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How Can Autonomy and Choice Bolster Achievement in the U.S.?

Dr. Avis GlazeEdu-quest International Inc.

August 18, 2011

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Snapshot – Province of Ontario

• Canada - 34.1 million people (2010)• Ontario – 13.2 million (approximately 40%)• 60% of 225,000 immigrants who come to Canada

annually• More than 200 languages as “mother tongue• More than 10% of newcomers are school children• Declining enrolment of 4.5% (almost 90,000

students) between 2002-03 and 2008-09

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Snapshot – Province of Ontario

• About 5,000 schools in 72 school districts, plus 30 school authorities

• Four education governance systems: – English public and English Catholic– French public and French Catholic

• 2.1 million students• Almost 126,000 teachers (unionized teaching and

support staff)

Snapshot – Province of Ontario

Elected trustees: Determine board policies and strategic directions Hire Director of Education (Superintendent)

School board officials Hire staff Implement provincial curriculum Engage in system and school improvement Ensure that schools best serve the needs of students

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The Research

• Review of 77 studies on site based management by Leithwood and Menzies found: “Virtually no firm research-based evidence of either direct or indirect effects of site- based management on students.”Dillon (2011)

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The Research

In England, Rebecca Allen’s research found no evidence that status as an autonomous school led to higher student performance.

Dillon (2011)

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The Research

In the United States, the October 2005 research on charter schools by Zimmer and Buddin fails to show a direct connection between autonomy and achievement.

Dillon (2011)

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The Research

“You cant give absolute autonomy to every school.”

Dillon (2011)

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“There is not such thing as isolated autonomy.”

Fullan (2008)

Schwartz, Levin & Gamoran (2011)

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The Research

• Balance is key• School capacity is the determining factor in

giving schools autonomy• What’s needed: a differentiated approach

Dillon (2011)

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The Ontario Approach

• “School choice” - not a part of the Ontario strategy

• Choice does not bolster achievement• Autonomy can, but not by itself• What’s needed: The right balance of autonomy

and system direction

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The Ontario Approach

• The Ontario strategy - a balanced approach• Districts and schools were encouraged to innovate• Failing schools could not go in their own direction • Specific interventions improve the

underperforming schools• Ontario works at making every public school a a

good school; a school of choice.

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Autonomy – The Dilemma

• Should autonomy be limited to already successful schools, thereby reducing the risk that the schools will crash and burn as they try to govern themselves? Or

• Should district use autonomy as a spur to get low performing schools to improve?

• Should autonomy be a catalyst or a reward?Dillon (2011)

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Components of The Ontario Strategy

• Dialogue and engagement − Forging consensus − Establishing partnerships − Developing a common sense of purpose − Building commitment and motivation

• Positive pressure and support• Class size reduction• Targeted resources • School improvement planning with SMART goals

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Components of The Ontario Strategy

• School improvement planning with SMART goals• Research-informed, high-impact strategies• Tutoring and other instructional programs• Deep implementation and monitoring• Capacity building at all levels of the system• Teams and networks • Focused intervention programs

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The Ontario Strategy

• Character development• Community outreach and engagement• Assessment of district and school

effectiveness• A focus on professional accountability\• An emphasis on excellence with equity, and• International comparability and benchmarking

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Global Trends

The capacity of countries –both the world’s most advanced economies as well as those experiencing rapid development – to compete in the global knowledge economy increasingly depends on whether they can meet a fast-growing demand for high-level skills. This, in turn, hinges on significant improvements in the quality of schooling outcomes and a more equitable distribution of learning opportunities.

Andreas Schleicher (OECD) McKinsey Report (2007)

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The Honourable Dalton McGuinty, Premier of Ontario

“Making public education the best education is the single most important thing that we can do together to build a bright and promising future for all of us.”

“We can build a stronger economy, a stronger society, a stronger Ontario, by strengthening the education and skills of our people.”

Reach Every Student Ministry of Education Goals

• High levels of student achievement

• Reduced gaps in student achievement

• Increased public confidence in education

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Key Premises

There was a need to:Eschew the one-size-fits-all orientationInvoke both bottom-up and top-down strategiesFocus on the moral imperativeBuild consensus for changeAdopt an inclusive approachBuild upon the professionalism and good-will of educators

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The Strategy: Key Implementation Phases

2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-11

Creation of The Literacy & Numeracy Secretariat

Phase 1Building Consensus

Phase 2Building Capacity

Phase 3Sharpening our Focus

Phase 4Intensifying our Collective Efforts

Phase 5Consolidating for Deeper Implementati0n

Phase 6Aligning Our Work

Reaffirming our purpose and conveying the sense of urgency

Providing leadership development and increasing instructional effectiveness

Providing leadership development and increasing instructional effectiveness

Deepening instructional effectiveness and pedagogy and focusing on professional accountability and networks

Personalization, instructional precision and collaborative learning through networks

Capacity building for continuous improvement

Deep Implementation of effective teaching and learning practice and engagement at all levels with a focus on the classroom

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Student Success: Learning to 18 (Secondary)

Phase Three

Capacity building for continuous improvement

Investment in leadership at the classroom and student level

Provision of new and varied learning opportunities for students, including:

expanded co-op

Specialist High Skills Major d

Dual credits

Bill 52, the Education Amendment Act (Learning to Age 18);

Student Voice

Professional Learning strategies

Differentiated Instruction:

Math and Literacy

Phase Two Phase One

Investment in leadership capacity for secondary school reforms at the district levelIdentifying Student Success Leaders in each school district

Investment in leadership capacity at the school level; Student Success Teachers Student Success Teams

2003-2004

2006 to present

2004-2006

The Strategy: Elementary Schools

1.Set targets with district school boards

2. Identify teams at all levels to drive continuous improvement in literacy and numeracy

4.Build capacity to support student learning and achievement

5.Allocate resources to support target setting and improvement plans

7.Embark on a process of community outreach and engagement to build support for the literacy and numeracy initiative

8.Demonstrate a commitment to research and evidence-based inquiry and decision making

6.Mobilize the system to provide equity in student outcome

3.Reduce class sizes in the primary grades to a maximum of 20 students per class by 2006

9.Establish a growing presence on the national and international scene

1. Laser-like focus on student achievement

2. Clear curriculum choices

3. Frequent assessment of student progress and multiple opportunities for improvement

4. An emphasis on non-fiction writing

5. Collaborative scoring of student work(Douglas Reeves)

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Strategies to Improve Student Achievement

Establishing the School as a Professional Learning Community

• Action-based and results-oriented• High tolerance for the truth• Collaborative and collegial • Teacher moderation of student work• Case management models• Focus on strategies to improve student achievement• Data-driven• Assessment informs instruction

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Identifying “Non-Negotiables”

• Balanced literacy program• Uninterupted blocks of time for literacy and numeracy• Higher order thinking skills• Non-fiction writing across the curriculum• Early intervention of learning difficulties• Teaching math content though problem solving• Differentiated instruction• Common assessments

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Overall Elementary EQAO Results

The Drive to 75

54%

58%

62%

64%

68%

63%

65%

67%

50%

52%

54%

56%

58%

60%

62%

64%

66%

68%

70%

2002/03 2003/04 2004/05 2005/06 2006/07 2007/08 2008/09 2009/10

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Closing the Gaps

6.6%

7%6%

5%5%

7%

14%

19%

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10

Percentage of schools with less than 34% of students achieving levels 3 and 4 in Grade 3 Reading

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The Globe and Mail, November 29, 2007

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Ontario’s International Standing

“Ontario is among the few jurisdictions in the world that demonstrate both higher achievement in reading and a smaller performance gap between high- and low-income students when compared to the OECD average. This is a characteristic of education systems that deliver both excellence and equity ...”

The Education Quality and Accountability Office,(2010)

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Equity of Outcomes: Selected Results

English-language Learners Improved 26 percentage points in Writing Improved 18 percentage points in Reading

Students in Special Education Programs Improved 22 percentage points in writing Improved 17 percentage points in writing

The Four “Pillars” for Student Success Improving Results in Secondary Schools

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• Literacy• Numeracy• Program Pathways• Community, Culture and Caring (A focus on student well-being)

The Secondary Strategy

1. Investment in leadership capacity for secondary school reform at the school district level– Student Success Leaders

2. Investment in leadership capacity at the school level– Student Success Teachers and Student Success Teams

3. Investment in leadership at the classroom and student level – Board improvement plans and the School Effectiveness

Framework

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Accomplishments

• Progress on all three goals– Better outcomes– Reduced inequities– Increased public confidence

• Every student outcome has improved– Proportion of students performing at level 1 or lower - down by 50%+– Number of very low achieving schools - down by 75%– English Language Learner (ELL) gap dropped sharply– Students in special education program - gap also smaller– High school graduation rates increased significantly (52,500 more

graduates)– Improvement in many ancillary areas – health, safety, character…

• Students across the entire spectrum are achieving at a higher level

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The Role Teachers

Instruction, itself, has the largest

influence on achievement.

Schmoker (2006)

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The Role of School Leadership

School leadership is second only to classroom teaching as an influence on pupil learning.

Leithwood et al. (2006)

Alignment and Coherence

• Alignment of actions at the:the provincial levelthe school district levelthe school levelthe classroom level

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Student Engagement

“A student’s “functioning in school is inextricably linked with his or her sense of belonging and connection to the school environment and his or her relationships with peers and teachers within it.”

K.A. Schonert-Reichl (2000)

Parental Engagement

Research clearly indicates that many benefits accrue when parents are involved in their children’s education

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The Moral Imperative

“At the school level, the moral imperative of the principal involves leading deep cultural change that mobilizes the passion and commitment of teachers, parents, and others to improve the learning of all students, including closing the achievement gap.”

(Fullan, 2002. p. 41)

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Excellence with Equity

“We can, whenever and wherever we choose, teach all children whose schooling is of interest to us. We already know more than we need to know to do that. Whether we do so or not will ultimately depend upon how we feel about the fact that we haven’t done so thus far.” Edmonds (1979)

Re-affirming Our Mission

• Democracy and education• Our future health, prosperity, wellbeing • Our unrelenting sense of purpose• The country we wish to sustain• Educators alter destinies• Educators create an enduring legacy

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A Clarion Call for Excellence

Excellence is never an accident. It is always the result of focused intention, sincere effort, and intelligent, skillful execution. It represents wise choices among many alternatives.

Albert Einstein 

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•

Closing the achievement gaps, and Achieving excellence with equity...

Education is the ultimate tool of empowerment

Make it Happen!

• This is the Golden Age of Education!– A time for revitalization and re-commitment– A time to re-engage system partners– A time to put all that we know into practice– A time to ensure that schools serve the needs of students– A time to regain public confidence in public education