significant part of the Alliance model. Frequent professional development sessions occur with topics that include data analysis using eValuate reports, lesson planning, and other subjects that provide teachers ways to improve student learning. EdisonLearning also offers internal national instructional and leadership conferences which offer educators a valuable and unique experience to interact with colleagues from other EdisonLearning partnership schools across the nation.

One of the most successful aspects of the EdisonLearning and Hawaii school partnership has been how the teams have made curriculum, professional development and eValuate work together, leading to the creation of professional learning communities. In partnership with EdisonLearning, schools create professional learning communities to allow teachers in core subjects to meet several times a week with their respective counterparts to discuss curriculum and instructional strategies. The outcomes are evident in student performance.

At the end of the first year of support, Alliance schools, on average, had 7.5% achievement gains in reading, and 11% in math. Meanwhile, average achievement in non-Alliance schools decreased. Within 3 years, these school raised achievement by 22% in reading and 30% in Math.

Due to the achievement gains seen in the initial 7 Alliance schools, the number of EdisonLearning partnership schools increased in Hawaii from 7 to 38 for the 2008-2009 school year – educating 25,600 students statewide. Currently there are 40 schools receiving a variety of Alliance services for the 2010-11 school year.

ThE BoTTom LInE

For the 2009-2010 school year, 14 EdisonLearning partnership schools made AYP. This reflects a marked increase from 5 schools that made AYP the previous year. These outcomes are a solid testament to work done in these schools by the principals, teachers, students and partners at the Hawaii DOE.

Schools that did not make AYP, however, are making significant progress, with math gains that averaged 6% at many schools that have been Alliance schools for just two years. These schools include several high schools where the challenges can be greater due to the lack of a solid educational foundation in the early grades.

Among all partner providers’ schools in Hawaii, EdisonLearning partner schools continue to have the highest combined achievement results – 55.3% in 2009-2010 school year, as well as the highest single year combined gain – 4.7%.

The partnership is also having a positive impact on those students facing special challenges. Significant achievement gains have occurred in both the Disadvantaged and ELL subgroups. Students in the Disadvantaged subgroup have increase their combined math and reading proficiency by 14% and students in the ELL subgroup have increased their combined proficiency by 21% during the partnership.

Because the EdisonLearning Alliance model continues to help Hawaii schools see sustained student achievement increases, the number of partnership schools will increase even more to 40 in the 2010-2011 school year.

FInd ouT moREFor more information, call us at 1-800-I-CAN-LEARN (1-877-422-6532), email us at information@edisonlearning.com or visit www.edisonlearning.com/casestudies.

Working together for student success™

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