Closing the Achievement Gap

Briefs

07/12/10

Preparing Students for the Rapidly-Changing World: Implications for Instruction and Assessment (Forum 3) This was the third in a series of three AYPF Capitol Hill forums to address the need for a new approach to education that ensures that students graduate with the range of skills and abilities necessary for success in the knowledge economy. This final forum in the series focused on assessment, and highlighted some of the tools that are being used to measure student acquisition of the competencies needed for future success.  The forum also showcased how two states have infused performance-based measures into their assessment systems to ensure student proficiency in these applied skills.  Panelists also addressed how such performance-based measures fit with the common core standards and efforts to create common assessments. Speakers includedElena Silva, Senior Policy Analyst, Education Sector (DC) and Sharon Lee, Secondary Redesign Specialist, Rhode Island Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, Office of Multiple Pathways (RI), and Susan Gendron, Policy Coordinator, Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (ME). (Forum Brief). This page contains video footage of the event.

06/22/10

Preparing College- and Career-Ready Students: Elements of Successful Programs: This webinar examined the elements of program models that have demonstrated effectiveness in preparing students for postsecondary access and success, based on the results of rigorous evaluations. This event was a follow up of the Success at Every Step forum from February 5, 2010. Presenters included Sarah hooker, Program Associate, American Youth Policy Forum (DC); James connell, President, Institute for Research and Reform in Education, (NJ); Ryan Reyna, Policy Analyst, Education Division, Center for Best Practices, National Governors’ Association (DC); and Joel Vargas, Senior Project Manager, Jobs for the Future (MA). (Webinar). This event was recorded and is now available on the webinar page.

02/05/10

Success at Every Step of College and Career Preparation The American Youth Policy Forum (AYPF) has recently released a new publication, Success at Every Step: How 23 Programs Support Youth on the Path to College and Beyond, which profiles programs that have been proven to help young people complete high school and be prepared for success in postsecondary education and careers, based on the results of recent, high-quality evaluations. This half-day event provided an overview of the findings of the report, showcased a variety of programs that support college- and career-readiness, explored implications for federal and state policy, and included a networking lunch. Speakers included Greg Darnieder, Special Assistant to the Secretary on College Access, U.S. Department of Education (DC); RYAN REYNA, Policy, Analyst, Education Division, Center for Best Practices, National Governors’ Association (DC); Katharine Oliver, Assistant State Superintendent for Career and Technical Education and Adult Learning, Maryland State Department of Education (MD); michael wotorson, Executive Director, Campaign for High School Equity (DC); James Connell, President, Institute for Research and Reform in Education (NJ); Rachel Singer, Director of Academic Affairs, Kingsborough Community College (NY); Joel Vargas, Senior Project Manager, Jobs for the Future (MA); and david sinski, Executive Director, After School Matters (IL).(Forum BRIEF)

06/26/09

Rethinking Professional Development: Comprehensive Approaches to Ensuring Effective Teaching: As teacher quality is the number one factor affecting student achievement, improvement in teacher effectiveness is a top federal priority. This forum showcased two comprehensive models that have been implemented in school districts that use continuous professional development that have proven effects on student achievement and the quality of instruction in the classroom. The Long Beach Unified School District is exemplary in its use of internal resources to improve teacher effectiveness through year-round professional development linked to school improvement strategies. The Urban Teacher Residency program of the Academy for Urban School Leadership in Chicago ensures continuous improvement of teaching through intensive pre-service training, classroom residency, induction coaching, use of student-level data to inform instruction, and mentoring for teachers in urban schools that have been targeted for school turnaround. Speakers included Stephanie Hirsch, Executive Director of the National Staff Development Council, Dallas (TX); Chris Steinhauser, Superintendent of the Long Beach Unified School District, (CA); and Michael Whitmore, Director of the Teacher Residency Program, Academy for Urban School Leadership, Chicago (IL).  (Forum Brief) 

12/12/08

School Improvement and School Turnaround: State-Level Strategies in Louisiana and Maryland This forum highlighted state-level approaches to school turnaround from Louisiana and Maryland. Louisiana’s Recovery School District represents a unique model of state control of the majority of New Orleans’ public schools, in the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Maryland’s approach is characterized by state technical assistance and oversight of restructuring conducted at the local level. Presenters included: Ramsey Green, Budget and Policy Director, Louisiana Recovery School District; and Ronald Peiffer, Deputy State Superintendent, Office of Academic Policy, Maryland State Department of Education. (Forum Brief)

12/05/08

 

School Improvement and School Turnaround: District-Level Initiatives in Chicago, IL, and Prince Georges County, MD: This forum will highlight two district approaches to school turnaround: Chicago, and Prince Georges County.  Chicago is utilizing a wide-scale, comprehensive strategy, combining an “outside the system” approach by bringing in external providers and starting new schools with an “inside the system” approach of developing their own urban school leaders.  In Prince Georges County School District the effort is focused on utilizing opportunity zones to implement school turnaround. Presenters will include Josh Edelman, Executive Director, Office of New Schools, Chicago Public Schools; Alan Anderson, Executive Director, Department of School Turnarounds, Chicago Public Schools; Derek Mitchell, Executive Director, New and Charter Schools, Prince Georges County School District, MD.(Forum Brief )

10/24/08

School Improvement and School Turnaround: Local Accomplishments Of MetLife Foundation/NASSP Breakthrough Schools: Driven by the No Child Left Behind Act, the need to improve high school graduation rates, and to lower the number of students dropping out, school improvement and turnaround initiatives continue to dominate efforts at education reform, in an effort to improve academic outcomes for students.  The upcoming series of AYPF forums will examine some of these efforts at the local, district and state levels. The first forum will focus on a project by the MetLife Foundation and the National Association of Secondary School Principals.  This project identifies, showcases, and recognizes middle level and high schools that are high achieving or are dramatically improving student achievement and serve large numbers of students living in poverty. Selection criteria are based on a school's documented success in implementing strategies aligned with the three core areas of Breaking Ranks II for middle level and high schools that have led to improved student achievement: Collaborative leadership; Personalization; and Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment. These strategies were outlined in two publications: In 2004, NASSP’s commitment to supporting principals in their schoolwide reform efforts resulted in the publication of Breaking Ranks II: Strategies for Leading High School Reform.  This was followed by the 2006 release of Breaking Ranks in the Middle: Strategies for Leading Middle Level Reform. This forum will showcase three schools that utilized these school improvement strategies, and that were grant award winners in 2008: Forest Grove High School in Oregon; Cashman Middle School in Nevada; and Wheaton High School in Maryland.  Mel Riddile of the National Association for High School Leadership (VA) will lead the presentation.  Speakers will be:  Kevin E. Lowndes, Principal, Wheaton High School (MD); John O’Neill, Principal Forest Grove High School (OR); and Misti Taton, Principal, Cashman Middle School (NV). (Forum Brief)

05/20/08 

Improving the Transition from Middle Grades to High Schools:  Promising District Initiatives in Coaching and Planning  This forum was the final presentation in the series on “Improving the Transition from the Middle Grades to High Schools.” Presenters showcased how Lowndes County Schools in Georgia are implementing the state’s Middle and High School Graduation Coach Initiative to help students transition successfully from the middle grades to high school.  The forum also highlighted the use of a new course for incoming freshman, called Keystone - The Freshman Experience, in Duval County, Florida, which helps high school students to become career-focused while learning how to make effective decisions about their futures. Presenters included Dr. Steve Smith, Superintendent, Lowndes County Schools, GA; Wes Taylor, Principal, Lowndes High School, GA; and Beverly Strickland, Director, High School Programs, Duval County Public Schools, GA. (Forum Brief)

04/11/08

Improving the Transition from Middle Grades to High Schools: Promising State Initiatives in Literacy and Mathematics  By addressing mathematics and literacy deficiencies, educators improve the chances of at-risk students remaining in school, and graduating on time. This forum, the second in the series  on “Improving the Transition from the Middle Grades to High Schools,” featured  Sherrill W. Parris, Assistant State Superintendent of Education for the Alabama Department of Education and Linda M. Wallinger, Assistant Superintendent for Instruction at the Virginia Department of Education. (Forum Brief)

01/25/08

Improving the Transition from Middle Grades to High Schools:  The Role of Early Warning Indicators  This forum, the first in the series on “Improving the Transition from the Middle Grades to High Schools,” focused on early warning indicators, particularly the use of on-track indicators, that can identify potential high school dropouts as early as sixth grade.  Presenters included Robert Balfanz, Research Scientist, Center for Social Organization of Schools, Johns Hopkins University; Elaine Allensworth, Co-Director for Statistical Analysis, Consortium on Chicago School Research at the University of Chicago; and Craig D. Jerald, independent consultant, Break the Curve Consulting, DC.   (Forum Brief)

09/28/07

Achievement Trap:  The Success and Struggle of America's High-Achieving Lower-Income Students with Kati Haycock, Director, Education Trust, Susan Traiman, Director of Education and Workforce Policy, Business Roundtable, Joshua Wyner, Vice President, Programs, Jack Kent Cooke Foundation (forum brief)

06/22/07

The Role of Career and Technical Education in High School Reform: State Efforts to Integrate CTE with Rigorous Standards with Patrick Ainsworth, Assistant Superintendent for Secondary, Postsecondary & Adult Education, California Department of Education, Kathy Oliver, Assistant State Superintendent, Maryland Department of Education, and Alex Harris, Senior Policy Analyst, National Governors Association (Forum Brief and webcast)

05/10/07

The Role of Career and Technical Education in High School Reform: Career and Technical Education Responding to Industry Needs with Phyllis Eisen, Vice President, The Manufacturing Institute and Executive Director, The Center for Workforce Success, Duane Crum, California State Director, Project Lead the Way (forum brief and webcast)

04/13/07

Opening the Door to the American Dream: Increasing Higher Education Access and Success for Immigrants with Wendy Erisman, Senior Research Analyst and Director of Evaluation, Institute for Higher Education Policy, and Deborah A. Santiago, Vice President for Policy and Research, Excelencia in Education, and Margie McHugh, Co Director, National Center on Immigrant Integration Policy, Migration Policy Institute (forum brief)

09/22/06

Citizen Schools: Putting Students on a Pathway to Academic and Social Success with Eric Schwarz, President and Co-Founder of Citizen Schools, Lara Fabiano, Senior Researcher, Policy Studies Associates, and Chris Harris, Campus Director, Citizen Schools, McKinley Middle School, New Brunswick, New Jersey (forum brief)

05/19/06

Career and Technical Education's Role in High School Reform with the Association for Career and Technical Education (Forum brief)

03/17/06

The Toolbox Revisited: Paths to Degree Completion from High School Through College with Cliff Adelman, Senior Research Analyst, Department of Education (forum brief)

06/13/2003

Education Retention Issues for Latino High School and College Aged Youth, with Roberto Suro, Director of the Pew Hispanic Center, Richard Fry, Senior Research Associate, Pew Hispanic Center, Harry Holzer, Professor, Georgetown Public Policy Center.  (Forum Brief)

06/6/2003

Diverse Schools: Building Strong Communities, In-School and Beyond, with Eileen Kugler, Author, Donald Clausen, Principal, Annandale High School, Virginia, and Michael Hanna, Principal, Storm Lake High School, Storm Lake, Iowa. (Forum Brief)

11/22/2002     

Minority Student Achievement Network, with Robert Smith, Superintendent, Arlington Co. VA Public Schools, Allan Alson, Superintendent, Evanston, IL Public Schools, and Rossi Ray-Taylor, Superintendent, Ann Arbor, MI Public Schools. (Forum Brief)

9/23/2002

Racial Inequality In Special Education: Implications For Idea’s Reauthorization, is a briefing on issues confronting minority youth in special education with an emphasis on implications for the upcoming reauthorization of IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act). The briefing features research from The Civil Rights Project at Harvard University called, Racial Inequity in Special Education. Featured speakers include Gary Orfield, co-director of The Civil Rights Project (CRP), and Daniel J. Losen, CRP Legal and Policy Research Associate, Darren Woodruff, Senior Research Analyst, American Institutes for Research, and Harvard Law Professor and CRP co-director Christopher Edley Jr. (Forum Brief)

6/7/2002

Closing The Achievement Gap in Urban Schools, with Mike Casserly, Executive Director, Council of Great City Schools and Fred Doolittle and Jason Snipes Manpower Development Research Corporation. (Forum Brief)

4/26/2002

March Toward Excellence: School Success and Minority Student Achievement in Department of Defense Schools, Claire Smrekar and Debra Owens, Peabody Center for Education Policy, Vanderbilt University, and Taffy Corrigan, Assistant Associate Director for Education, U.S. Department of Defense Education Activities. (Forum Brief)

2/14/2002

Learning through Teaching in an After-School Pedagogical Laboratory, Presenter Michèle Foster, Professor, Center for Educational Studies at Claremont Graduate University, discussed effective research-based teaching and learning practices and literacy development for African American middle and high school students. (Forum Brief)

11/19/2001

Repeat of The Release of Raising Minority Academic Achievement: A Compendium of Education Programs and Practices , with Donna Walker James, American Youth Policy Forum; and Precious Jackson, an AVID graduate and current undergraduate at Howard University. (Forum Brief)

5/14/2001

It Takes A City: Getting Serious About Urban School Reform, with Paul Hill, Research Professor in the University of Washington's Daniel J. Evans School of Public Affairs and non-resident Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution. (Forum Brief)

3/2/2001

New Research on Minorities and Special Education: Implications for Federal Law and Policy, with Darren Woodruff, Senior Research Analyst at the American Institutes for Research (AIR), Tom Parrish, Managing Research Scientist, AIR, Jay Heubert, Associate Professor of Education at Columbia University, Teacher's College, Tom Hehir, Lecturer, Harvard Graduate School of Education, and Gary Orfield, Co-Director, The Civil Rights Project. (Forum Brief)

11/29/2000

The Psychology and Education of African American Children and Youth, with Dr. Thomas A. Parham. (Breakfast Meeting)

1/7/2000

The Impact of High Stakes Testing Policies On Minority and Disadvantaged Students: Legal and Policy Implications of New Research, with Lauren Resnick, Director, Learning Research and Development Center, University of Pittsburgh; Linda McNeil, Director, Center for Education at Rice University; and Gary Natriello, Professor of Education, Columbia University; and Christopher Edley and Gary Orfield, Co-directors of The Civil Rights Project at Harvard University, and Jay Heubert, Associate Professor of Education at Teachers College, Columbia University. (Forum Brief)

2/27/1998

The Retention and High Stakes Testing: Will They Result in Improvements in Urban Student Achievement? with Mitchell Chester, Executive Director of Accountability and Assessment for the School District of Philadelphia; Stephanie Robinson, Principal Partner, The Education Trust; Richard Wenning, Director of Educational Accountability, District of Columbia Public Schools; and Dennis Doyle, education consultant and writer. (Forum Brief)

3/14/1997

Can Current Education Reform Efforts Close the Growing Achievement Gap? with Kati Haycock, Director, The Education Trust. (Forum Brief)

6/2/1995

Myths about International Test Score Comparisons, with Iris Rotberg, Program Director for Research, Directorate for Education and Human Resources, National Science Foundation. (Forum Brief)

Trip Reports

03/24/10-
03/26/10

State Strategies to Ensure All Students Graduate This study mission, funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, will enable participants from Alabama, Delaware, Kansas, and South Carolina to learn from Massachusetts' comprehensive efforts to improve support systems for high school students at risk of dropping out.  Panel discussions, presentations, and site visits will showcase the state's use of early warning systems, alternative education, community partnerships, and longitudinal data systems in their prevention and recovery strategies.  In conjunction with this learning experience, participants will also attend a conference in April focused on policy implementation and technical assistance provided by America's Promise Alliance and the Everyone Graduates Center at Johns Hopkins University. (Field Trip)

11/12/08-
11/14/08

Infusing Career and Technical Education into High School Reform Sacramento, California  The focus of this trip to Sacramento was to learn about California’s efforts at improving career and technical education, to witness the interaction between state initiatives and district implementation, and to examine the impact of the reform at the school level by visiting schools and hearing from principals, teachers and students.  The group had the opportunity to meet with a variety of stakeholders, including state officials and business leaders, involved in California’s CTE reform efforts in order to gain an understanding of the state’s high school redesign initiatives; learn about the leadership and partnerships necessary to ensure effective implementation, including partnerships between secondary and post-secondary institutions, and schools and business leaders; and learn about the state’s process for implementing the new CTE, including the creation of CTE Standards and Framework, the provision of funding to implement new curricula and refurbish facilities, and efforts to address CTE teacher preparation. Site visits were made to Health Professions High School and Luther Burbank High School, Sacramento, CA. ( Trip Report)

05/14/2008-
05/15/2008

State Policy Trip to Louisville, Kentucky: Helping Policymakers Understand High School Redesign Dropout Prevention and Persistence to Graduation This trip showcased promising programs and practices, as well as other innovative methods that Kentucky is employing to ensure a comprehensive approach to high school improvement, with a specific emphasis on dropout prevention. Participants heard from key speakers such as Michael Miller, Division Director of Curriculum, KY Department of Education; Nijel Clayton, Branch Manager of Dropout Prevention, KY Department of Education; Marty Bell, Deputy to the Superintendent, Jefferson County Public Schools, KY; Joe Burks, Assistant Superintendent of High Schools, JCPS, KY; and Maurice Risner, Executive Director, Student Relations and Safety, JCPS, KY.  Site visits included visits to Breckinridge High School; Liberty High School; Jefferson County High School; a Family Youth and Service Center; and South Central Neighborhood Place.  (Trip Report)

03/12/2008-
03/13/2008

State Policy Trip to Providence, Rhode Island: Proficiency-based High School Diploma System  Highlights from this trip included meetings with Robert Flanders, Chair of the Board of Regents; Peter McWalters, Commissioner of Education; Jack Warner, Commissioner of Higher Education; and Janet Durfee-Hidalgo, Education Policy Advisor of Governor Donald Carcieri, as well as other state and district education leaders. In addition, the group visited Hope High School, Coventry High School, and Shea High School to see how the diploma system has been implemented at the school level. (Trip Report)

11/7/2007-
11/9/2007

State Policy Trip to Little Rock, AR, November 7-9, 2007: Expanding Advanced Placement Participation and Building Public Will. Highlights from this trip include meetings with T. Kenneth James, AR Commissioner of Education; Senator Jim Argue, Chair of the AR Senate Education Committee; Kathryn Hazelett, Governor Mike Beebe's Education Policy Advisor; Steve Floyd, Director of the AR Department of Higher Education; as well as other policy and education experts at the state level. In addition, we visited the historic Little Rock Central High School and the Wilbur Mills University Study School. (Trip Report)

4/22/2005

Latin American Youth Center's YouthBuild Program. One day field trip in Washington, DC to explore the work of this dynamic, multi-faceted community-based organization and its impact on young people. (Trip Report)

3/17/2003 -
3/19/2003

Education, Community and Workforce Development in Rural Mississippi, Field Trip to the Delta Region of Mississippi (Trip Report)

Publications

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RAISING MINORITY ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT This report is the culmination of a detailed, two-year effort to find, summarize and analyze evaluations of school and youth programs that show gains for minority youth across a broad range of academic achievement indicators. The report provides an accessible resource for policymakers and practitioners interested in promoting the academic success of racial and ethnic minorities from early childhood through advanced postsecondary study.

THE FORGOTTEN HALF REVISITED: American Youth and Young Families, 1988-2008 Updates the 1988 reports of the William T. Grant Foundation Commission on Work, Family and Citizenship. Includes essays and the latest data on employment, youth and community development, school reform, higher education, service. Essayists include Thomas Bailey (Teacher's College, Columbia University), Martin Blank (Institute for Educational Leadership), Carol Emig (Child Trends), Lawrence Gladieux and Watson Scott Swail (The College Board), Samuel Halperin (American Youth Policy Forum), Harold Howe II (former U.S. Commissioner of Education), John F. Jennings and Diane Stark Rentner (Center on Education Policy), Karen Pittman (International Youth Foundation), Shirley Sagawa (The White House) and Daniel Yankelovich (Public Agenda).