Weinland+Park+Elementary,+Columbus,+Ohio

Touted as one of two examples of successful 'turnarounds' by USDOE http://www.ed.gov/blog/2012/03/ask-mr-mullenholz-about-school-improvement-grants/


 * TQ: What are some promising results that we are seeing in schools identified by their states as being in need of a turnaround?**

//Mr. M: When a school is identified as being in need of a turnaround, we often find that the school and the district engage in a critical analysis of the school’s data, its academic culture, and the resources that might be available to it from the community at large. Essentially, they see the school as a doctor would evaluate a patient and then make a diagnosis that would be best for that particular situation. SIG funding is only one part of the turnaround, and we know that you can’t simply buy a school turnaround. It has to be a collective effort with all stakeholders focused on the ultimate goal of providing a high-quality education for all of the students. Here are just a few examples of promising practices and results://


 * Weinland Park Elementary in Columbus, Ohio, in its first year under SIG and with the support of outside partners, gained 13 percentage points in reading and 19 in math by employing a data-based model of instruction that looked closely at specific student needs and tailored instruction to meet those needs.
 * Luke C. Moore High School in Washington, D.C., which serves students between the ages of 17-21 who have dropped out or had difficulties in traditional school settings, has transformed its school culture to one of high academic expectations and student self-efficacy Under its new principal, the school made Adequate Yearly Progress by improving reading proficiency by 10 points and math proficiency by 20 points. This is due in part to a decrease of student referrals and offsite suspensions by 50%!

Looked up on Ohio state website http://www.ode.state.oh.us/reportcardfiles/2010-2011/BUILD/040188.pdf

found that while 4th graders went up by 13% in reading (from 34% to 47%, while state avg is 83%) and by 19% in math (from 28% to 47%, while state avg is 78%), other grades did not fare as well. 3rd grade reading stayed the same while 5th grade reading went down by 6%. 5th grade science stayed the same. 3rd grade math up by 20% and 5th grade math up by 7%. While these numbers might seem 'promising,' history generally shows that this school is likely to lose the gains next year. Gains don't grow in a linear fashion, so anyone who touts these 'double digit' gains lacks understanding of the context of those gains.

Also, a more relevant comparison is not from 4th grade one year to 4th grade another year, but for a particular cohort. So while 4th graders went from 34 to 47, the third graders the year before were at 38, which is a 9 point gain. This can also be a result of attrition.

Looking at cohorts, we see that the 2009-2010 4th grade math was 27% while the 2010-2011 5th graders went down to 22%, which is a 5% loss. Reading stayed the same at 34% for that cohort.