The Standards-Based Change Process: Where We’ve Come From, What We’ve Learned, and Prospects for the Future

Kathy AuSNOH MeetingAugust 15, 2006

Overview

Where we’ve come from Roots in KEEP

What we’ve learned From Hawai‘i to Chicago SBC Process Developmental Model of

School Change Prospects for the future

Sustaining progress at Level 7

Where We’ve Come From: Lessons from KEEP

Chronology

Kamehameha Elementary Education Program (KEEP) 1971-1989

Culturally responsive instruction Comprehension discussions

1989-1995 Standards Student ownership of literacy Readers’ workshop, writers’ workshop Portfolio assessment

What Worked

Emphasis on higher level thinking Reading comprehension Writing process

Clear targets for student learning Grade level benchmarks

Formative assessment leading to evidence-based teaching

Student ownership

What Didn’t Work

K-3 intervention with volunteer teachers Need for schoolwide approach

Curriculum, assessment, and instruction developed by outsiders Need for development by insiders

Over-reliance on external partner Need for gradual release of responsibility

Control by outsiders Control/ownership by insiders

Conceptual Framework

Social constructivism as applied to school change and teachers’ professional development

Community of practice, discourse community Classroom as a community of learners ->

School as a professional learning community Change in the culture of the school

Understanding as constructed, not transmitted; higher level thinking Students able to self-assess ->Teachers as reflective

practitioners Teacher-developed curriculum and assessment

Ownership

Spread of the SBC Process

1997 – Kipapa Elementary School To 6 schools then the whole district of 42

schools 1999 – Holomua Elementary School

To 10 schools then a neighboring complex of 6 schools

2002 – Island of Hawaii 40 schools

2002 – Partnership READ, Chicago

Contrasting Approaches to School Change

Conventional Wisdom

SBC Process

Training in implementing the program with fidelity

Professional development that allows educators to devise solutions that fit their school

Set program developed by outsiders

Change process adapted to the school by insiders

Start from scratch Build upon existing strengths, correct weaknesses

Dependent on outsiders Gradual release of responsibility to insiders, plus networking

Approach to Change:The Standards-Based Change Process

Provides steps a school can follow to implement a system for improving student achievement through standards Focus on higher level thinking

Establishes an ongoing conversation about what everyone is doing to improve student achievement Professional learning community

Develops a staircase curriculum Curriculum coherence

Staircase Curriculum vs.Fragmented Curriculum

Desired Outcome

Desired Outcome

Hawai‘i Schools Progressed Through Four Levels in the SBC Process.

Initial implementation of the To Do List

Three times per year reporting of results

Curriculum guides Student portfolios

To Do List

Philosophy Vision

statement Grade level

benchmarks I Can

statements

Evidence Procedures for

collecting evidence

Rubrics Bar graphs Instructional

improvements

Three Times a Year Reporting of Results

Teacher-Developed Curriculum Guides

Student Portfolios with Self-Assessment, Three-Way Conferences

SBC Process Results

Results of HLM analysis for Cohort I Students who had state reading test

results for grade 3 (2002) and grade 5 (2004)

Significant finding for grade 5 reading test results in high-poverty schools Mean score 2.7 points higher

Results occur when schools Reach 3 x per year reporting of results Have moved forward through the process

for several years

Kipapa’s State Assessment Results, Students Meeting/Exceeding Proficiency

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Gr. 3 Gr. 5 School

Per

cen

tag

e o

f S

tud

ents

2003

2005

What We’ve Learned: From Hawai‘i to Chicago

Sharing Curriculum Guides through a Videoconference

Taffy Raphael with Holomua Staff

Chicago Colleagues

Partnership READ Staff in Hawai‘i

Contrasts Between Sites

Hawaii Chicago

School poverty level of 50% School poverty level of 85%

Schools initiated contact; committed to the SBC Process

University initiated contact; no advance commitment

Many with professional learning community established

Few with professional learning community established

Up to 9 years of experience with SBC Process

Up to 3 1/2 years of experience with SBC Process

Advanced levels in SBC Process Beginning levels in SBC Process

The Difference of OpinionBetween Kathy and Taffy

Kathy “The SBC Process is not for every

school.” Taffy

“It is for every school. Some just aren’t ready for it yet.”

It turns out that Taffy is right.

1. Recognizing a need2. Organizing for change3. Working on the building blocks4. Moving as a whole school*5. Establishing the system*6. Implementing the staircase curriculum*7. Fully engaging students and families*

Citation: Raphael, T., Goldman, S., Au, K., & Hirata, S. (2006, April). A developmental model of

the Standards-Based Change Process: A case study of school literacy reform. Paper

presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, San Francisco CA.

Levels in the SBC Process Developmental Model of School Change

Clusters in the Developmental Model of School Change

Student Outcomes

Classroom Practices

Infrastructure

Application of the Model

Helps to explain why three-quarters of Hawai‘i schools introduced to the SBC Process did not succeed

The original approach worked for schools at Levels 3 and above.

It could not help schools with infrastructure needs.

Infrastructure Issues

Adequate time for teachers to work together The equivalent of 8 full days

Vertical (cross-grade) as well as horizontal (grade level) meetings

Focused professional development Mapping out work with the SBC Process

through yearlong and multi-year plans A strong and knowledgeable curriculum

leader Who is your Kitty Aihara?

Classroom Practice Issues

Staircase curriculum Developed by the teachers

Evidence-based teaching Assessment leads to targeted,

differentiated instruction Focus on higher level thinking

Reading comprehension, mathematical thinking, scientific reasoning

Student Outcome Issues

Student ownership Commitment to their own learning Cognitive engagement (Taylor et al.)

Higher level thinking Generalization

Far (as opposed to near) transfer Metacognition

Self-assessment and goal setting

Constructivism in Action

Teachers must construct their own curriculum, assessment, and instruction.

When the curriculum becomes transparent to teachers Teachers can make the curriculum

transparent to students (and parents).

SBC Process Used Across Reading Programs

Schools at Level 6 (implementing the staircase curriculum; teacher-developed curriculum guides) Home-grown literature = 2 Basal reading = 8 Direct Instruction = 1 Success for All = 1

Latest school - Helemano Culture of the school

Balanced Literacy Instruction

It doesn’t matter what reading program or philosophy a school starts with.

What makes a difference is that the school ends up with balanced instruction, including Students’ ownership of literacy Higher level thinking with text

Prospects for the Future

Helping more schools to succeed

Benefits of the Developmental Model

Description Identifies the school’s level on each of

the 9 dimensions Needs assessment

Overall level Areas of relative weakness Areas of relative strength

Long-term planning

We know now that we need to slow the process down and start with a needs assessment.

Take care of infrastructure issues, if any, before moving on.

Kapolei Elementary SchoolSBC Process Long-Range Plan

School Year Writing Reading Math Science Social Studies

2005-06 Level 4Level 5Level 6

Level 4Level 5

Level 4Level 5Level 6

2006-07 Continue aboveLevel 7

Continue aboveLevel 7

Continue above

Study group

2007-08 Continue above

Level 7 Level 4Level 5

2008-09 Level 6 Level 4

Recommendations

Gain a historical perspective. Trace your school’s progress beginning

with the first year. Start doing a needs assessment,

based on the Developmental Model, at the beginning of every school year.

Create or adjust your school’s multi-year plan.

Customized Services

Services tailored to the goals, strengths, and needs of each individual school

A trainer-of-trainers model doesn’t work!

We need to work with you at your school.

Leadership “On the Ground”

Fullan’s view of change in schools Technically simple Socially complex

Value of a combined perspective Outsider Insider

A Better Understanding of Staying the Course Over the Long Term

Level 7 schools are those that are able to sustain the SBC Process in the face of significant changes. New principal New curriculum coordinator Teacher turnover All of the above!

Keeping the Culture Alive

What sustains innovation is not the “school” but the professional learning community. Why key individuals are so important in

sustaining the SBC Process Renewing and rebuilding the

professional learning community Successful schools have a deep

bench.

Conclusions

School improvement as the process of building a professional learning community

The increasingly challenging work at each level in the Developmental Model serves to increase the knowledge and strength of the PLC.

Improving student learning depends on sustaining innovation over the years. Rebuilding the professional learning

community