1. HIGH SCHOOLS IN AMERICA 2003 Prepared for the US Department of Education By The Education Trust Archived Information

2. What Do We Know About Student Achievement?

3. 12th Grade Achievement In Math and Science is Up Somewhat

4. 2000 by The Education Trust, Inc. High School Achievement: Math and Science Source: NAEP 1999 Trends in Academic Progress.

5. In Reading, 12th Grade Achievement is Headed Downward

6. 2000 by The Education Trust, Inc. HIGH SCHOOL ACHIEVEMENT: READING AND WRITING

7. After Earlier Progress in Narrowing Gaps, Gaps in the 90’s Grew

8. 2000 by The Education Trust, Inc. Gaps Narrow Then Mostly Widen NAEP Reading, 17 Year-Olds Source: US Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. NAEP 1999 Trends in Academic Progress (p. 107) Washington, DC: US Department of Education, August 2000 21 31

9. 2000 by The Education Trust, Inc. Source: US Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. NAEP 1999 Trends in Academic Progress (p. 108) Washington, DC: US Department of Education, August 2000 Gaps Narrow, Then Hold Steady or Widen: NAEP Math Scores, 17 Year-Olds 20 32

10. Students Make More Growth Grade 4 to 8 than Grade 8 to 12

11. 2000 by The Education Trust, Inc. Academic Growth Grades 4-8, 8-12

12. Value Added in High School Declined During the Nineties

13. 2000 by The Education Trust, Inc. Value Added Declining in High School Math... Age 13-17 Growth Source: NAEP 1999 Trends in Academic Progress

14. 2000 by The Education Trust, Inc. …Still Age 13-17 Growth Source: Main NAEP 1996, 2000

15. 2000 by The Education Trust, Inc. Reading: Students Entering Better Prepared, But Leaving Worse Source: NAEP 1996 Trends in Academic Progress

16. Hormones?

17. Students in Other Countries Gain far More in High School

18. TIMSS

19. 2000 by The Education Trust, Inc. Source: NCES 1999-081R, Highlights From TIMSS

20. 2000 by The Education Trust, Inc. Source: NCES 1999-081R, Highlights From TIMSS

21. PISA

22. 2000 by The Education Trust, Inc. US 15 Year-Olds Rank Near Middle Of The Pack Among 32 Participating Countries

23. One measure on which we rank high? Inequality!

24. 2000 by The Education Trust, Inc. Source: OECD, Knowledge and Skills for Life: First Results From PISA 2000, 2001. *Of 27 OECD countries Performance Of U.S. 15 Year-Olds Highly Variable

25. KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS AT END OF HIGH SCHOOL

26. 2000 by The Education Trust, Inc. NAEP Mathematics Performance 2000

27. 2000 by The Education Trust, Inc. By Race, Ethnicity NAEP 12th Grade Math 2000 Source: USDOE, NCES, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP)

28. 2000 by The Education Trust, Inc. By Income 12th Grade Math (2000) Source: USDOE, NCES, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) Summary Data Tables

29. 2000 by The Education Trust, Inc. By Race, Ethnicity NAEP 12th Grade Reading 2002 Source: USDOE, NCES, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP)

30. 2000 by The Education Trust, Inc. By Income 12th Grade Reading (2002) Source: USDOE, NCES, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) Summary Data Tables

31. 2000 by The Education Trust, Inc. African American and Latino 17 Year Olds Do Math at Same Levels As White 13 Year Olds Source: NAEP 1999 Long Term Trends Summary Tables (online)

32. 2000 by The Education Trust, Inc. African American and Latino 17 Year Olds Read at Same Levels as White 13 Year Olds Source: Source: NAEP 1999 Long Term Trends Summary Tables (online)

33. These, of course, are just the students who MAKE IT through high school.

34. Each Year, One of Every Twenty High School Students Leaves School

35. 2000 by The Education Trust, Inc. Source: NCES “Drop-out Rates in U.S. 1998” (1999) One Year Dropout Rates by Race, Grades 10-12

36. 2000 by The Education Trust, Inc. Source: NCES “Drop-out Rates in U.S. 1998” (1999) One Year Drop-out Rates by Family Income, Grades 10-12

37. By Age 18-19, 82% of American Young People Have Earned a Diploma (72.5%) or a GED/Equivalency Certificate (9.8%)

38. By Age 22-24, 86.3% of American Young People Have Earned a Diploma (75.9%) or a GED/Equivalency Certificate (10.4%)

39. 2000 by The Education Trust, Inc. Students Complete High School At Different Rates, 2000 Source: US Bureau of Census, Current Population Reports, Educational Attainment in the United States: March 2000, Detailed Tables No. 2 Age 18-24

40. Inevitable?

41. 2000 by The Education Trust, Inc. No. Around the Country, there are: n Classrooms; n Schools; n Districts; and, n Even entire states where students— especially poor and minority students—are performing at much higher levels.

42. SO, WHAT CAN WE DO? Four questions to help frame our improvement efforts.

43. #1. Can we agree on a single, overarching goal for high school that will give clearer purpose, focus to our reform efforts?

44. 2000 by The Education Trust, Inc. Kids and Parents are Clear: Their Goal is College Source:Metropolitan Life, Survey of the American Teacher 2000: Are We Preparing Students for the 21st Century?, September 2000.

45. 2000 by The Education Trust, Inc. Indeed, Most High School Grads Do Go On To Postsecondary Within 2 Years Source: NELS: 88, Second (1992) and Third (1994) Follow up; in, USDOE, NCES, “Access to Postsecondary Education for the 1992 High School Graduates”, 1998, Table 2.

46. 2000 by The Education Trust, Inc. Source: US bureau of Labor Statistics and Bureau of the Census, Current Population Survey, March 2002 That’s Good, Because Education Pays: Annual Earnings of 25-34 yr-olds by Attainment, 2001

47. 2000 by The Education Trust, Inc. But Many of Those College Freshmen Not Prepared…and Do Not Return for Sophomore Year Source: Tom Mortensen, Postsecondary Opportunity, No. 89, November 1999

48. 2000 by The Education Trust, Inc. Why? At Least In Part Because Their Teachers Had Other Ideas About Their Plans

49. To break through these old attitudes, cannot equivocate. ALL students must graduate from high school ready for postsecondary education.

50. #2. It is increasingly clear that student success--in college, on assessments, and in gaining access to decent jobs--depends on completing a rigorous, college prep-level curriculum.

51. Transcript Study: single biggest predictor of college success is QUALITY AND INTENSITY OF HIGH SCHOOL CURRICULUM Cliff Adelman, Answers in the Tool Box, U.S. Department of Education.

52. 2000 by The Education Trust, Inc. Source: USDOE, NCES, Vocational Education in the United States: Toward the Year 2000, in Issue Brief: Students Who Prepare for College and Vocation *Grade 8-grade 12 test score gains based on 8th grade achievement. Even Bottom Quartile Students Gain More From College Prep Courses*

53. 2000 by The Education Trust, Inc. Challenging Curriculum Also Results in Lower Failure Rates, Even for Lowest Achievers Source: SREB, “Middle Grades to High School: Mending a Weak Link”. Unpublished Draft, 2002. Ninth-grade English performance, by high/low level course, and eighth-grade reading achievement quartiles

54. And they’ll be better prepared for the workplace.

55. 2000 by The Education Trust, Inc. Requirements for Tool and Die Makers n Four or five years of apprenticeship and/or postsecondary training; n Algebra, geometry, trigonometry and statistics; n Average earnings: $40,000 per year.

56. 2000 by The Education Trust, Inc. Requirements for Sheet Metal Workers n Four or five years of apprenticeship; n Algebra, geometry, trigonometry and technical reading;

57. Time for a Default Curriculum? Texas Indiana

58. But... n it is clear from the NAEP data that we’re not getting the gains from those courses we should expect; and, n it is also clear that course labels don’t always tell much about standards.

59. 2000 by The Education Trust, Inc. Students can do no better than the assignments they are given...

60. 2000 by The Education Trust, Inc. Grade 10 Writing Assignment A frequent theme in literature is the conflict between the individual and society. From literature you have read, select a character who struggled with society. In a well-developed essay, identify the character and explain why this character’s conflict with society is important.

61. 2000 by The Education Trust, Inc. Grade 10 Writing Assignment Write a composition of at least 4 paragraphs on Martin Luther King’s most important contribution to this society. Illustrate your work with a neat cover page. Neatness counts.

62. How Can We Get Some Consistency in Content and Teacher Judgments?

63. #3. Organizing Time and Staff in Pursuit of Different Outcomes

64. Time

65. 2000 by The Education Trust, Inc. The Full Year Calendar

66. 2000 by The Education Trust, Inc. Less Summer Vacation

67. 2000 by The Education Trust, Inc. Less Weekends, Holidays, & Summer Vacation

68. 2000 by The Education Trust, Inc. Less Professional Development Days & Early Dismissal/Parent Conferences

69. 2000 by The Education Trust, Inc. Less Class Picnic, Class Trip, Thanksgiving Feast, Christmas, Kwanzaa, Hannukkah, Awards, Assembles, & Concerts

70. 2000 by The Education Trust, Inc. Less State and District Testing

71. Bottom Line: Roughly 13-15 Eight-Hour Days Per Subject Per Year

72. Staff

73. 2000 by The Education Trust, Inc. *Teachers who lack a major or minor in the field Source: National Commission on Teaching and America’s Future, What Matters Most: Teaching for America’s Future (p.16) 1996. Classes in High Poverty High Schools More Often Taught by Underqualified* Teachers

74. 2000 by The Education Trust, Inc. Math & Science Classes With a High Percentage of Minority Students Are More Often Taught by Underqualified Teachers Source: Jeannie Oakes. Multiplying Inequalities: The Effects of Race, Social Class, and Tracking on Opportunities to Learn Mathematics and Science (Rand: 1990) 1998 by The Education Trust, Inc.

75. 2000 by The Education Trust, Inc. Even Within Schools, Often Big Differences

76. 2000 by The Education Trust, Inc. Students in Low Track Classes Are More Often Taught by Underqualified Teachers Source: Ingersoll, The Problem of Underqualified Teachers in American Secondary Schools Educational Researcher, Vol. 28, No 2 (March 1999) pp. 26-37

77. 2000 by The Education Trust, Inc. Regular Team Sample

78. 2000 by The Education Trust, Inc. Pre-IB Team Sample

79. 2000 by The Education Trust, Inc. 11-12 IB/AP Teacher Sample

80. Turn Around This Pattern: UPDRAFT for ALL Students?

81. #4. Are there better ways to accelerate our top students?

82. Fastest growing part of the high school curriculum? AP/IB (college-level) courses

83. Meanwhile, fastest growing part of the college curriculum? Remedial (high school level) courses.

84. Alternatives?

85. The Education Trust For More Information... www.edtrust.org DC: 202-293-1217 Oakland: 510-465-6444