Craig Hochbein

Relegation and Reversion: Longitudinal Analysis of School Turnaround and Decline

School turnaround has become a popular strategy for improvement of chronically low-performing schools. Research related to school turnaround has relied substantially upon case studies. These case studies often focus on successful turnarounds and report immediate outcomes, failing to provide information about the sustainability of the results. In addition, schools with equally dramatic declining academic performance garner little attention from educators, policy makers, and researchers. This study addresses this gap in school effectiveness and school improvement literature by examining the longitudinal performance of schools after experiencing a dramatic improvement or decline. Results of the study indicated that 3 years after a school experienced turnaround, on average, academic performance declined from peak performance, but did not revert to prior low levels of performance. Similarly, academic performance of downfall schools, on average, did not relegate schools to a status of chronic low performance, yet achievement levels did not rebound to prior levels.

Timing Is Everything: Getting Students Back on Track to College Readiness in High School.

National trends and goals have pushed beyond the dropout crisis and are now focused on raising the percentage of graduates prepared for college and career. This study examined a longitudinal cohort (n = 6443) of students in an urban, public school district in order to explore how districts and communities can redirect off-track high school students. The researchers explored timing to first-time college readiness in English and math using Event History Analysis. Variables under investigation included gender, first-generation college student status, college aspiration, enrollment in college preparatory courses, and participation in organized, extracurricular, college preparatory activities. Results indicated a student’s chances of being on the college-ready trajectory were highest in the 8th grade. Findings also revealed a positive association between higher parent education levels and college preparatory course enrollment, particularly in math.

Crossing the Line: Examination of Student Demographic Changes Concomitant with Declining Academic Performance in Elementary Schools.

The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between school decline and changes in school demographics. Using a population of 981 (N = 981) elementary schools, the authors identified samples of declining schools: Relational Decline (n = 510), Absolute Decline (n = 217), and Crossing the Line (n = 165). Latent growth models assessed longitudinal relationships between 4 demographic factors and school performance. Of the 4 tested predictors, only changes in the percentages of disadvantaged students maintained significant structural relationships with declining academic performance. Associations between school size on school performance varied depending on sample. Findings suggested that changes in school demographics challenge educators, but that internal school processes account for school decline. Future research might search for a school decline threshold, as well as common processes responsible for the phenomenon. Educators might design procedures so that no one school must face continuous or extensive increases in at-risk student populations.

Downward Spirals, Boiled Frogs, and Catastrophes: Examining the Rate of School Decline

The purpose of this study is to determine the validity of common assumptions about the rate at which school decline manifests. From a population of 981 elementary schools in the state of Virginia, the author uses three operational definitions of school decline to identify samples of declining schools: Absolute (n = 217), Relational (n = 510), and Crossing the Line (n = 165). Descriptive data and latent growth model results indicated that catastrophic declines and downward spirals rarely exist. Instead, analyses suggested temporal improvements possibly mask the longitudinal negative trend of declining school performance.

Gamed by the System: Adequate Yearly Progress as an Indicator of Persistently Low-Achieving School Performance.

The recent policy focus on the turnaround of persistently low-achieving schools has generated considerable debate about the reforms needed to dramatically and quickly increase school performance. The purpose of this article is not to focus on specific turnaround interventions, but rather on the identification of schools slated to receive these interventions. Results from the study of 1,059 public schools suggested that operational definitions that relied on No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 metrics overidentified high schools educating diverse populations.

A Review of: “A School in Trouble: A Personal Story of Central Falls High School. William R. Holland.”

In February 2010, Superintendent Fran Gallo captured national attention when she announced a plan to terminate all of the teachers at the persistently low-achieving Central Falls High School. Her chosen course of action to improve the school with a 48% graduation rate, 55% of students proficient in literacy, and just 7% proficient in math earned Gallo both praise and criticism. Opponents of the termination, including labor leaders, as well as students and parents, claimed the plan was unfair, unjust, and that Gallo was out of touch with realities of urban education. In contrast, champions of Gallo’s announcement claimed that such ‘‘get tough’’ and ‘‘no excuse’’ attitudes and policies were necessary to improve such a persistently low-achieving school. In his book, A School in Trouble: A Personal Story of Central Falls High School, former Interim Superintendent of Central Falls School District and Rhode Island Commissioner of Education William Holland provides history, insights, and personal accounts of Central Falls High School (CFHS) that temper both the vilification and adoration of Gallo’s termination plan. Unfortunately, Holland’s focus on the obvious challenges confronting urban educators and the resiliency of student and faculty achievers relegates the important nuances of urban education and persistently low-achieving schools to the periphery of his tale. In the opening chapters of the book, Holland describes the numerous challenges confronting urban students, families, educators, and schools. According to the Central Falls website, a 2005–06 survey identified 96% of CFHS students eligible for free or reduced lunches. More than 60% of the students were identified as Hispanic in origin, with 13% of the students identified as White, and 14% as Black. Holland cites that 46% of CFHS students receive either special education or English as a second language services. He also provides a variety of school and community statistics that demonstrate the multitude of challenges resulting from the composition of the student population that confront not only CFHS, but urban schools across the country.