Goals for the 21st Century: Increase Success, Decrease Failure

1. Goals for the 21st Century:Increase Success,Decrease Failure Gene Bottoms SREB Senior Vice President gene.bottoms@sreb.org

2. Top 10 Questions • Why change? • What change in mind-set is needed? • What do schools do that improve achievement and graduation rates? 2007 SC Keynote

3. Top 10 Questions 4. How should we organize high school academic and career studies to encourage students’ success? • What school practices improve mathematics achievement? • What school practices improve literacy skills? 2007 SC Keynote

4. Top 10 Questions • What do middle grades schools do to get more students ready for high school? • Under what conditions does extra help work? • What can schools do to lead students to believe in effort? • When do students try harder? 2007 SC Keynote

5. Why Change?Educational Requirements for 2014 Jobs 2007 SC Keynote

6. “You have to constantly upgrade your skills. There will be plenty of good jobs out there in the flat world for people with the knowledge and ideas to seize them.” (p. 237) “The more we push out the boundaries of knowledge and technology, the more complex tasks that machines can do, the more those with specialized education, or the ability to learn how to learn, will be in demand, and for better pay.” (p. 239) Source: The World is Flat 2007 SC Keynote

7. Faculty Perception Differs at High- and Low-performing Schools with Similar Students More teachers at high-performing schools believe: • they hold students to high standards and support them to meet the standards. • students shouldn’t be sorted by perceived abilities and skills into different course levels. Source: 2006 MMGW/HSTW Faculty Survey data 2007 SC Keynote

8. A New Mind-set Is Needed Many people believe that a person is born either smart, average or dumb and stays that way for life. But new research shows that the brain is more like a muscle: It changes and gets stronger when you use it. Source: The New Psychology of Success, 2006 2007 SC Keynote

9. Believing in Effort:Rising Above Expectations Two groups of high-achieving students entered the middle grades with only one distinction: One group believed that ability was fixed. The other group had a mind-set that their ability could grow. Confronted with the realities of the middle grades, more challenging work, tougher grading policies and less personalized attention, the growth mind-set group succeeded while the fixed group saw an immediate decline in grades that continued over the next two years. Source: Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, p. 57 2007 SC Keynote

10. Believing in Effort:Rising Above Expectations When teachers act on the belief that all students can do well and convey to students that with effort and support from them and other students that they can succeed, they do. At the lowest-performing high school in Los Angeles, Jamie Escalante taught his mathematics students that they could perform well in class. These students then performed well enough on the AP Calculus exam to earn college credit. Source: Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, p. 64 2007 SC Keynote

11. School and Classroom Practices That Lead Students to Believe in Effort • Avoid reinforcing negative labels. • Teach all students to grade-level standards; don’t expect less of some students. • Avoid grouping students in ways that convey to some that less is expected of them. • Avoid language that creates a negative stereotype about some students’ ability. Source: Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, p. 190 2007 SC Keynote

12. 70 percent of students who drop out of high school say they would have finished if their classes had given them more interesting, real-world learning opportunities. 2007 SC Keynote

13. Getting More Students Through High School: Where Do We stand? • U.S. graduation rate: 74.7% • Graduation rates over 80%:ID, MO, NE, NJ, OH, PA, SD, VT • Graduation rates 75% to 80%:AR, HI, IL, KS, KY, MD, MA, OK, VA, WA, WV • Graduation rates under 75%:AL, DE, FL, GA, IN, LA, MS, NM, NY, NC, SC, TN, TX Source: NCES 2007-352 2007 SC Keynote

14. Sharing of Best Practices The power of a network like MMGW and HSTW is the willingness of member schools to share best practices with each other that have proven successful in raising achievement and high school completion rates. 2007 SC Keynote

15. Differences Between High- and Low-graduation Schools: Middle Grades to Ninth-grade Transition More faculty reported: • Having ninth-grade academies • Assigning at-risk students to double periods in reading and mathematics • Having a summer bridge program for reading and mathematics 2007 SC Keynote

16. Differences Between High- and Low-graduation Schools: Middle Grades to Ninth-grade Transition More teachers reported: • Assigning students to an adult mentor • Having training to be a mentor/adviser • Believing that students should not be grouped for learning by ability level 2007 SC Keynote

17. Differences Between High- and Low-graduation Schools At high-graduation schools, more students reported: • Completing six or more CT courses • Completing the HSTW-recommended English and science curriculum • Using technology • Completing a senior project • Solving real-world problems in mathematics 2007 SC Keynote

18. Differences Between High- and Low-graduation Schools More CT faculty reported having: • Training on engaging students in challenging assignments • Training on engaging students in problem-solving strategies • Students meet national industry standards 2007 SC Keynote

19. Differences Between High- andLow-graduation Schools:Leadership for Continuous Improvement More teachers in high-graduation schools report having a principal who: • involves staff in school improvement decisions • works with teams of teachers and leaders to improve achievement • engages faculty in using data to make decisions • gets active support from the community for instruction 2007 SC Keynote

20. Percentages of Students Taking Six or More CT Credits at High- and Low-graduation Schools 2007 SC Keynote

21. For many students, increasing achievement and graduation involves: • Outcome-focused programs of study • Access to high-quality old CT • CT organized around authentic problems/projects • Teaching academics embedded in CT • Programs of rigorous academic and CT studies beginning in grade nine 2007 SC Keynote

22. Designing New Career/Technical Programs of Study • 16 Career Clusters • 81 Potential Programs of Study 2007 SC Keynote

23. Career Cluster: Health CareFive Pathways • Therapeutic services • Diagnostic services • Health informatics • Support services • Biotechnology research and development Source: www.careerclusters.org 2007 SC Keynote

24. Career Cluster: TransportationDistribution and LogisticsSeven Pathways • Transportation operations • Logistics planning • Warehousing and distribution • Facility/mobile equipment maintenance • Transportation systems planning • Health, safety and environmental management • Sales and service 2007 SC Keynote

25. Career Cluster: Law, Public Safety, Corrections and SecurityFive Pathways • Correction services • Emergency/fire management • Security/protective services • Law enforcement services • Legal services 2007 SC Keynote

26. Career Cluster:STEM-related Pathways • Engineering and technology • Science and mathematics • Environmental service systems • Architecture and construction design/pre-construction • Information technology — network systems • Manufacturing — quality assurance Source: www.careerclusters.org 2007 SC Keynote

27. Mathematics and Science Course-taking Patterns ofPre-engineering Students with a Matched Sample of Career/Technical Students from Similar Fields Source: Special analyses of the 2006 HSTW Assessment data 2007 SC Keynote

28. Special Curriculum and Training Increase the Blending of Mathematics into CT Instruction Source: Special analyses of the 2006 HSTW Assessment data 2007 SC Keynote

29. Comparison of PLTW Pre-engineering Students Demonstrating College- and Career-readiness Standards with Students Completing Applied Technology Courses by Mathematics Achievement Source: Special analyses of the 2006 HSTW Assessment data 2007 SC Keynote

30. Mathematics Achievement of Comparative Groups of Students 2007 SC Keynote

31. Experiences of High-performing Mathematics Students At least 10 percent more students reported: • Having teachers define expectations for A and B work • Working hard to meet standards • Having teachers who help them with their studies • Taking mathematics in senior year • Completing four mathematics credits 2007 SC Keynote

32. Experiences of High-performing Mathematics Students At least 10 percent more students reported: • Using a graphing calculator • Working in groups to solve mathematics problems • Solving problems outside the textbook • Solving word problems in mathematics • Being prepared for mathematics studies when entering high school 2007 SC Keynote

33. Reading Achievement of Comparative Groups of Students 2007 SC Keynote

34. Experiences of Comparative High- and Low-performing Students on Reading Achievement At least 10% more students reported taking college-preparatory English and having teachers who frequently had them: • Revise essays • Discuss with others what they had read • Demonstrate understanding of materials read • Do short writing assignments 2007 SC Keynote

35. Comparative Experiences of High and Low Reading Performance More high-performing reading students reported: • Having teachers define expectations for A and B work • Working hard to meet standards on assignments • Using word processing to complete assignments • Completing short writing assignments in social studies classes 2007 SC Keynote

36. Comparative Experiences of High and Low Reading Performance More high-performing reading students reported: • Reading six or more books during the school year • Being assigned reading problems in mathematics • Preparing written lab reports in science • Having to read and write in CT classes • Developing and analyzing tables, charts and graphs 2007 SC Keynote

37. Leading Students to Believe in Effort • Create an atmosphere to let all students know you believe effort leads to greater achievement. • Intelligence is something that can be acquired. • Be persistent and patient. Success won’t come to all students immediately. You can help students to succeed. • Provide flexible time and support students need for success. Source: Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, pp. 187-189 2007 SC Keynote

38. What Leaders Can Do in the Middle Grades to Get More Students Ready for High School • Work with staff to set achievement goals. • Act as instructional leaders. • Provide staff development aligned to goals and planned interventions. • Create and maintain a culture of continuous improvement. 2007 SC Keynote

39. What Teachers Do in the Middle Grades to Get More Students Ready for High School • Align curriculum, assignments and assessments to high school readiness standards. • Create grading policies that motivate students to redo work to meet standards. • Make instruction meaningful, engaging and challenging. • Work together in teams to connect instruction. • Provide support necessary for students to achieve at grade level. 2007 SC Keynote

40. Under what conditions does extra help result in improved understanding of materials, better grades and higher achievement? 10 to 27 percent more students with positive extra help reported: • Being enrolled in high expectations classrooms • Having moderate to intensive literacy exams • Having higher-quality mathematics and science instruction • Having higher-quality CT classrooms and work-site learning experiences • Having timely guidance and advisement • Seeing high school as important to the future 2007 SC Keynote

41. Leading Students to Believe in Effort • Respond to failure honestly. • Do not help them blame others. (“The test was too hard.”) • Do not provide false praise. (“I’m sure you really knew this.”) • Explain to students what it will take to succeed, and how they can achieve success if they apply the necessary effort. • Provide grade-recovery options. Source: Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, pp. 174-175 2007 SC Keynote

42. Leading Students to Believe in Effort • Praise effort and growth – not results • Praising students for being smart teaches them that if they don’t learn quickly, they are dumb. • Praising results (“You’re so smart; you got an A.”) can discourage students from taking on challenging courses for fear of failure. • Praising students for applying themselves teaches them that success is determined by effort, not just by results. Source: Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, pp. 171-172 2007 SC Keynote

43. Praising students as “smart” may cause them to think they can put forth less effort, whereas praising their efforts encourages them to work harder. This involves teaching students how to work smarter. Source: Techniques, April 2007 2007 SC Keynote