Category Archives: Build-and-Support

The Big Picture: The School Improvement Debate

The Big Picture
The School Improvement Debate

by Bill Honig

In late 2015, Congress passed and President Obama signed the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), which replaces the Bush-sponsored No Child Left Behind (NCLB), the Obama administration’s Race to the Top, and other reform efforts. The new bill greatly diminishes the federal role in education and, for the most part, shifts the responsibility for devising policies that will improve educational performance to states and local districts. We find ourselves presented with two main options—a Test-and-Punish approach or a Build-and-Support approach.

The former, which until recently has been widely accepted as the conventional wisdom, is supported by those who believe in the power of radical structural change and incentives. These self-designated “reformers” advocate test-based evaluations of teachers and schools and onerous consequences tied to those test scores. Their policies are driven by a belief in market-based competition, in which low-performing public schools are systematically replaced through charter school expansion or vouchers. An integral part of their strategy is the elimination of teacher protections.

The latter, more positive Build-and-Support approach has been used by our most successful districts and states. It places instruction at the center of improvement efforts; aims to engage all educators, students, and parents; and builds support structures to create effective school teams and continuous improvement.

What Are the Tenets of Conventional School Reform?

Conventional “reformers” assume that schools will not improve by themselves and, therefore, will require external pressure in the form of high-stakes accountability based on standardized reading and mathematics test scores. Reform advocates assert that the best way to improve student performance is to fire the lowest-performing three–five percent of teachers; reward the superstars; encourage competition and disruption by expanding charter schools and choice; and close neighborhood schools with the lowest scores, replace their staffs, or convert them into charter schools. In fact, many reformers promote wholesale privatization of public education by replacing public schools with charters or with private schools funded by vouchers. For a decade since the passage of No Child Left Behind (NCLB), these proposals have been put into practice on every level—nationally, in most states, and in many districts. Until the recent repeal of NCLB, they have been significantly expanded by the Obama administration.

Has Conventional School Reform Worked?

Even by reformers’ own standards of using reading and math tests as a measure of success, the Test-and-Punish or “choice, charters, and competition” policies have failed to produce results. National test scores have stalled since 2009, and our students continue to substantially underperform those in other countries. More troubling is the significant collateral damage of the reform agenda and the harm it has caused schools, teachers, and students: narrowing the curriculum, devoting inordinate time to testing and test preparation, encouraging superficial rather than deeper learning, gaming the system and cheating, discouraging cooperation among teachers, diminishing and diverting public school funding, and, finally, creating a disastrous drop in morale among teachers and the diminished appeal of teaching as a profession. Tragically, these misguided reforms have diverted attention from the Build-and-Support initiatives that actually do yield increases in performance.

Opposition to the Test-and-Punish agenda has intensified as more people have become aware of its defects, and this disapproval was the primary force supporting the repeal of the “reform” orientation of NCLB and the Obama administration’s embellishments.

In late 2015, President Obama himself warned of the dangers of over-testing and the diversion from deep learning caused by our national obsession with test scores and testing. Several states are finding it difficult to attract and keep good teachers and are facing a backlash from parents, teachers, and advocates. As a result, they are retreating from the harshest reform measures and most dubious practices, including the overreliance on test-based teacher evaluation. In addition, a substantial number of parents have joined the “opt-out movement” and are keeping their children from taking standardized tests.

Build-and-Support: A Better Way

Thankfully, support for an alternative and more positive strategy has begun to emerge—one that is aimed at engaging educators in improvement efforts. The Build-and-Support approach is informed by the best educational and management scholarship, irrefutable evidence, and the practices adopted by the most successful schools and districts in this country and abroad. In this country there are many examples of effective Build-and-Support models such as the state of Massachusetts, which has become a world-class performer, and the Long Beach Unified School District in California, which has been designated as one of the three best districts in the country and among the top 20 on the planet.

In these and other exemplary models, the main drivers of raising student performance are engaging teachers by appealing to their professionalism and improving instruction and teaching. In these jurisdictions, policies and practices center on implementing a rigorous and liberal arts instructional program as envisioned by the Common Core State Standards (CCSS)—an instructional program aimed at not only job preparation, but also citizenship, and helping students reach their potential. Implementation efforts build on and improve current practice and endeavor to deepen learning for each child.

Crucially, successful states have given local schools and districts the leeway and resources to accomplish these improvement goals and in the past few years have substantially increased school funding. In implementing a Build-and-Support approach, they stress the importance of fostering the capacity of teachers, schools, and districts to improve school performance and student outcomes. They emphasize better working conditions, respect for teachers, the value of teacher engagement and school-site team building, and the use of just-in-time data about each student’s progress to continually improve school performance. They don’t just concentrate on low-performing schools or teachers but attempt to raise the performance of all. They encourage parent and community involvement and support the social services necessary to help students in need. Policies also encourage divorcing accountability from high-stakes testing measures. Instead, they use test scores to inform collaboration and continuous improvement efforts in mutually productive discussions. At the same time, these states and districts have avoided the more damaging initiatives proposed by conventional school reformers.

Build-and-Support initiatives challenge the validity and efficacy of the reigning “get tough on teachers and schools” dogma and the belief in the power of “market-based competition, choice, and incentives” that have been promulgated by the federal government and a multitude of states and school districts through ill-advised yet generously funded initiatives. Unfortunately, while there is a growing shift away from the conventional “reform” agenda, these increasingly discredited proposals continue to be supported by far too many political and opinion leaders, wealthy individuals, editorial boards, think tanks, and well-funded organizations. This must change.

Public education has always been central to the continued health of our democracy and our way of life. Conventional reformers have foisted a set of initiatives on our schools based on an outmoded management philosophy and a flawed analysis of what it takes to improve education. These policies ignore history, research, and experience, which is why our best schools and districts have studiously avoided them. Not only do misguided reform proposals thwart the measures actually needed to improve our schools but their initiatives threaten to put the whole enterprise of public education at risk. We need an immediate course correction to follow the lead of our most successful schools and districts in creating effective learning communities at each school and, finally, building the educational profession that this country deserves.

Reference Note

Bryant, J. (2016, Jan 11). We’re Onto the Phony Education Reformers. https://ourfuture.org/20160111/were-onto-the-phony-education-reformers

BBS Talking Points

BBS Talking Points

Under each talking point is a tweet sized comment with a link to the appropriate article either stand-alone or headed by a bullet. If you like the tweet, please retweet it to your followers or networks.

Test-and-Punish Has Not Produced Results but Build-and-Support Has

  1. Conventional reforms such as test-and-punish (e.g., high-stakes, test-based teacher and school evaluations) and privatization through market-driven competition have not produced results. Since 2009, when the harshest “reforms” were implemented, NAEP scores have been flat or down. http://www.buildingbetterschools.com/have-high-stakes-testing-and-privatization-been-effective-2    
    • Since 2009, when the harshest “reforms” were implemented for schools, national scores have been flat or down. http://ow.ly/Z2rN303kxn2
    • High-stakes, test-based evaluations, privatization, & market-driven competition have not produced higher performance. http://ow.ly/iaLk303dhzd
  2. Performance improved substantially in states and districts such as Massachusetts, Long Beach Unified, and Garden Grove. They avoided punitive “reform” measures and instead pursued a build-and-support strategy. http://www.buildingbetterschools.com/have-high-stakes-testing-and-privatization-been-effective-2/
    • Big gains in states and districts which avoided punitive “reform” measures & instead     pursued build-and-support ways. http://ow.ly/iaLk303dhzd
    • The state of Mass. & the districts of Long Beach & Garden Grove exemplify successful build-and-support strategies. http://ow.ly/iaLk303dhzd
  3. Newark, NJ, and Union City, NJ, offer a perfect example of the contrast between “build and support” and “test and punish”. Newark forcefully pursued a flashy, conventional test and punish and choice reform package. The results were minimal, morale plummeted, segregation increased, and communities were devastated. Union City followed a build-and-support strategy. Results were spectacular and the district is now a leader in the nation of districts which substantially beat the socio-economic odds. http://www.buildingbetterschools.com/have-high-stakes-testing-and-privatization-been-effective-2/
    • Newark schools adopted test & punish & choice. Miserable results. Union City adopted build & support. Huge success. http://ow.ly/iaLk303dhzd
  4. Build-and-support strategies include adequate funding; implementing a broad liberal arts curriculum; placing instructional improvement as the main driver for increasing student performance; engaging teachers, parents, and communities; building school capacity and teamwork to foster continuous improvement of curriculum and instruction; initiating comprehensive human development programs; and shifting district administration and leadership from compliance to support. http://www.buildingbetterschools.com/have-high-stakes-testing-and-privatization-been-effective-2/
    • Build & support includes adequate funding, making instruction central, & engaging teachers through team building. http://ow.ly/iaLk303dhzd
  5. . Build-and-support districts and states primarily use accountability measures to feedback useful information on school improvement efforts and minimize their use for high-stakes personnel and school closure decisions. These districts and states examine test-score data but as only one measure (and one of the weakest) of quality and growth. http://www.buildingbetterschools.com/have-high-stakes-testing-and-privatization-been-effective-2/
    • Successful districts use accountability to assist improvement efforts & minimize their use in evaluation decisions. http://ow.ly/iaLk303dhzd
  6. In the public debate about school improvement, we rarely step back to consider a crucial underlying question: What do we want for our children? There is a tendency among reformers to view job preparation as the primary goal of education, ignoring the vital role schools play in promoting democracy and developing well-rounded individuals. Obviously, career readiness is important, but we should adopt two other central goals in educating young people: to spur their active civic participation and to enable them to lead full lives made rich by learning. All three of these goals are equally valid. http://www.buildingbetterschools.com/the-three-goals-of-public-education/
    • Schools’ goals should include civic participation & maximizing student potential in addition to job preparation. http://ow.ly/YWaE303l23g
  7. Test-and-punish strategies and choice, competition, and large-scale charter expansion measures are based on several faulty assumptions: accountability pressure produces results, test scores alone are the best way of measuring school or teacher performance, high-stakes teacher and school evaluation is accurate and improves achievement, turnaround strategies and portfolio districts work, and massive charter school expansion improves overall performance.http://www.buildingbetterschools.com/why-have-conventional-school-reforms-failed/
    • Test-and-punish strategies & large-scale charter expansion measures are based on several faulty assumptions. http://ow.ly/O99U303kxNk
  8. Conventional reform nostrums such as using Teach for America’s raw recruits, using incentive schemes such as merit pay, holding students back based on test scores, and using technology to replace teachers have also been shown to produce little or negative results. See http://www.buildingbetterschools.com/four-nostrums-of-conventional-school-reform/
    • Using TFA’s raw recruits, merit pay, student retention, & hoping technology will replace teachers have been a bust http://ow.ly/38U7303kyav
  9. . Conventional reforms aim at the wrong leverage points, such as external accountability and governance change, when they should use drivers that develop the internal capacity of schools and districts to improve. http://www.buildingbetterschools.com/why-have-conventional-school-reforms-failed/
    • Top-down accountability & governance change are far less effective than building the capacity of schools to improve http://ow.ly/O99U303kxNk
  10. Conventional reforms such as test-and-punish and large-scale charter expansion not only fail to produce improved performance but they cause considerable collateral damage to schools, teachers, students, and communities.  http://www.buildingbetterschools.com/have-high-stakes-testing-and-privatization-been-effective-2/
    • Test-and-punish measures fail to produce results & cause considerable collateral damage to schools and communities. http://ow.ly/iaLk303dhzd
  11. A MetLife survey found that in the face of ill-conceived reforms and political and societal censure, the percentage of teachers who were “very satisfied” dropped dramatically from 62% in 2008 to 39% in 2012. http://www.buildingbetterschools.com/four-nostrums-of-conventional-school-reform/
    • Enduring ill-conceived reforms, surveyed teachers who were “ very satisfied” fell from 62% in 2008 to 39% in 2012  http://ow.ly/38U7303kyav
  12. Instead of a pursuing broader goals for students—job preparation, civic participation, and reaching individual potential—conventional reforms have narrowed instruction at the expense of deeper learning by focusing only on math and reading scores. High-stakes accountability has encouraged extensive test preparation, gaming the system, and disincentives for teachers to collaborate. http://www.buildingbetterschools.com/why-have-conventional-school-reforms-failed/
    • Conventional reforms narrowed instruction at the expense of deeper learning focusing only on math and reading scores http://ow.ly/O99U303kxNkHigh-stakes accountability encouraged extensive test preparation, gaming & disincentives for teachers to collaborate http://ow.ly/O99U303kxNk
  13. Many schools in the US need to improve—we fare badly in international comparisons, but the conventional reform program is not the right remedy. Successful, world-class educational institutions follow a Build- and-Support approach and eschew high-stakes Test-and-Punish and privatization and market-based competition strategies. http://www.buildingbetterschools.com/have-high-stakes-testing-and-privatization-been-effective-2
    • World-class educational institutions eschew high-stakes accountability, privatization & market-based strategies. http://ow.ly/iaLk303dhzd
    • Many US schools must improve, but test & punish & market-based reforms aren’t the right remedy; build & support is. http://ow.ly/iaLk303dhzd
  14. The teacher pay penalty is bigger than ever. In 2015, public school teachers’ weekly wages were 17.0 percent lower than those of comparable workers—compared with just 1.8 percent lower in 1994. http://www.epi.org/publication/the-teacher-pay-gap-is-wider-than-ever-teachers-pay-continues-to-fall-further-behind-pay-of-comparable-workers/
    • Teachers’ pay is falling further behind what other professionals earn & stands 17%  behind comparable workers now. http://ow.ly/fNx2303l7lN

15. Evaluations of the main conventional reform policies show nonexistent or trivial results and often cause substantial harm to school capacity, teacher morale, and the health of communities. Build-and-Support measures demonstrate results several multiples higher. They improve engagement and morale instead of causing collateral damage.  http://www.buildingbetterschools.com/have-high-stakes-testing-and-privatization-been-effective-2

  • Conventional reform policies show nonexistent or trivial results and often cause substantial harm to schools.  http://ow.ly/iaLk303dhzd
  • Build-and-support measures perform several multiples higher than conventional reforms with no collateral damage.  http://ow.ly/iaLk303dhzd

High-Stakes Teacher Evaluation Based on Test Scores Is a Bad Idea

  1. Making firing the lowest performing teachers based on test scores the center of reform efforts has not worked. That approach also detracts from efforts to raise the performance of all teachers. http://www.buildingbetterschools.com/teacher-and-school-evaluations-are-based-on-test-scores-3/
    • A central plank in the reform agenda is firing the lowest performing teachers using test scores. It hasn’t worked. http://ow.ly/lUHd303kAGi
  2. Current measures of teacher performance based on student test scores, including value-added measures (VAMs), are unreliable and result in misidentification of teachers. . http://www.buildingbetterschools.com/teacher-and-school-evaluations-are-based-on-test-scores-3/
    • Measures of teacher performance based on test scores are unreliable & result in misidentification of teachers. http://ow.ly/lUHd303kAGi
  3. Relying on multiple classroom visits by principals to correct the deficiencies in test-based teacher evaluation has proven problematical. A more productive use of a principal’s time would be in building effective teams and organizing the school as a learning institution. http://www.buildingbetterschools.com/teacher-and-school-evaluations-are-based-on-test-scores-3/
    • Using classroom visits by principals to correct the deficiencies in test-based teacher evaluation has not worked. http://ow.ly/lUHd303kAGi
    • Building effective teams & organizing the school as a learning institution are the best use of a principal’s time. http://ow.ly/lUHd303kAGi
  4. Teachers only account for about 10% of school performance. To single them out as those primarily responsible for low-performance is unfair. Out-of-school measures such as socio-economic levels and parenting affect student learning much more. In-school measures such as leadership by principal, curriculum, adequacy of resources, and wraparound services are also important determinants of student achievement. These measures often get neglected in the exclusive attention given to teachers. http://www.buildingbetterschools.com/teacher-and-school-evaluations-are-based-on-test-scores-3/
    • Teachers account for 10% of school quality; labeling them as primarily responsible for low-performance is unfair. http://ow.ly/lUHd303kAGi
  5. Incompetent teachers should be let go if, and only if, credible and fair methods are used. Personnel changes must be part of a broader push for instructional improvement efforts to raise the performance of all personnel. These efforts will produce much higher effects on student achievement. http://www.buildingbetterschools.com/teacher-and-school-evaluations-are-based-on-test-scores-3/
    • Incompetent teachers should be let go if credible & fair methods are used & embedded in broader efforts to improve. http://ow.ly/lUHd303kAGi
  6. Many “reformers” are now shifting from approaches emphasizing “fire the worst teachers” strategies to approaches stressing the improvement of all teachers through team-building, focusing on instruction, providing helpful structures and information for continuous improvement, and enhancing site leadership. http://www.buildingbetterschools.com/teacher-and-school-evaluations-are-based-on-test-scores-3/
    • Many reformers are shifting from emphasizing “fire the worst teachers” to stressing the improvement of all teachers.  http://ow.ly/lUHd303kAGi

Charter Schools Are Not the Key to Improving Education

  1. Charter schools are not the key to improving education. There are some excellent charters and some terrible ones, but most offer an education no better than their public school counterparts. Too much emphasis on charters detracts from improving non-charter public schools—and in many cases causes harm to the remaining schools and communities. http://www.buildingbetterschools.com/charter-schools-are-not-the-key-to-improving-public-education/
    • Charters aren’t the key to improving education. Some excel, some lag but most are no better than other schools. http://ow.ly/YaY8303cdYq
    • Overemphasizing charter schools detracts from improving the remaining public schools & often causes them harm. http://ow.ly/YaY8303cdYq
  2. When charters enroll more than about 20% of a district’s students, a tipping point occurs causing substantial harm to the district. http://www.buildingbetterschools.com/charter-schools-are-not-the-key-to-improving-public-education/
    • If about 20% of a district’s students enroll in charters, a tipping point occurs causing substantial district harm. http://ow.ly/YaY8303cdYq
  3. About 6% of students attend 6,500 charter schools. Many states have drastically cut funds for the other 94% of students attending regular public schools, diverting education dollars to the small number of students attending charters. http://www.buildingbetterschools.com/charter-schools-are-not-the-key-to-improving-public-education/
    • States have severely cut funds to the 94% of students at regular public schools while increasing funds to charters. http://ow.ly/YaY8303cdYq
  4. Only about one-quarter of charter schools score better than non-charter public schools, one-quarter score worse, and most score the same—even assuming test scores are the best measure of quality. http://www.buildingbetterschools.com/charter-schools-are-not-the-key-to-improving-public-education/
    • About 25% of charter schools score better than non-charter public schools, 25% score worse, & most score the same.  http://ow.ly/YaY8303cdYq
  5. Charter schools should be scoring much higher than regular public schools. They have the built-in advantage of more motivated parents and a more supportive peer group of students associated with more motivated parents. Magnet public schools in Los Angeles, which also benefit from more highly motivated students and parents, significantly outscore charter schools. http://www.buildingbetterschools.com/charter-schools-are-not-the-key-to-improving-public-education/
    • Charters should score higher than public schools. They have the advantage of more motivated parents and students. http://ow.ly/YaY8303cdYq
  6. Many charter schools have artificially raised test scores by being extremely selective in who they admit, by eliminating low-scoring students, and by not back-filling empty slots. It is not unusual for a beginning class of 100 students to fall to 30 students a few grades later. The charter school then unfairly touts the scores of this more rarified group compared to regular school students. Public schools must take all comers and can’t refuse to fill a vacancy. http://www.buildingbetterschools.com/charter-schools-are-not-the-key-to-improving-public-education/
    • Charters artificially raise scores by selective admissions, eliminating low-scoring students & not back-filling.  http://ow.ly/YaY8303cdYq
  7. Studies have shown that a focus on market-based competition—instead of school improvement—often causes educational harm. Many charters concentrate too heavily on the test scores needed to attract and hold students to the detriment of deeper learning. Many spend inordinate amount of funds on marketing the school and paying their top administrators large salaries. http://www.buildingbetterschools.com/charter-schools-are-not-the-key-to-improving-public-education/
    • Market-based competition often harms schools by forcing heavy marketing costs & a focus on raising test scores. http://ow.ly/YaY8303cdYq
  8. Charter schools have increased segregation and, when coupled with the closing of a neighborhood public school, cause substantial harm to the local community. http://www.buildingbetterschools.com/charter-schools-are-not-the-key-to-improving-public-education/
    • Charters have increased segregation & when paired with closing a neighborhood public school harm the community.  http://ow.ly/YaY8303cdYq
  9. Charter schools can drain funds from the remaining public schools. If too many charter schools are opened, it can cause major financial problems for the local public school district.  http://www.buildingbetterschools.com/charter-schools-are-not-the-key-to-improving-public-education/
    • If too many charters are opened, it can cause major financial problems for the local public school district. http://ow.ly/YaY8303cdYq
  10. Most states have weak financial accountability for charter schools causing rampant fraud, embezzlement, and misappropriation of public funds. Most low-performing charter schools are never closed. Charter advocates estimate that over 1,000 low-performing charter schools out of the 6,500 existing charter schools should be closed. http://www.buildingbetterschools.com/charter-schools-are-not-the-key-to-improving-public-education/
  11. Many states have offered charter schools sweetheart deals in which they profit greatly or convert public funds to private use. http://www.buildingbetterschools.com/charter-schools-are-not-the-key-to-improving-public-education/
    • Many states have offered charter schools sweetheart deals in which they profit greatly or convert public funds to private use. http://ow.ly/YaY8303cdYq
  12. Many charter schools have created a harsh, no-excuses educational program with a prison-like atmosphere that harms children. http://www.buildingbetterschools.com/charter-schools-are-not-the-key-to-improving-public-education/
    • Many charter schools use a harsh, no-excuses educational program with a prison-like atmosphere that harms children. http://ow.ly/YaY8303cdYq
  13. Many charter schools concentrate on producing high test scores to the detriment of deeper learning. Charter school students fare poorly when other measures of quality are used and when they get to high school or college. http://www.buildingbetterschools.com/charter-schools-are-not-the-key-to-improving-public-education/
    • Many charters so focus on high test scores that deeper learning is neglected & their students fare poorly in college http://ow.ly/YaY8303cdYq
  14. The charter school movement is based in part on an erroneous theory that public schools cannot work because they are monopolies and private institutions can work because of competition and choice. This theory ignores the many public school examples of success. To debunk this private-choice theory, private school scores, when adjusted for the socio-economics, are actually worse than public school scores. http://www.buildingbetterschools.com/charter-schools-are-not-the-key-to-improving-public-education/
    • Contrary to conventional wisdom private school scores, are worse than public school scores for comparable students. http://ow.ly/YaY8303cdYq
  15. Virtual charters have been a disaster—on average students lose about a year’s worth of instruction in them. http://ow.ly/YaY8303cdYq
    • Virtual charters have been a disaster—on average students lose about a year’s worth of instruction in them. http://ow.ly/YaY8303cdYq
  16. For-profit charter schools should be forbidden. For non-profit charters, states should enact financial and performance accountability and transparency comparable to that of public schools. http://www.buildingbetterschools.com/charter-schools-are-not-the-key-to-improving-public-education/
    • For-profit charters should be forbidden–too much chance of diverting public funds and getting off mission. http://ow.ly/YaY8303cdYq
    • Non-profit charters should be held to the same financial &performance accountability as public schools. http://ow.ly/YaY8303cdYq
  17. Vouchers do not improve student performance. They also drain funds from public schools (in part by providing public funds to some families who were previously paying private school tuition and in part by diverting funds from public schools). Finally, vouchers may support religious or other schools that have highly questionable curriculums. http://www.buildingbetterschools.com/charter-schools-are-not-the-key-to-improving-public-education/
  18. Charters claim to give parents a choice, but often the one choice not available to parents is to concentrate on improving their existing public school. http://ow.ly/YaY8303cdYq
    • Charters claim to give parents a choice, but often no choice is offered to improve their existing public school. http://ow.ly/YaY8303cdYq
  19. Charters should revert to their original mission—clusters of excellence, which along with the best non-charter public schools should be beacons for all. http://www.buildingbetterschools.com/charter-schools-are-not-the-key-to-improving-public-education/
    • Charters should revert to their original mission—being beacons of excellence along with our best public schools. http://ow.ly/YaY8303cdYq

 

Privatization Forces Have Hijacked the Reform Movement

  1. Anti-public school forces have used harsh reform rhetoric demonizing teachers and schools to justify huge cuts in public education, eliminate teacher protections, and enact punitive reform policies in such states as Louisiana, Indiana, Michigan, North Carolina, Florida, and Pennsylvania. http://www.buildingbetterschools.com/reformers-allowed-their-rhetoric-to-be-hijacked/
    • Anti-public school forces used harsh reform rhetoric demonizing teachers to justify huge cuts to our schools. http://ow.ly/xojE303cYwp
  2. Some charter-school advocates have successfully convinced governors or mayors to close large numbers of public schools have them converted to charters. This has happened in cities such as Chicago, Detroit, and Philadelphia. In New Orleans, just about the whole public school district was eliminated. These closures have not improved educational performance. They have resulted in two-tiered, segregated school systems and devastated local communities. http://www.buildingbetterschools.com/reformers-allowed-their-rhetoric-to-be-hijacked/
    • Reformers have convinced some politicians to close large numbers of public schools and convert them to charters. http://ow.ly/xojE303cYwp
  3. Many conventional reform advocates have shifted from a severe reform agenda. They now promote a more balanced approach concentrating on supporting instructional improvement, team building, adequate funding, charter accountability and transparency, improving site leadership, and progressive personnel policies. Some are now seeking cooperative efforts with  Build-and-Support advocates. http://ow.ly/xojE303cYwp
    • Many conventional reform advocates have shifted from a severe reform agenda to a more build and support approach. http://ow.ly/xojE303cYwp

Components of Build-and-Support

  1. Components of the Build-and-Support approach include a broad based liberal arts curriculum, engaging and active instruction, team building and collaboration around teaching curriculum and instruction, district leadership, and adequate funding. http://ow.ly/dhMd303d0t4
    • Build-and-support includes engaging liberal arts, school team building, supportive leadership & and adequate funding http://ow.ly/dhMd303d0t4
  2. The Common Core Standards for English Language Arts and Mathematics hold the promise of improving curriculum and instruction and encouraging deeper learning. The standards are consistent with what our most knowledgeable teachers and researchers have been advocating for years. Similar standards have been produced for Science (NGSS), and History-Social Science. http://www.buildingbetterschools.com/provide-an-engaging-broad-based-liberal-arts-curriculum/
    Common Core Standards are consistent with what our best teachers and researchers have been advocating for years http://ow.ly/niQ8303deiH

    Similar standards & frameworks explicating them have been produced for Science (NGSS), and History-Social Science. http://ow.ly/niQ8303deiH

    California has produced subject-matter frameworks explicating the promising Common Core and other standards. http://ow.ly/niQ8303deiH

  3. The secret of successful implementation of the ambitious Common Core is to divorce these educationally sound standards from high-stakes accountability schemes and provide both time and resources for translating the standards into successful classroom and district practices. States such as California have pursued this path. http://www.buildingbetterschools.com/provide-an-engaging-broad-based-liberal-arts-curriculum/
  4. Implementing these standards and the frameworks based on them could be the needed catalyst for building teams, fostering collaboration, and creating the capacity for continuous improvement at each school. http://www.buildingbetterschools.com/provide-an-engaging-broad-based-liberal-arts-curriculum/
    • Implementing standards could be the catalyst for building teams and the capacity for continuous school improvement. http://ow.ly/niQ8303deiH
  5. Standards aren’t a curriculum. States and districts need to develop frameworks and scope and sequences to assist in translating standards into a workable curriculum, effective instructional materials, and, successful professional learning. http://www.buildingbetterschools.com/provide-an-engaging-broad-based-liberal-arts-curriculum/
    • Translating standards into effective practice requires a workable curriculum, materials, & professional learning. http://ow.ly/niQ8303deiH
  6. Teaching is not a trivial pursuit. According to one formulation by Danielson, high-level instruction is a combination of proficiency in delivering content, using best practices, creating safe and effective learning environments, managing classrooms, engaging students, producing learning by all students, and being able to work with other staff and develop professionally. Good teachers become effective in each of these domains. http://www.buildingbetterschools.com/provide-high-quality-instruction/
  7. At a school, building effective teams that continually try to improve staff performance is the most powerful method of increasing student performance. Individual efforts such as self-study are important, but team efforts such as discussing how to ameliorate deficiencies in the school program or encouraging peer classroom visits with debriefings are even more powerful. http://www.buildingbetterschools.com/build-teams-and-focus-on-continuous-improvement/
    • Building effective school teams that continually try to improve is the best method of increasing student performance http://ow.ly/V25c303dgou
  8. Contrary to much “reform” rhetoric, money to pay for build and support efforts makes a difference. http://www.buildingbetterschools.com/provide-adequate-school-funding/
    • Contrary to much “reform” rhetoric, money to pay for build and support efforts makes a difference. http://ow.ly/xkxa303dgWY
  9. Districts play a crucial role in creating the supportive structure for continuous improvement. Improving leadership by principals, creating opportunities for teacher leadership, establishing structures, providing time for collaboration, developing effective systems for gathering useful information, building progressive human resources systems, designing wraparound services with other local agencies, and engaging teachers, administrators, students, parents, and community members in joint improvement efforts. http://www.buildingbetterschools.com/lessons-learned-from-successful-districts/
    • Districts play a crucial role in creating the supportive structure for continuous improvement. http://ow.ly/NpkI303dgNx
  10. Successful districts demonstrate how build and support works. http://www.buildingbetterschools.com/lessons-learned-from-successful-districts/
  11. Models of exemplary build and support districts. http://www.buildingbetterschools.com/exemplary-models/

The California Context

  1. California, following Massachusetts’s approach, is implementing a build-and-support strategy with increased funding and a strong liberal arts curriculum as envisioned by the Common Core Standards, other applicable standards, and the frameworks explicating them. California is also giving responsibility to local districts, designing accountability to assist improving instruction, enacting multiple measures for accountability, and encouraging engagement and collaboration. http://www.buildingbetterschools.com/ca-policymakers-and-educators-shift-from-test-punish-to-build-support/
  2. California has differed somewhat from the Common Core Standards. It has combined its English language arts (ELA) standards with its English language development (ELD) standards to accommodate the large number of English language learners. It wants to not only maximize the number of students prepared for four-year colleges but also to increase the number of students in rigorous career-tech pathways—a way to truly implement the “college and career” language in the standards.  http://www.buildingbetterschools.com/ca-policymakers-and-educators-shift-from-test-punish-to-build-support/CA’s ELA/ELD framework combines both sets of standards to accommodate its large number of English language learners http://ow.ly/hGFv303dhqo

    Maximize students prepared for 4yr colleges but also assure that the rest qualify for rigorous career-tech pathways http://ow.ly/hGFv303dhqo

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