Final 2023 update. On four issues. Evidence that perhaps I had a point, and have not yet lost my mind.
|
Addendum A
- 15 previous newsletters on these four issues, 2015 – 2023. |
A.
Four-day School Week
AV #236 - Why we must have a study of
the 4-day week in Colorado (Aug. 2021)
Are
we proud of this: to be #1 in the country in a practice without knowing its
impact on students?
The good news is
that the Colorado Department of Education has removed a 2011 study[i]
from its website that I studied and criticized.[ii]
It has been embarrassing to see an in-house report on that website for 12 years
that appeared to give the state’s blessing to a shorter school week, without solid
evidence of the impact on students.
AV #236 also faulted
CDE’s “Four-Day School Week Information Manual’[iii].
That Manual waited until page 7 of its 8-page overview to address Student
Performance, in all of three paragraphs. I noted two
paragraphs that implied: OK, we don’t know if the four-day week hurts student achievement, but
hey, does it really matter?
The general feeling is that students
do no worse on the four-day week than on the traditional schedule. If student
performance is judged by satisfaction, then the results are very favorable.
|
Addendum B –
Studies done in OTHER states on their four-day school week.
|
Few districts have changed from five to four days with the expressed purpose of improving student achievement; it has not been a significant issue.
That Information Manual is also gone from CDE’s
website.
Nevertheless,
we wait to hear if CDE will call for a new, external study. I asked for
this again in AV #256 after showing the declining scores in Districts 27J and
Pueblo 60 in their first year on the shorter week.[iv]
Our state has the highest percentage of
school districts operating on a four-day week—with no research to show if this is
proving good for student achievement. And in that vacuum, more districts move
to the shorter week. (This fall: the 14 schools in Alamosa, Lake, and Platte Canyon,
and Education reEnvisioned BOCES.)
I estimate Colorado has
440 schools and 120,000 students on a four-day week. Worth a study? You think?
B. Teacher Shortage and Alternative Teacher
Licensure
A
rural superintendent in Colorado: “The alternative licensure program has been a
blessing for us!”
The heading of AV #195 included: Alternative pathway now prepares nearly one-quarter of our new teachers (June
2019). Good news: not just “nearly”; since then, the figure has been 25%
or better.
I
have celebrated the steady growth of the alternative licensure program in
Colorado these past 30 years. (This one is personal. My own non-traditional
route led to 18 years teaching English.)
We worry about our teacher shortage; we fret over the drop in numbers
completing traditional preparation programs. For these reasons we must spotlight
alternative programs. Although the last state report showed a small decline in
the number prepared through these programs, the figures have held steady for
the past five years. 25% or more of Colorado’s new teachers are now licensed
through this pathway.
*These figures
come from the “Colorado Educator Preparation Programs and the Educator
Pipeline,” produced by the Colorado Department of Higher Education and the
Colorado Department of Education, Dec. 2022.[v] **My math.
C. Graduation Rates
& Fake News. Aurora West College Prep Academy (APS) “on the clock” (at
last!)
“Won’t
get fooled again!” (The Who)
In 2015 AV#131 introduced what has become a theme: “Higher
graduation rates? A word of caution before we celebrate” (June 2015). In #239-Superintendents should stop
pretending higher graduation rates matter (Nov. 2021), I questioned the
Aurora West narrative. I quoted from then
APS Superintendent Rico Munn: “I would also like to congratulate Aurora West
College Preparatory Academy, which had a 100% graduation rate for the third
year in a row. Please join me in taking a moment to celebrate and reflect on
our historic achievement!”[vi]
I explained why such high graduation rates were suspect. In a follow-up I
wrote:
AV#239 showed the declining
PSAT scores at Aurora West College Preparatory Academy in APS from 2017 (864)
to 2019 (824). That 824 was 114 points below the state
average. Never mind: Aurora West reported a remarkable (believable?)
feat, a graduation rate of 100%, three years running no less, exceeding
the state average by over 18%. UPDATE:
AWCPA 2021 graduation rate “fell”—to 97.7%
From
2010-2021 Aurora West College Prep received a Performance rating. In
2022 it was rated on Improvement. The 2023 Preliminary ratings (finally)
put it on Priority Improvement.[vii]
Why? Results. At AWCPA “only 6% of students met or exceeded
expectations in English and only 1% met or exceeded grade level expectations in
math” (Aurora Sentinel, Aug. 27, 2023.[viii])
(More at Addendum C: APS high schools.)
It is good news that the
state’s SPF has caught up with Aurora West College Prep Academy. It remains to
be seen if the APS Board of Education realizes it has been duped by the
absurdly high graduation rates Aurora West reported these many years. Let’s
hope it will not be fooled again.
D. But we have
been fooled again – by recreating a comprehensive high school at Montbello
Warning ignored, but was I wrong? Both schools are (back) on the accountability clock. Déjà vu.
Denver Public Schools insisted, with no
evidence, that it was best to recreate a large comprehensive high school at
Montbello. (The “reunification” of West also included talk of returning to a
“comprehensive high school” model.[ix])
Various smaller schools-within-a-school were closed; “big is better” won the
day. (Montbello can enroll over 1,400 students). In AV#224-226 (Feb. 2021), I
argued against this plan:
Any
examples of DPS opening a high-quality high school in a community like
Montbello? DPS has not created a high-quality secondary school serving a
majority of low-income students in this century.
That fall, AV#238: $130 million for the new Montbello High – Will we have a
school design worthy of the price? showed that the demographics of the new high school might match
Abraham Lincoln High School.
I do not believe
that demographics are destiny. But surely there is a warning in seeing
that Denver might create a second high school as chronically low-performing
as Abraham Lincoln has been. No one wants that, true? [Bold added, as this
is exactly what we now see.]
After two years, as of Sept. 2023[x],
Montbello (and the
new West High) are again on Performance
Watch.
|
|
2022-
Rating and % Pts Earned |
2023
– Preliminary Rating and % Pts Earned |
||
|
Abraham Lincoln |
Priority Improvement – Yr 5 |
40.4% |
Priority Improvement – Yr 6 |
36% |
|
Montbello |
Improvement |
42.4% |
Priority Improvement – Yr 1 |
38.6% |
|
West* |
Priority Improvement |
38.6% |
Turnaround – Yr 1 |
36.4% |
Addendum
D provides more details on the 2023 achievement
scores (PSAT & SAT) at these schools.
This is not Monday-morning
quarterbacking. More than a few of us could see this coming. DPS must own this flaw
in its planning and design. Urban districts must put to rest the idea that
bigger is better.
Addendum A
Previous newsletters
on topics updated in AV#266
Four-day week
AV#207 - Alarming Results in Year One: District 27J Schools’ shift to 4-day school week brings drop in academic performance (March 2020)
AV #236 - Why we must have a study of the 4-day week in Colorado - Are we proud of this: to be #1 in the country in a practice without knowing its impact on students? (Aug. 2021)
AV#256 - The 4-Day School Weak – Who Believes One Day Less is More?
Almost 70% of Colorado districts now on a 4-day school week. Will we ever stop?
(Feb. 2023)
Alternative Licensure Program
AV #195 - ALTERNATIVE
TEACHER LICENSURE IN COLORADO – WHAT A CHANGE!
Alternative pathway now
prepares nearly one-quarter of our new teachers
(June 2019)
AV #249 - Celebrating alternative licensure – the ever-more
popular path to teaching (July 2022)
Graduation rates
AV #31 - Higher graduation rates?
A word of caution before we celebrate (June 2015)
AV#162 - Higher graduation rates
in Colorado – fake news - “Colorado graduation rates reach highest marks since
2010…” (CDE News Release, Jan. 19,
2017) (June 2017)
AV #183 - Remediation rates
suggest our graduation rates will soon fall (Sept. 2018)
AV #239 - Superintendents should stop pretending higher graduation
rates matter (Nov. 2021)
AV #263 - Colorado’s
new graduation guidelines – early warning signs that they fall short – Part 1
(Sept. 2023)
AV #264 - Colorado’s
new graduation guidelines – early warning signs that they fall short – Part 2
(Oct. 2023)
Montbello and West
AV #224 - DPS
should not be in charge of designing a new comprehensive high school for
Montbello
(Feb. 4, 2021)
AV #225 - “Recreate Montbello” –
Nostalgia? Amnesia? A few reminders (Feb. 9, 2021)
AV #226 - Montbello – Doublespeak
from DPS – Unification is Closure (Feb. 17, 2021)
AV #238 - $130 million for the new Montbello High –Will
we have a school design worthy of the price? (Oct. 2021)
Addendum B - The Four-Day School Week - “Nobody knows”
Colorado #1
in country – and without a study, without a clue if this is best for students
Subheading from The Colorado Sun’s three-parts
series in 2019 on the four-day week.
“Money moved more than 100 districts
to forge ahead with the largely untested strategy. Parents and teachers learned
to love it, but nobody knows its impact on kids and learning.”
By Jennifer Brown, Aug. 27, 2019
Here are five
other states where we see some kind of analysis of the four-day school week.
And yet Colorado, with a higher percentage of school districts on a four-day
week than any of these states, has no study. These state studies were listed
in AV#236:
1.
Oregon (2021) - “The Shrinking School Week” - Effects of a four-day schedule on student achievement, by Paul N. Thompson, Education Next, Summer 2021 -
Data from 2004-2018
https://www.educationnext.org/shrinking-school-week-effects-four-day-schedule-student-achievement/
2. New Mexico (2018) – “Legislative Education Study
Committee,” by Kevin Force and Abigail. Purpose:
Explore learning time and the effects of a four-day school week. August 16, 2018. (11 pages)
https://www.nmlegis.gov/handouts/ALESC%20081518%20Item%209%204%20day%20school%20calendar%20brief.pdf
3.
Idaho (2018) - “4-Day
School Week in Idaho,” Department of Education, State of Idaho. 2018.Power
point http://www.buenabands.org/4-day/articles/durr-4daywkprsnt041309.pdf
4.
Oklahoma (2017) - “Impact of a 4-Day School Week on Student Academic
Performance, Food Insecurity, and Youth Crime,” Office of Partner Engagement Rapid Health Impact
Assessment, Oklahoma State Department of Health, May 2017. (27 pages)
https://www.ok.gov/health2/documents/FINAL%20HIA%20Four%20Day%20School%20Week%202017.pdf
5.
Montana (2014) - “A comparison of student achievement in rural schools
with four and five day weeks,”
Timothy W. Tharp, University of Montana ScholarWorks at University of Montana,
2014. (71 pages) - https://scholarworks.umt.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=11826&context=etd. (Achievement data from
2007-2013.)
AV #256 listed another four
recent studies done of the four-day week, but not on any one state.
From “The four-day school week: Research shows benefits and consequences,” The Journalist’s Resource, by Denise-Marie Ordway, Sept. 21, 2022 - To save money and help recruit teachers, many schools are taking Mondays or Fridays off. Scholars are studying how it affects students, teachers and school district budget https://journalistsresource.org/education/four-day-school-week-research/#:~:text=A%202022%20study%20that%20looks,%2Dday%20weeks%2C%20on%20average.
Only a Matter of Time? The Role of Time in School on Four-Day School Week
Achievement Impacts
Paul N. Thompson and Jason Ward. Economics of Education Review, February 2022.
“Three Midwest Rural School Districts’ First Year Transition to the Four
Day School Week”
Jon Turner, Kim Finch and Ximena Uribe-Zarain. The Rural
Educator, 2019.
“Staff Perspectives of the Four-Day School Week: A New Analysis of
Compressed School Schedules”
Jon Turner, Kim Finch, and Ximena Uribe–Zarian. Journal of Education and Training Studies, 2018.
“The Economics of a Four-Day School Week: Community and Business Leaders’
Perspectives”
Jon Turner, Kim Finch, and Ximena Uribe–Zarian. Journal of Education and Training Studies, 2018.
Addendum C
Aurora’s high schools
– PSAT/SAT results
From Keystone Policy
Center’s Student Academic Performance Map (November 2023) https://coloradosun.com/colorado-student-academic-performance-map/
|
Colorado
Student Performance Academic
Year 2022-23 |
|
|
2023 Preliminary School Performance Rating – Year
on Accountability Clock |
||
|
The Colorado Sun / Keystone Center https://coloradosun.com/colorado-student-academic-performance-map/ |
|
|
Colorado Department of Education - https://www.cde.state.co.us/schoolview/datafiles |
||
|
|
Math |
Math
Growth |
|
English |
|
|
State of Colorado |
33 |
50 |
|
44 |
|
|
Aurora Science & Tech High |
42 |
40 |
|
50 |
|
|
Vista Peak 9-12 |
33 |
46 |
|
48 |
Priority Improvement – Year 1 |
|
Lotus School for Excellence |
30 |
50 |
|
45 |
|
|
Rangeview |
31 |
51 |
|
50 |
|
|
William Smith |
21 |
43 |
|
46 |
|
|
Hinckley |
11 |
38 |
|
26 |
Turnaround – Year 3 |
|
Gateway |
10 |
39 |
|
28 |
Priority Improvement – Year 6 |
|
Aurora Central Campus |
9 |
40 |
|
21 |
Priority Improvement – Year 9 On Hold (Insufficient
Data for the K-12 campus, but the sub-rating for grades 9-12 is Priority
Improvement*) |
|
Vanguard Classical East |
5 |
40 |
|
35 |
|
|
Aurora West College Preparatory Academy |
4 |
37 |
|
25 |
Priority Improvement – Year 1 |
*2023 Preliminary School Performance Framework –https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#search/Lori+Stack/QgrcJHsbflzwcHLlhrdrjrxMDHlQwvlmpKQ?projector=1&messagePartId=0.1,
made available to me by Lori
Stack, Director, APS Department of Accountability & Research, Oct. 24, 2023.
Addendum
D – Montebello and West High - Déjà vu
“We can’t solve
problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.” Albert
Einstein
I doubt anyone who
worked hard on the REIMAGINE MONTBELLO effort expected to see these results.
School Performance
Framework
After closing the high schools, then opening small schools
inside the old school buildings,
DPS went back to what was not working before, comprehensive high
schools. What does DPS say now?
|
|
2010 |
2011 |
2012 |
2013 |
2014 |
2015-2021 |
2022 |
2023* |
|
Montbello High School |
Turn-around
Plan Year
1 |
Priority
Improve-ment Plan Year
2 |
Turn-around
Plan Year
3 |
Turn-around Plan |
School Closed |
Small schools operated inside these
two buildings |
Improve-ment |
Priority
Improve-ment Year
1 |
|
Percentage pts earned |
41.2% |
44.2% |
40.8% |
41.3% |
31.2% |
42.4% |
38.6% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
West High School |
Priority
Improve-ment Plan Year
1 |
Turn-around
Plan Year
2 |
Turn-around
Plan Year
3 |
“new” school – West Generation
Academy*- rated on Turnaround 2013 & 2014 |
Priority Improve-ment Year 0 |
Turn-around Year
1 |
||
|
Percentage pts earned |
|
|
43.1 |
|
|
38.6% |
36.4% |
|
*CDE 2023 Preliminary School Ratings
(XLS) (August 2023), CDE. (Subject
to change; final ratings will be made public in December.)
** “The West Denver community felt the academic
program at West High School was not meeting the needs of the community’s
children. Starting in the fall of 2010, parents and community leaders partnered
with Denver Public Schools to identify solutions for the West campus, and after
working closely with the district throughout the winter of 2011, determined
that the creation of two new academies on the West Campus would provide
students with the best educational opportunities. West Generation Academy was
one of those two academies created.”
- Report from Submitted by Wendy Piersee, CEO, Generation Schools Network, Christiansen Institute, 2013, https://www.christenseninstitute.org/west-generation-academy/
Achievement scores
for at the (New and Improved?) Montbello and West High Schools
2011 and 2023 - 9th grade
achievement scores
|
MONTBELLO HIGH SCHOOL |
|
|
9th grade, 2011 – CSAP - %
proficient and advanced |
|
|
|
Reading
- 28%
Writing - 14% |
|
|
Math
- 9% |
|
Source:
CDE - CSAP/TCAP Summary Data – 2011 -
https://www.cde.state.co.us/assessment/coassess-dataandresults |
|
|
9th grade, 2023 - PSAT – % met
or exceeded expectations |
|
|
|
Evidence-Based
Reading & Writing - 18.1% |
|
|
Math - 9.2% - 26 students |
|
Source
– CDE – 2023 PSAT & SAT District and School Summary Achievement Results -
https://www.cde.state.co.us/assessment/sat-psat-data |
|
|
WEST HIGH SCHOOL |
|
|
9th grade, 2011 – CSAP - % proficient and advanced |
|
|
|
Reading
- 24%
Writing - 12% |
|
|
Math
- 7.5% |
|
Source:
CDE - CSAP/TCAP Summary Data -2011 - https://www.cde.state.co.us/assessment/coassess-dataandresults |
|
|
9th grade, 2023 - PSAT – % met
or exceeded expectations |
|
|
|
Evidence-Based
Reading & Writing - 21.7% |
|
|
Math - 12.3% - 17 students |
|
Source
– CDE – 2023 PSAT & SAT District and School Summary Achievement Results -
https://www.cde.state.co.us/assessment/sat-psat-data |
|
PSAT & SAT 2023 results for black and Hispanic students
at Montbello, West,
and Abraham Lincoln
Planning for the re-creation of a comprehensive high school at
both sites surely understood that most of the students to enroll would be black
and Hispanic. These two pages show how black and Hispanic students performed in
2023, compared to others in the district and in the state.
Evidence-Based
Reading and Writing
PSAT - Grades 9 - State average - 891
|
|
white |
black |
Hispanic |
|
|
STATE |
948 |
805 |
805 |
|
|
DPS |
1004 |
779 |
778 |
|
|
Lincoln |
N.A. |
N.A. |
687 |
Among
black students, scores at Montbello & West were over 80 pts below those
across the district. |
|
Montbello |
N.A. |
691 |
723 |
|
|
West |
N.A. |
698 |
721 |
|
|
779-698
= 81 |
PSAT
- Grades 10 – State average – 930
|
|
white |
black |
Hispanic |
|
|
STATE |
984 |
854 |
849 |
|
|
DPS |
1040 |
847 |
829 |
|
|
Lincoln |
N.A.
|
765 |
753 |
Among
Hispanic students, scores at Montbello and West were roughly 60 pts below
those across the district. |
|
Montbello |
N.A. |
762 |
771 |
|
|
West |
N.A. |
N.A. |
762 |
|
|
829-762
= 67 |
SAT
– Grade 11 – State average - 990
|
|
white |
black |
Hispanic |
|
|
STATE |
1053 |
889 |
885 |
|
|
DPS |
1122 |
873 |
869 |
Out
of all comprehensive high schools in DPS, the 2 newest joined Abraham Lincoln
with the lowest SAT scores. Among Hispanic students, scores at Montbello and
West were 70-80 pts below those across the district. |
|
Lincoln |
N.A. |
N.A. |
782 |
|
|
Montbello |
N.A. |
736 |
798 |
|
|
West |
N.A. |
N.A. |
789 |
|
|
869-789
= 80 |
Math
As math scores
at these three Denver high schools were so low, here it is more useful to note
the % and the number of students IN THAT ENTIRE GRADE who Met or Exceeded
Expectations.
Percent and Number of Students who Met or Exceeded
Expectations on PSAT/SAT
PSAT - Grades 9 –
|
|
Percent |
Number
of students |
|
STATE |
46.6% |
|
|
DPS |
37.3% |
|
|
Lincoln |
9.0% |
22
students |
|
9.2% |
26 students |
|
|
West |
12.3% |
17 students |
|
|
Percent |
Number of students |
|
STATE |
38.0% |
|
|
DPS |
30.7% |
|
|
Lincoln |
9.0% |
22 students |
|
Montbello |
4.7% |
11 students |
|
West |
5.0% |
7 students |
SAT – Grade 11 –
|
|
Percent |
Number
of students |
|
STATE |
35.2% |
|
|
DPS |
27.7% |
|
|
Lincoln |
4.2% |
8
students |
|
Montbello |
6.2% |
14
students |
|
West |
4.5% |
6
students |
Endnotes
[i]
“A Comparison of Colorado School Districts Operating on Four‐Day and Five‐Day
Calendars 2011,” Author(s): Dianne L. Lefly, PhD, CDE Research &
Evaluation & Jhon Penn, CDE Field Services Date of Initial Publication:
11/2011 https://www.cde.state.co.us/sites/default/files/documents/research/download/pdf/coloradofourdayandfivedaydistricts.pdf
[ii]
From AV #236: “Why research on Colorado done years ago
provides no solid evidence to support the 4-day week.”
[iv]
From AV #256 - “Concerned now? Enough to say this issue deserves a thorough
study?” pages 5-8
·
Their
PSAT & SAT MATH SCORES have declined over the past
five years, 2018-2022.
·
SAT MATH SCORES
in District 27J and Pueblo 60 show significant decline over 5 years, 2018-2022.
·
Academic
Achievement Trend – from CDE’s School Performance Framework - 2018-2022
·
Impact
of the 4-day week on our most vulnerable students
[vi]
“APS Makes History with Class of 2020 Graduation Rate,” https://aurorak12.org/2021/01/15/aps-makes-historywith-class-of-2020-graduation-rate/
[vii]
District and School Performance Framework Results, https://www.cde.state.co.us/accountability/performanceframeworkresults
[viii] “Alarming Colorado student test
scores call for a crisis plan,” Editorial, Aurora Sentinel, Aug. 27, 2023, https://sentinelcolorado.com/opinion/editorial-alarming-colorado-student-test-scores-call-for-a-crisis-plan/
[ix] “The
reunification of West High is one of two efforts underway to bring
comprehensive high schools back to neighborhoods where they were dismantled.
The hope at the time was that smaller schools would better serve students
there, many of whom are Hispanic or Black.” “Denver school board votes to
reunify West High School,” by
Melanie Asmar, Chalkbeat Colorado, Nov. 19, 2020,
https://www.chalkbeat.org/colorado/2020/11/19/21578841/denver-vote-to-reunify-west-high-school/
[x]
CDE 2023 Preliminary District Ratings (XLS) - August
29, 2023 https://www.cde.state.co.us/accountability/performanceframeworkresults. Final ratings will be made public in December.
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