1. Educational Research Newsletter
The Kennewick Model: How to get 90% of your students reading at their grade levels
Lynn Fielding
Educational Research Newsletter
Ernweb.com webinars
November 6, 2008, 1 p.m. EST

2. St Helens
Kennewick
Kennewick

3. Kennewick School District
Enrollment: 14,950
Schools:
13 Elementary
4 Middle Schools
3 High Schools
1 Vocational Center
Ethnic Make- up
Anglo 74%
Hispanic 22%
Asian 2%
African-American 2%
Free and Reduced:
50%
Range of F&R
9% to 89%
Staff:
Teachers
Classified
Administrators 60

4. Why Reading and Math? We deliver 85% of our curriculum with reading.
Students who are behind in high school generally did not learn to read at grade level by 2nd and 3rd grade.
The gateways to post secondary education are called reading and math.
It has nothing to do with state tests.

5. If we want to be effective, we need to understand the space.
The next 14 slides are a high level view of the space where we spend our lives.
If we want to be effective, we need to understand the space.

6. Maxim 1
Babies are born learning. Within hours of birth, they begin to imitate the lip and tongue positions of their parents.
276

7. Maxim 3
About 20% of children make three years of growth in language and math their first five years of life.
These children enter kindergarten with the skills of three-year olds.
276

9. Maxim 4
Another 20% of children make four years of growth in language and math in their first five years.
These children enter kindergarten with skills typical of four-year olds.

11. Maxim 5
Other children make five to eight years of growth in language and math in their first five years.
These children enter kindergarten with skills typical of five, six, seven and eight year olds.
278

12. 214

13. Maxim 6
On the first day of kindergarten, the range between students at the midpoints of the bottom and top quartiles is six years in reading skills and four years in math.

15. 80-99%
60-80%
40-60%
20-40%
10-20%
1-10% K

16. Reading bands at 10th Grade
+2 yrs
+1 yrs
Grade level
-1 yrs
- 2 yrs
-3 yrs K

17. Math range at 10th Grade
2 ¼ yrs
5 ½ yrs

18. Clear Goals Choose strategically Assure measurability
Create a direct line of sight from where
you are to where you need to go.
Think beyond state minimum requirements
Create vertical agreement

19. Targeted Accelerated Growth
TAG
Targeted Accelerated Growth
Diagnostic testing to determine the deficient sub-skills of those behind
Proportional increases in direct instruction time
Teaching to the deficient sub-skill
Retesting to assure that adequate catch-up growth actually occurred

20. Diagnostic Assessments
TAG
Variety of sub-tests
Get at the sub skills
‘Way better in elementary than middle and high school.
Overlooking accuracy, fluency, phonemic awareness in middle school, high school to focus on vocabulary and comprehension.

21. NWEA TAG Equal interval scale Long-term stability Measures growth
Turn around time creates ownership
Reporting platforms which allow you to communicate in years

22. There is no point in testing if you don’t look at the data, don’t understand it, and don’t change.” Chuck Watson, former principal Vista Elementary
TAG

23. Proportional Time
TAG
Tony has just scored at the 11th percentile on the spring 2nd grade reading test. His state set their reading standard at the 50th percentile.
What should you do to assure that Tony will reach the state standard by the end of 4th grade?

24. Proportional Time TAG Total Minutes 50 11 39 70 70 70 70 35 35 175 175
a. State Standard in Percentiles is…….. percentile
b. Tony’s 2nd grade status in percentiles percentile
Difference is…………. ……………. Points
Rough rule of thumb is 13 percentile points = 1 year of growth
In elementary school the normal reading period has been minutes
d. Divide the gap in points by 13 points to
convert the gap into instructional years……… yrs
3rd th
Annual Growth minutes
Catch-up Growth
1 extra year
1/2 extra year
Total Minutes 50 11 39
3.0 70 70 70 70 35 35
175
175

25. TAG
So how many years of growth does Tony need to make in 3rd grade and in fourth grade?
Annual growth 2 years
Catch-up growth 3 years
Total years
Growth per year years
Rate of growth %

26. Use of Extra Time TAG Stating the obvious here, but…
Need to use the extra time to focus on the deficient sub-skills.
Middle school and high school models do not do that and are not working as well.

27. Prediction
TAG
In 1995 for the first time ever, we had good enough data that we could accurately predict student academic outcomes.
When we could accurately predict student outcomes, we started taking responsibility for them.
We began to understand the inter-connections within and without our education system.

28. What we learned
The 90% Story
It is 1999 when we actually said: “We do not know how to do this.” It was very liberating.
As long as you know what to do but it is not working, the issue is just working harder at what you have always done.
When you know what you are doing isn’t working, you are free to try other things.

29. How many believe that if you just work harder at what you are already doing:
95% of your students read and do math at or above grade level by the end of third or fourth grade.

30. What we learned
TAG
Students who are behind do not learn faster than students who are ahead. They need more time.
You can mathematically determine how much more time.
Not just time.
Tailoring the time to their deficiency is essential
Multiplying effect of improved instruction

31. Single largest factor correlating to achievement levels.
TAG
Prior year’s starting point
Correlations .88 to .66
100% of the achievement gap in reading occurs before the beginning of kindergarten.
66% of the math gap occurs before kindergarten

32. Largest factors determining correlating to growth levels.
TAG
Largest factors determining correlating to growth levels.
Minutes of instructional Time .18
Instructor
SES and Years in the District .13
Delivering on the Promise p 66

33. Major Strategies to Increase Tony’s Rate of Growth to 250%.
Improve instruction
Enhanced curriculum
Decrease class size
Increase Direct Instructional time

34. Individual Student 3rd Grade Scores at Thirteen Kennewick Elementary Schools, Fall 2002
Data
Canyon View
Sunset View
Washington
Hawthorne
Ridge View
Southgate
Westgate
Amistad
Cascade
Eastgate
Edison
Lincoln
Vista

35. Standard Reading Block Minutes in Kennewick Elementary Schools by School by Grade for 2002-2003

36. Standard Reading Block Plus Intervention Block Minutes Kennewick Elementary Schools by School by Grade for
Data 48

38. 186

40. Instructional Conferences
Structure
Instructional Conferences
Grew out of the question of what constitutes good instruction.
Purpose, engagement, rigor and results
Split screen videos
Changed the ‘talk’ in the district—celebrated great teaching

41. Instructional Conferences
Structure
Instructional Conferences
½ day five times a year
Run a morning and afternoon session
Initial issues
Gates coaches, Jim Huge and Elaine

42. Learning Walks Structure
Host principal, two-three other building administrators, several central office
Principal debriefing with teacher/videoed
Not tied to formal teacher evaluation

43. 2/10 Structure Two hours a day, ten hours a week in class rooms
Walk through time counts
Look-fors --see page 26

44. Literacy Coaches Structure
Concept developed out of a Lancaster, Pennsylvania model (now Gates Ex. Dir)
Teacher-leaders
Meeting with principals weekly about students below the 50th percentile.

45. Annual Growth
Once in public schools, most students make “annual growth”. Yet a year of growth each year merely perpetuates the gap between the four quartiles.
Catch-up growth is required to close it.
280

46. Catch-up Growth
When students leave kindergarten three years behind in reading, they must make six years of growth in three years to catch-up by 3rd grade.
This means they must make one year of annual growth and one year of catch-up growth each year.
Or, said another way, two years of growth in each 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grades to catch up.
280

47. Achievement by High School on the Washington State Assessments

48. Reprinted courtesy Larry Wright and The Detroit News.