THE OPPORTUNITY From “Brutal Facts” to the Best Schools We’ve Every Had Dr. Mike Schmoker

DO WE TRULY WANT THE BEST SCHOOLS WE’VE EVER HAD? Because organizations only improve… “where the truth is told and the brutal facts confronted” Jim Collins “We must overcome the awful inertia of past decades” Michael Fullan

Brutal Facts Only about 50% of students who enter college ever graduate – primarily because K-12 does not prepare most of them for college. Haycock; Conley Only 32% of our college-bound students are adequately prepared for college. “Understanding University Success” Center for Educational Policy Research Only 7% of low-income students will ever earn a college degree. Haycock

Brutal Facts “The Teacher Effect makes all the other differences pale in comparison.” William Sanders Five years of effective teaching can completely close the gap between low-income students and others. Marzano; Kain & Hanushek

The Real Opportunity… In a 45 minute class only 15 minutes of actual instruction takes place. “Most of us in education are mediocre at what we do.” Tom Wagner Harvard Graduate School of Education Every study of classroom practice reveals that most teaching is mediocre—or worse Goodlad; Sizer, Resnick; Powell, Farrar & Cohen; Learning 24/7 Classroom Study

WHY IS MOST TEACHING MEDIOCRE? The administrative superstructure of schools buffer teaching from outside inspection. Richard Elmore You can’t expect what you don’t inspect. Peter Senge

BRUTAL FACTS Despite hundreds of initiatives, programs and plans, we still DO NOT INSPECT: WHAT is actually taught (essential standards) HOW WELL (effective lessons/units) Gordon; Elmore; Marzano; Tyack & Cuban; Hess; Berlinger

EFFECTIVE LESSONS HAVE: Checks for understand. A clearly stated standard Teacher examples (modeling) Whole group practice Partner practice Individual practice Assessment Adjustments based on the assessment results Addresses higher level thinking skills

FIRST THINGS FIRST: IMPROVE INSTRUCTION Replace “IMPROVEMENT PLANNING” with a focus on “IMPROVED TEACHING” through learning communities. VIABLE CURRICULUM Start with high leverage opportunities, literacy instruction Crayola Curriculum

LEARNING COMMUNITIES: AN ASTONISHING CONCURRENCE “Professionals do not work alone; they work in teams…to accomplish the goal– to heal the patient, win the lawsuit, plan the building.” Authur Wise: Teaching Teams: a 21st – Century Paradigm For Organizing America’s Schools

1. First: Adopt “Simple Plans” to create & sustain LEARNNG COMMUNITIES DATA – driven (academic priorities) GOALS: that are measurable/tied to an assessment TEAMWORK that produces short-term assessment results …Anchored by a GUARANTEED & VIABLE CURRICULUM

DATA DRIVEN PRIORITIES SET measurable, annual goals IDENTIFY lowest –scoring standards from ASSESSMENTS USE formative assessment data (measurable results from lessons) Teacher teams create tests for non-tested courses.

AUTHENTIC TEAM-BASED PLC’S: Plan lessons or units teach assess adjust instruction Faculty meetings should focus on teaching, not just announcements. These meetings can be used to build instructional team strategies.

2. GUARANTEED VIABLE CURRICULUM Do schools ensure that a viable curriculum actually gets taught? Often curriculum has no impact on instruction. Curriculum Guide = well-meaning fiction Teaching based on textbooks?

2. GUARANTEED VIABLE CURRICULUM Instructional Dead End Cycle The more worksheets a teacher gives The more worksheets to grade. When are these graded? During Instruction time?

“The heart of instruction is the monitoring of instruction.” 3. LEADERSHIP IN THE PCL “The heart of instruction is the monitoring of instruction.” Dan Lortie We do not monitor instruction. Berliner; Marzano; Smith & Andrews; Elmore; Reeves

THE LEADERSHIP ILLUSION “Direct involvement in instruction is among the least frequent activities performed by administrators of any kind at any level.” Richard Elmore 200 This is not a matter of work ethic; It is a matter of misplaced priorities.

Monitoring: Instruction and Guaranteed & Viable Curriculum LEADERSHIP Monitoring: Instruction and Guaranteed & Viable Curriculum LEADERS MUST: Conduct Walk-throughs looking for: Clear focus on essential standards Critical reasoning/higher-order thinking Essential elements of an effective lesson

LEADERSHIP – Team Management QUARTERLY CURRICULUM REVIEW: Leaders and Team discuss… Quarterly assessments/results Lists of standards taught Grade books reflecting standards Scored student work samples

“Small wins” to overcome resistance & promote buy-in RECOGNIZE & CELEBRTE “Small wins” to overcome resistance & promote buy-in The #1 LEVER FOR IMPROVING MORALE AND EFFECTIVE PRACTICE Best leverage Low cost leverage

4. UNPARALELLED OPPORTUNITY: LITERACY INSTRUCTION “Underdeveloped literacy skills are the number one reason why students are retained, assigned to special education, given long-term remedial services and why they fail to graduate from high school.” Ferrandino and Tirozzi: presidents of NAESP and NASSP

BRUTAL FACTS; GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY 40 minutes a day for writing 60 minute a day for actual reading

WRITING IMPORTANT? Writing is the litmus paper of thought…the very center of schooling. Ted Sizer Writing aids in cognitive development to such an extent that the upper reaches of Bloom’s taxonomy could not be reached without the use of some form of writing. Kurt and Farris 1990

BRUTAL FACTS “For all its unparalleled cognitive benefits, little or no real writing instruction takes place in the regular classrooms.” Kameenui and Carnine We don’t teach writing…we make writing assignments.

K-12/COLLEGE SUCCESS Analytical READING Persuasive WRITING Only 31% of college graduates can read a complex book and extrapolate from it. National Center for Education Statistics Only 24% write at the “proficient” level; 4% were rated “high” NAEP study

FOR SWIFT, DRAMATIC IMPROVEMENT FOCUS ON: TEAM-BASED Professional Learning Communities GUARANTEED and VIABLE Curriculum RADICAL changes to literacy instruction With CELEBRATION of EVERY “SMALL WIN”

WHY BOTHER? With an average teacher = 30-50 percentile gain in 3 years. Marzano, Sanders The question is not, “Is it possible to educate all children well?” But rather Do we want to do it badly enough?” Deborah Meier