AS 3 Initiative

Analysis and Alignment of Standards for Student Success in Reading and Mathematics

AS 3 II:

Effective Professional Development for Educators and the Impact on Student Achievement

AS 3 Initiative

Analysis and Alignment of Standards for Student Success in Reading and Mathematics

The AS 3 Initiative: Analysis and Alignment of Standards for Student Success in Reading and Mathematics proposes a research-based comprehensive accountability program which directly addresses the performance goals of the state.

Specifically, the AS 3 Initiative addresses target goal 1:

By 2013-2014, all students will reach high standards, at a minimum attaining proficiency or better in reading/language arts and mathematics .

The AS 3 Initiative will service 4 school districts in the Central Alabama Black Belt Region: Dallas County , Lowndes County , Montgomery County , and Selma City . There are 69 schools in the 4-district Black Belt constituent region. The population of students in each district is between 60 to 70 percent Black. Also, 70 to 100 percent of students are eligible to receive free/reduced lunch.

The 69 participant schools will be divided into At-Risk Schools and Model Schools .

The At-Risk Schools are schools within the constituent region that did not meet the Annual Yearly Progress (AYP) goals during academic year 2004 – 2005.There are 37 At-Risk Schools .

The Model Schools are those schools within the constituent region who did meet their AYP goals during academic year 2004 – 2005. There are 32 Model Schools . The reading and mathematics teachers selected from the Model Schools will serve as mentors to the reading and mathematics teachers from the At-Risk Schools . There will be one reading and one mathematics teacher from each At-Risk and Model school selected to participate in the grant initiative; totaling 138 teachers.

The AS 3 Initiative was awarded $280,000 to accomplish the following goals:

1. Alignment of state and National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) standards and objectives for reading an mathematics;
2. Identification and disaggregating specific objectives not met at proficiency levels for 4 th and 8 th grades reading and mathematics as indicated ARMT scores;
3. Identification and disaggregating specific objectives not met at proficiency levels for 4 th and 8 th grades reading and mathematics as indicated by SAT-10 scores;
4. Collaboration with 4-district Black Belt Region constituents to yield a practical, research-based, accountability system of the teaching and learning of knowledge and skills essential to bridging the achievement gaps that exist between region/state and national standards in reading and mathematics; and
5. Disseminating pre- and post- data and findings from this initiative at the local, state, regional, and/or national levels.

At the end of the grant period, September 30, 2006, both the At-Risk and Model teacher participants will be equipped with the necessary knowledge and skills to perpetually assess and align state reading and mathematics objectives with NAEP standards and objectives. Teacher participants will also commit to implementing research-based reading and mathematics learning activities, specifically designed for bridging the achievement gaps between the state and the nation and across all categories of race, socioeconomics, and gender within the state. The implementation of research-based activities will be a longitudinal study that extends far beyond the grant funding period. The goal of the longitudinal study is to determine which teaching and learning strategies are most effective in narrowing the achievement gaps in reading and mathematics, grades K – 8, with the particular demographic of students serviced through the grant initiative.

The AS 3 Initiative proposes a triangulated evaluation and accountability process to ensure the established goals of the program are met effectively and accurately. The overall mission of the AS 3 Initiative is to facilitate educators, administrators, and parents in the 4-district Black Belt constituent region of Central Alabama in significantly improving teaching and learning in reading and mathematics through rigorous research and accountability efforts.

Status

At the end of the grant period, September 30, 2006, both the At-Risk and Model teacher participants will be equipped with the necessary knowledge and skills to perpetually assess and align state reading and mathematics objectives with NAEP standards and objectives. Teacher participants will also commit to implementing research-based reading and mathematics learning activities, specifically designed for bridging the achievement gaps between the state and the nation and across all categories of race, socioeconomics, and gender within the state. The implementation of research-based activities will be a longitudinal study that extends far beyond the grant funding period. The goal of the longitudinal study is to determine which teaching and learning strategies are most effective in narrowing the achievement gaps in reading and mathematics, grades K – 8, with the particular demographic of students serviced through the grant initiative.

The AS 3 Initiative proposes a triangulated evaluation and accountability process to ensure the established goals of the program are met effectively and accurately. The overall mission of the AS 3 Initiative is to facilitate educators, administrators, and parents in the 4-district Black Belt constituent region of Central Alabama in significantly improving teaching and learning in reading and mathematics through rigorous research and accountability efforts.

AS 3 II:

Effective Professional Development for Educators and the Impact on Student Achievement

AS 3 II: Effective Professional Development for Educators and the Impact on Student Achievement is a follow-up initiative which proposes a three-year study to provide effective professional development on research-based teaching and learning strategies for teachers and principals and “Measure the effectiveness of specific professional development programs and activities” .

AS 3 II closely aligns with Standards 6, 7, 8, and 11 of the 12 “Principles of Effective Professional Development” and Section 9101(34) definition of professional development. The three overarching goals of the follow-up initiative are directly aligned with six of the seven goals for Alabama State-Level Activities, 2006 – 2007:

•  Monthly effective professional development sessions designed to allow teacher educators to implement research-based teaching and learning strategies in reading and mathematics, online follow-up with expert facilitators, and share ideas with colleagues about problems faced, success stories, and advantages and disadvantages of implementing such strategies;

•  Academic Coach Training (ACT) for principals and central office staff on identifying observable, measurable characteristics of research-based teaching and learning strategies learned and implemented by teachers during AS 3 II professional development sessions, thus enhancing their role as instructional leaders; and

•  A three-year longitudinal study designed to determine the impact of effective professional development on student achievement in reading and mathematics using the Alabama Reading and Mathematics Test (ARMT) and Stanford Achievement Test, 10 th Edition (SAT-10) scores. Score reports and analyses will be disaggregated by school, ethnicity, and gender.

AS 3 II proposes to impact six school systems in the Black Belt Region of Central Alabama. A rigorous study to determine the impact of professional development on student learning through the processes of ongoing effective professional development and online learning community support for teachers, ongoing Academic Coach Training (ACT) for Principals, collaboration opportunities for teachers and principals, and the use of AS 3 Observation Protocol to evaluate delivery of the instruction learned in professional development sessions and enhance program fidelity , should all yield the following overall expected outcomes:

•  an increase is reading and mathematics achievement scores,

•  an increase teacher-teacher and teacher-principal collaboration,

•  the effective use of data to drive instruction and curriculum changes,

•  the use of effective technology integration techniques to motivate students,

•  effective classroom management practices due to active learning,

•  authentic classroom assessments that may yield high correlations between classroom assessments and scores on SAT-10 and ARMT, and

•  the perpetual development of principals as instructional leaders.