Southern Regional Education Board Improving High Schools Performance Goals and Characteristics of High- performing High Schools

Southern Regional Education Board Louisiana - Baton Rouge High-performing High Schools Are About: Rigor/Focus Relevance/Engaging Assignments Relationships/Support Improved Transitions Leadership

Southern Regional Education Board Louisiana - Baton Rouge High-performing Schools: Have Functional High School Performance Goals High school graduates are ready for postsecondary studies and a career – college and career readiness 90% of students entering grade nine graduate four years later with a real diploma – high school graduation Entering ninth-graders are performing at the basic level and above in reading, mathematics and science on NAEP-like exams – middle to high school transition

Southern Regional Education Board Louisiana - Baton Rouge Southern Regional Education Board College and Career Readiness: ACT Gains in SREB States

Southern Regional Education Board Louisiana - Baton Rouge College and Career Readiness Fewer than 60%60% to 74%75% or more United States: 66% SREB: 78%Louisiana: 22% Source: The College Board Percent of Public High Schools With Students Taking Advanced Placement Exams 2003

Southern Regional Education Board Louisiana - Baton Rouge AP Exams per 1,000 Juniors and Seniors* 2003 Source: The College Board *Includes students at public and private schools College and Career Readiness

Southern Regional Education Board Louisiana - Baton Rouge College and Career Readiness: Louisiana Percent of Career/Technical Students Scoring At or Above the Basic Level on the High Schools That Work Reading Assessment by Completion of English Curriculum, 2004 Source: Special Analyses of 2004 High Schools That Work Assessment Data

Southern Regional Education Board Louisiana - Baton Rouge College and Career Readiness: Louisiana Percent of Career/Technical Students Scoring At or Above the Basic Level on the High Schools That Work Mathematics Assessment by Completion of Mathematics Curriculum, 2004 Source: Special Analyses of 2004 High Schools That Work Assessment Data

Southern Regional Education Board Louisiana - Baton Rouge College and Career Readiness: Louisiana Percent of Career/Technical Students Scoring At or Above the Basic Level on the High Schools That Work Science Assessment by Completion of Science Curriculum, 2004 Source: Special Analyses of 2004 High Schools That Work Assessment Data

Southern Regional Education Board Louisiana - Baton Rouge Southern Regional Education Board High School Graduation: Percentage of Ninth Graders Who Do Not Graduate and 2001 for SREB States

Southern Regional Education Board Louisiana - Baton Rouge SREB States High School Graduation: Comparison of Two Different Methods Southern Regional Education Board

Louisiana - Baton Rouge High School Graduation: Ninth Grade Bulge in SREB States Southern Regional Education Board

Louisiana - Baton Rouge High School Graduation: Percentage of 12 th -Grade Enrollment and Diplomas Awarded in Spring/Summer Louisiana 87% 91% Highest SREB state -- MD97 Lowest SREB state -- SC87

Southern Regional Education Board Louisiana - Baton Rouge High School Graduation: 9 th -Grade and 8 th - Grade Bulge in Louisiana 9 th - Grade Bulge 8 th -Grade Bulge %92% Drop by 20 Increase by 12

Southern Regional Education Board Louisiana - Baton Rouge Southern Regional Education Board High School Graduation: Number of Low-promotion Schools State Texas (243)Mississippi (60) Florida (163)Kentucky (39) Georgia (156)Virginia (26) North Carolina (107)Maryland (17) South Carolina (100)Oklahoma (15) Louisiana (73)Delaware (8) Alabama (71)West Virginia (6) Tennessee (63)Arkansas (5)

Southern Regional Education Board Louisiana - Baton Rouge High- and Low-performing Schools with Comparative Students High SitesLow Sites African- American 28%27% White5759 Other1514 Parent-No college 3537

Southern Regional Education Board Louisiana - Baton Rouge High Performing Schools: Higher Percentage of Students Completing Recommended Academic Core – Rigor Four credits in college-prep/honors English Four mathematics credits – Algebra I, geometry, Algebra II and above Three science credits at the college- prep level; four credits with a block schedule Three years of social studies Mathematics in the senior year

Southern Regional Education Board Louisiana - Baton Rouge High-performing Schools: Comparison of High- and Low-performing Schools by Recommended Curriculum Areas – Rigor

Southern Regional Education Board Louisiana - Baton Rouge High-performing Schools: Students Complete a Concentration – Focus Mathematics and science concentration – four credits in each field, with at least one at the Advanced Placement level Humanities concentration – four credits each in college-prep-level language arts and social studies, with at least one at the Advanced Placement level and four additional credits from foreign language, fine arts, journalism, debate, etc. Career/technical concentration – four credits in a planned sequence of courses within a broad career field – pre-engineering, health/medical science, etc.

Southern Regional Education Board Louisiana - Baton Rouge High-performing Schools: Completion of Concentrations at High- and Low-performing Schools – Focus

Southern Regional Education Board Louisiana - Baton Rouge High-performing Schools: Higher Percentage of Students Experience High Expectations Specific PracticesHighLow State amount and quality of work for an “A” or a “B” (often) 53%41% Teachers’ availability for extra help (frequently) 6753 One or more hours of homework (daily) 3220 Revise written work (often)4432 Work hard to meet high standards (often) 5240

Southern Regional Education Board Louisiana - Baton Rouge High-performing Schools: Higher Percentage of Students Have Intensive Literacy Experiences – Engaging Instruction Literacy practicesHighLow Revise written work for quality (often) 44%32% Write in-depth explanations (sometimes/often) 6351 Complete short writings in English (monthly) 8268 in science (monthly) 3828 in social studies (monthly) 5038

Southern Regional Education Board Louisiana - Baton Rouge Literacy practicesHighLow Use word processor (often) 60%43% Discuss topics with other students (monthly) 5844 Read books outside of class (monthly) 4831 Read technical materials in class (monthly) 4837 Read non-school materials outside of school (two hours weekly) 2320 High-performing Schools: Higher Percentage of Students Have Intensive Literacy Experiences – Engaging Instruction

Southern Regional Education Board Louisiana - Baton Rouge High-performing Schools: Higher Percentage of Students Have Intensive Numeracy Experiences – Relevance/Engaging Numeracy PracticesHighLow 4 courses, Algebra I and higher 63%41% Mathematics the senior year or more mathematics courses 7765

Southern Regional Education Board Louisiana - Baton Rouge Numeracy PracticesHighLow Teachers link mathematics to real-life problems (sometimes) 75%67% Work-related mathematics problems (monthly) 3527 Use of mathematics in career/technical assignments (monthly) 5241 Solve problems outside textbook (monthly) 7459 High-performing Schools: Higher Percentage of Students Have Intensive Numeracy Experiences – Relevance/Engaging

Southern Regional Education Board Louisiana - Baton Rouge High-performing Schools: Higher Percentage of Students Have Intensive Numeracy Experiences – Relevance/Engaging Numeracy PracticesHighLow Orally explain processes. (monthly) 36%27% Work with others on assignments. (monthly) 5438 Groups brainstorm to solve problems. (monthly) 6346 Solve open-ended problems. (monthly) 7661 Use graphing calculator. (weekly) 6750

Southern Regional Education Board Louisiana - Baton Rouge HighLow Completed at least 3 of the following: CP physical science, CP biology, Biology II, anatomy, CP chemistry, Physics, AP science 50% 23% Took science the senior year7057 Take 4 or more science courses High-performing Schools: Higher Percentage of Students Have Intensive Science Experiences – Relevance/Engaging

Southern Regional Education Board Louisiana - Baton Rouge High-performing Schools: Higher Percentage of Students Have Intensive Science Experiences – Relevance/Engaging HighLow Use science equipment to do science activities (weekly) 39%26% Use science equipment to do science activities in the classroom (monthly) 7763 Shown how scientific concepts are used in real- life situations (often) 3928

Southern Regional Education Board Louisiana - Baton Rouge High-performing Schools: Higher Percentage of Students Have Intensive Science Experiences – Relevance/Engaging HighLow Worked with one or more students in class on science work (monthly) 74%58% Prepared a written report on science project (monthly) 5542 Read an assigned book or article dealing with science (monthly) 4635

Southern Regional Education Board Louisiana - Baton Rouge High-performing Schools: Higher Percentage Have Intensive Extra Help – Relevance/Relationship HighLow Can get extra help from teachers when needed (often) 48% 36% Teachers available (frequently) 6753 Helps me to understand material (often) 4939 Extra help often helps to get a better grade 4433

Southern Regional Education Board Louisiana - Baton Rouge Offer before/after school teacher-led extra-help sessions Tutorial classes during the school day Peer tutoring Computer-based instruction Immediate retake opportunities for failed courses – after school, summer Web-based instruction. High-performing Schools: Extra-help Strategies – Support/Relationship

Southern Regional Education Board Louisiana - Baton Rouge High-performing Schools: Higher Percentage of Students Have Intensive Guidance Experiences – Focus/Support/Relationship Guidance PracticesHighLow Planned program by end of grade Talked with parents about high school plans (semester) 7262 Spoke with someone in an aspired career field 7362

Southern Regional Education Board Louisiana - Baton Rouge High-performing Schools: Higher Percentage of Students Have Intensive Guidance Experiences – Focus/Support/Relationship Guidance PracticesHighLow Talked with teachers about plans after high school 85%78% Annual meeting to review program of study 7162 Assigned adult adviser for all 4 years 4438 Talked to college representative8779 Parents and I received information and assistance for college 7057

Southern Regional Education Board Louisiana - Baton Rouge High-performing Schools: Higher Percentage of Students See Importance of High School – Relevance/Focus/Relationship/Rigor HighLow Courses are exciting and challenging (often) 23% 15% I tried to do my best (often) 6152 Failed to turn in assignment (sometimes/often) 2632 Teacher encouraged me to do well (often) 5845 Teachers would not let me get by without doing the work (often) 3627

Southern Regional Education Board Louisiana - Baton Rouge High-performing Schools: Higher Percentage of Students See Importance of High School – Relevance/Focus/Relationship/Rigor HighLow It is very important to get good grades 77%68% It is very important to participate in class 6657 It is very important to attend all classes 8579 It is very important to take college-preparatory classes 5446

Southern Regional Education Board Louisiana - Baton Rouge High-performing Schools: Provide More Students Access to High-quality Career/Technical Studies – Relevance Industry-certified teachers and programs Students working for college credit and/or employer certification exam Active advisory committees Access to off-campus career/technical courses – Web-based, etc. Offer youth apprenticeship opportunities Integrate academic studies

Southern Regional Education Board Louisiana - Baton Rouge High-performing Schools: Have Developed Middle Grades to Ninth Grade Transition Program – Transition Getting students ready for CP English: a ninth grade catch up course Getting students ready for real Algebra: a ninth grade catch-up course Summer Program Curriculum alignment with middle grades schools Orientation of students and parents to the demands of high school

Southern Regional Education Board Louisiana - Baton Rouge High-performing Schools: Have Developed a High School to College and Career Transition Program – Transition Use the senior year to: Allow students who are ready to earn college credit Get unprepared students ready for college Prepare those not planning for college to earn a certificate or pass an employer certification exam “Save the seniors”

Southern Regional Education Board Louisiana - Baton Rouge High-performing Schools: Higher Percentage of Teachers Report Intensive School Improvement Efforts – Leadership Destrehan High School, LA Continuous Improvement Practices Goals are clear.65% Teachers maintain a demanding and supportive environment. 63% Principals meet with teachers to examine student work. (monthly) 69

Southern Regional Education Board Louisiana - Baton Rouge High-performing Schools: Higher Percentage of Teachers Report Intensive School Improvement Efforts -- Leadership Destrehan High School, LA Continuous Improvement Practices Teachers continue to learn and seek out new ideas 78% Teachers/administrators work as a team55 Teachers use data to evaluate school and classroom practices 93

Southern Regional Education Board Louisiana - Baton Rouge High-performing Schools: What can states do to increase graduation rates and achievement?

Southern Regional Education Board Louisiana - Baton Rouge High-performing Schools: 1.Hold schools accountable to increase annually the percentage of graduates completing the recommended academic core and who complete a mathematics and science, humanities or career concentration. 2.Require schools to have an effective transition program from middle grades to high school.

Southern Regional Education Board Louisiana - Baton Rouge High-performing Schools: 3.Require schools to develop an extra-help system aimed to assist students to recover when they fail a grade or a course and to pass high-stakes exams.

Southern Regional Education Board Louisiana - Baton Rouge Require that every student develop a five-year program of study that covers four years of high school and one year beyond. High-performing Schools:

Southern Regional Education Board Louisiana - Baton Rouge Provide students access to quality career/technical studies in high-demand, high- paying career fields. High-performing Schools:

Southern Regional Education Board Louisiana - Baton Rouge Require every high school teacher – academic, technical, fine arts and other – to be trained in how to use content- literacy skills and study skills to help students become independent learners in the teacher’s subject matter. High-performing Schools:

Southern Regional Education Board Louisiana - Baton Rouge Require every high school to develop a formalized initiative for the transition from high school to college and careers. High-performing Schools:

Southern Regional Education Board Louisiana - Baton Rouge Expand the use of technology in high school to improve achievement in core academic courses to help students recover when they fail a course and to meet standards on exit exams. High-performing Schools:

Southern Regional Education Board Louisiana - Baton Rouge High School Graduation: 9.Examine state policies and their impact on improving graduation rates.

Southern Regional Education Board Louisiana - Baton Rouge High School Graduation: Does allowing 16 and 17 year-old students to take the GED encourage dropping out?

Southern Regional Education Board Louisiana - Baton Rouge Less than one in five 16 and 17 year- olds who drop out get a high school equivalency. GED recipients with no additional education earn only 1% more than dropouts. 12% of male GED holders complete one year of college; 2% four years of college; 3% an associate’s degree; 18% on-the-job training. Allowing teenagers to leave school for a GED lowers completion rates by 5%. High School Graduation: Facts to Consider

Southern Regional Education Board Louisiana - Baton Rouge Does linking driver’s licenses to school attendance work? High School Graduation: Drivers’ Licenses and High School Completion Rates

Southern Regional Education Board Louisiana - Baton Rouge High School Graduation: Drivers’ Licenses and Student Dropout Rates West Virginia YearStudent Licenses Suspended Dropout Rate (1) % NA (1) Dropout rate is calculated by dividing the number of dropouts for the year by the second month’s enrollment grade nine to 12. Source: West Virginia’s Department of Education

Southern Regional Education Board Louisiana - Baton Rouge High School Graduation: Drivers’ Licenses and Student Dropout Rates North Carolina YearStudent Licenses Suspended Dropout Rate (1) 19982, % 19995, , , (1) Dropout rate is calculated by dividing the number of dropouts for the year by the average enrollment of the current year grade nine to 12 and previous year. Source: NC Department of Public Instruction Web site.

Southern Regional Education Board Louisiana - Baton Rouge Do we need to adopt flexibility in our assessment for high school graduation? Giving students easy access to retaking exam Using national employer certification as a way to demonstrate performance; and High School Graduation: Examine State Policies and Their Impact on Improving Graduation Rates

Southern Regional Education Board Louisiana - Baton Rouge Does your state accountability policy give equal emphasis to raising achievement and holding students in school? Examine State Policies and Their Impact on Improving Graduation Rates

Southern Regional Education Board Louisiana - Baton Rouge Southern Regional Education Board 10. Develop a special emphasis on the lowest-performing high schools? Require schools to adopt a research-based school improvement design. High Schools That Work Talent Development First Things First

Southern Regional Education Board Louisiana - Baton Rouge Southern Regional Education Board All gains are significant at the.01 level. Source: 2004 HSTW Assessment Data High School Graduation: Improvement at Low-performing Schools Adapting HSTW with a Comprehensive School Reform Grant

Southern Regional Education Board Louisiana - Baton Rouge Southern Regional Education Board Develop a special emphasis on the lowest-performing high schools. Organize large, impersonal schools into Small Learning Communities.

Southern Regional Education Board Louisiana - Baton Rouge Southern Regional Education Board Develop a special emphasis on the lowest-performing high schools. Create a state leadership academy focused on developing a TEAM of district and school leaders.