Report from American Institutes for Research Finds Correlation between Student Achievement Gains and Implementation of Failure Is Not an Option Six Principles
March 23rd, 2011
Bloomington, Ind. – (March 23, 2011) – In a report released by the American Institutes for Research (AIR) and the HOPE Foundation, research found a strong correlation between Mansfield Independent School District’s implementation of the Failure Is Not an Option Six Principles and student gains as measured on standardized tests. By incorporating these research-based principles through a three-year long model called, Courageous Leadership Academy (CLA), Mansfield ISD, located outside Dallas, Texas, maintained a high rate of student success while experiencing rapid growth in the district, especially among ELL, minority and low SES entering the district.
This year the almost 40,000-student district achieved the status of “Recognized” by the state of Texas and has an overall above proficiency success rate of 88.5 percent.
“The results are promising. The Failure Is Not an Option Courageous Leadership Academy targets areas which research suggests have the greatest likelihood of eventually improving learning. There was a high degree of implementation, and that implementation showed some encouraging correlations with student achievement,” said Rebecca Herman, Managing Research Analyst at the American Institutes for Research.
The CLA model calls for the creation of school-based leadership teams and provides tools for them to interact as high-performing learning communities both within their schools and from team-to-team across the district. The goal is to not only enhance student engagement and achievement, but also build instructional leadership, decision-making protocols, and overall capacity and commitment among all members of the team and their entire school-based learning communities. Key findings in the report include:
- When comparing the 20 elementary schools to the 14 secondary schools, the elementary schools consistently implemented the Failure Is Not an Option Six Principles and lessons from the Courageous Leadership Academy at higher levels than their peers. Research from the U.S. Department of Education reinforces this finding, as a 2005 study found implementing reforms is more difficult in middle and high schools than elementary schools.
- All schools saw a correlation between implementation and mathematics and reading proficiencies amongst students.
- Elementary schools saw improved student achievement in mathematics after the implementation, while reading proficiency scores remained strong.
- Secondary schools experienced improved student achievement in reading after the implementation, while mathematics proficiency scores stayed consistently strong.
- Despite a higher than average state growth in the population of at-risk students, including a 5.9 percent increase in students on free and reduced lunch and 14.5 percent increase in disc. placements during the three-year implementation period from the 2007-08 school year to the 2009-10 school year, Mansfield Independent School District maintained a high level of student achievement.
“The CLA process significantly contributed to our school district’s success not only in terms of maintaining high student achievement rates, but also in staff morale,” said Sarah Jandrucko, Area Superintendent at Mansfield Independent School District. “Our students are more focused and willing to learn, and we believe the educators within these 34 schools will create a wave of powerful, innovative leadership for the district.”
A case study on Mansfield and other districts undertaking the same CLA process is the subject of a forthcoming book titled The Answer Is in the Room by Alan Blankstein. Corwin Press will publish the book, and previously published Blankstein’s 2005 National Staff Development Council Book of the Year Failure Is Not an Option.
While the AIR report indicates strong overall implementation and a correlation between implementation and student gains, the cohort consisting of elementary and middle schools had both greater gains and levels of implementation than did the cohort of high schools. The mixed achievement results overall may also have been as a result of the extraordinary growth in the district during the period of implementation, especially represented by an economically poorer student population than was the norm for the district prior.
“Further research is called for to clarify all the elements of success in the use of this model,” indicated Herman.
There will be a webinar to discuss the findings further on April 13, 2011 at 3:30pm EDT featuring Rebecca Herman, Sara Jandrucko and Anne Richards, Dean of Faculty for the HOPE Foundation.
For the full report, visit link. or call (800) 627-0232.
About HOPE Foundation
Since 1989, the HOPE (Harnessing Optimism and Potential through Education) Foundation—a non-profit 501(c)(3), whose Honorary Chair is Archbishop Desmond Tutu—has led the way in helping to create learning communities where high-performing leadership teams and school cultures assure that Failure Is Not an Option® for any student. .
About American Institutes for Research Established in 1946, with headquarters in Washington, D.C., the American Institutes for Research (AIR) is a nonpartisan not-for-profit organization that conducts behavioral and social science research and delivers technical assistance both domestically and internationally in the areas of health, education and workforce productivity.
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Tags: American Institutes, Research
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