Are you ready for turnaround? Here is what was recently published in Marshall Memo #314 (http://www.marshallmemo.com)
Ten Turnaround Keys
In this Education Week article, University of Wisconsin/Madison professor Allan Odden says that we already know how to turn around low-performing schools. “The problem isn’t funding,” he says, “it is having the will and persistence to fix the system, drawing on knowledge that exists now.” Here are his recommendations:
• Create a sense of urgency by looking at student performance data and spotlighting the gap between current achievement and desired outcomes. This often creates a will to change.
• Set “eye-popping” goals – for example, doubling student achievement on state tests, doubling the number of students scoring at the Advanced level, getting all students reading at least on grade level, having all students score at or above 24 on the ACT or above 1650 on the three SAT tests, and having no students scoring at the Basic level.
• Focus intensely on high-quality curriculum content and effective instructional practices. This often means throwing out the old curriculum, adopting new textbooks, creating new curriculum units, and building a common understanding of effective teaching. It also means constantly assessing the impact of programs and practices and making changes when they don’t result in improved student learning.
• Use diagnostic assessments to measure students’ knowledge and skills at the beginning of each curriculum unit, on-the-spot assessments to check for understanding during instruction, and end-of-unit assessments and interim assessments to see how well students learned and follow up with reteaching and help for struggling students. “All of these enable teachers to make midcourse corrections and to get students into interventions earlier,” says Odden. Unit and interim assessments help teacher teams compare strategies and adopt those that are most effective.
• Follow up with struggling students because, says Odden, “no matter how powerful the core instruction may be, many students will need extended learning time and extra help to attain proficiency.” Schools need one-on-one tutoring, small-group help, extended day programs, and summer school to meet these needs.
• Use time effectively, including extended blocks for core subjects, time for struggling students to get extra help, and a schoolwide ethos of not interrupting instruction in classrooms.
• Create and implement intensive, ongoing professional development. “The best districts and schools form collaborative teacher teams – professional learning communities – that meet often, make use of student data, and work with school-based coaches to improve curriculum and instruction,” says Odden. Summer institutes are also helpful.
• Distribute leadership. Principals are key motivators and leaders, but so are teacher leaders in grade and subject teams, instructional coaches with subject-area knowledge, and district leaders who see the big picture.
• Stay current with the research and reach out to experts in the field.
• Replace teachers and administrators who are not up to the job.
“We Know How to Turn Schools Around – We Just Haven’t Done It” by Allan Odden in Education Week, Dec. 9, 2009 (Vol. 29, #14, p. 22-23), available with subscription at
http://www.edweek.org/ew/toc/2009/12/09/index.html
