Mission Statements, Strategic Planning and the College-Ready District:
A Case Study Highlighting Four EXCELerator™ Districts
Monitoring Classroom Rigor: A Case Study
Introduction of the School District of Palm Beach County
School districts communicate core messages in various forms: mission statements, strategic goals and
discussions with stakeholders. This case study examines district core messaging about college readiness in
Why Is Rigorous Course Work Important?
13 school districts across the country that have partnered with the College Board’s EXCELerator™ program.
EXCELerator believes
that school
district
play
a fundamental
rolerigor
in setting
nonnegotiable
college
Districts across
the country
are leaders
focused on
increasing
instructional
in classrooms.
Through professional
readiness goals
for
all
students
in
the
district,
which
then
are
supported
and
made
actionable
by
school
leaders,
development, coaching, and classroom walk-through and observation processes, more school districts seek
to improve
teachers and other
stakeholders.
EXCELerator’s
on district
leadership
is supported
byrigorous
research,
the instructional
practices
that will leademphasis
to higher levels
of instruction
and ultimately
to more
learning
including the work
of Robert
J. Marzano
and Timothy
who
stressPlacement
that clear® direction
and focused
(AP®) programs
is one way schools
environments
for students.
Strengthening
andWaters,
expanding
Advanced
andadistricts
exposing
students
to academically
rigorous
workand
thatWaters,
will prepare
them fortocollege.
leadership have
positiveare
impact
on more
student
achievement.
According
tocourse
Marzano
“Contrary
the The
School leadership
District of Palm
County set out
to systematically
strengthen
AP program
through
Department of
opinion that district
hasBeach
no relationship
to student
achievement,
ourits
findings
suggest
thata U.S.
district
Advanced
Placement
Incentive
Program (APIP)
The School conducted
District of Palm
County
leadership hasEducation
a measurable
effect
on student
achievement.
”1 Agrant.
meta-analysis
by Beach
Marzano
andsecured the
grant
to
expand
the
resources
available
for
enhancing
AP in
schools
with
high
concentrations
of
low-income
minority
Waters identifies critical roles for district leaders, including establishing nonnegotiable goals for achievement or
and
instruction. students. The district has used APIP funding to provide professional development for AP teachers, develop online and
face-to-face AP teacher communities and to offer direct support to students, such as AP tutoring, Saturday academies,
and summer enrichment programs.
College Readiness Defined
Being college ready means — at a minimum — having the
What is EXCELerator?
knowledge, skills and behaviors needed to complete a first year
EXCELerator is a district improvement model
developed by the College Board, which
of postsecondary study without remediation.
College
readiness
™?
What
Is
EXCELerator
emphasizes a district approach to college
can be achieved through a rigorous comprehensive learning
readiness. Since 2009, EXCELerator has partnered
system focused on preparing™ students to successfully complete
withand
leaders
in school
districts
across the with
United
The EXCELerator Group supports districts by offering a range of programs
services
provided
by professionals
college-level course work while in high school. This level of
States
to
identify
college
readiness
challenges
school and district experience. EXCELerator uses its Diagnostic Approach to partner with district leaders to analyze
and to develop and implement solutions and
preparation is and
alsoassess
necessary
for students
to be considered
their current
college readiness
strategies career
and to implement strategies.
programs toEXCELerator
improve the partner
college readiness
districts range
ready; students
who
opt
to
enter
the
world
of
work
or
to
delay
infrastructure. EXCELerator services include the District Diagnostic, Program
Implementation
Services,
from Analyses,
large urban
districts serving
more than
college after high
school graduation
in addition
to the
Professional
Developmentalso
and need,
Multiyear
Partnership.
250,000 students to small rural districts serving
professional skills required to enter the workforce, the same
fewer than 1,000 students. EXCELerator partner
districts tend to enroll a high proportion of firstknowledge, skills and behaviors as college-bound graduates.
EXCELerator’s approach to college readiness builds on research
conducted by David Conley of the Educational Policy Improvement
Center (EPIC). Conley’s work aims to bridge the gap between
college eligibility and college readiness. College eligibility is defined
by the admission requirements of a postsecondary institution,
while college readiness is driven by a student’s ability to perform
successfully in a postsecondary education program. Students
who complete a high school course of study may have met the
minimum college admission requirements, such as receiving a
generation, college-bound students.
EXCELerator partnerships typically begin with
the District Diagnostic, a process in which
the EXCELerator team analyzes strengths and
challenges in the district’s capacity to ensure
college readiness. The EXCELerator team uses a
variety of methods to gather data — document
review, data analysis, stakeholder interviews and
school visits — to diagnose the district’s college
readiness infrastructure. Following the District
Diagnostic, the EXCELerator team partners with
the district to create customized solutions and
Supporting AP Achievement in Palm Beach County
®
The School District of Palm Beach County partnered with the College Board’s EXCELerator Group to provide professional development
and initiate monitoring strategies in AP courses. In October 2009, EXCELerator delivered its AP Achievement Institute (APAI) professional
development to teachers and school leaders in Palm Beach County. APAI consists of an initial four-day professional development institute
for teachers and a two-day institute for school administrators, plus three follow-up days during the school year to reinforce learning and
practice instructional strategies. EXCELerator emphasizes professional learning as a cycle through its professional development by teaching
instructional strategies in an initial institute, then by following up with district leaders and participants during the school year to ensure that
practices are taking root.
Palm Beach County secondary schools participated in APAI as school teams of instructional leaders, classroom teachers and counselors.
During APAI, participants learned strategies to support students who were underprepared for rigorous AP course expectations. Teams
worked together to assess the strength of AP programs in their schools and to develop common definitions of rigor, scaffolding, and
differentiation, important instructional strategies that have proven effective in meeting the needs of an increasingly heterogeneous pool
of AP students.
APAI for school leaders focused on strategies for leading an
AP program and supporting AP teachers, such as:
APAI for teachers focused on developing instructional strategies
for AP, including:
„„ D
ifferentiating instruction to make content
accessible for all learners;
„„ Curriculum planning, course sequencing and scheduling;
„„ S caffolding lessons to provide structure for
student assignments;
„„ Analyzing AP data; and
„„ Identifying and supporting AP teachers;
„„ M
onitoring classroom rigor and providing feedback
to teachers.
„„ Using different levels of questioning;
„„ Reading strategies for challenging texts;
School leaders also received a toolkit with an overview of AP
course content and sample classroom observation tools.
„„ Analyzing AP Exam essay questions;
„„ A
nalyzing the skills needed for AP essay
questions; and
„„ Scoring AP Exam essay questions.
“This [APAI] has been extremely valuable — I know I will be able to go back to my classroom
and bring my students’ learning to a much higher level, to help them think more critically.
It’s improving my teaching skills so that I can teach at a more analytical level.”
– Palm Beach County English Teacher on APAI
2
Elements of an Effective AP System
1. Leadership
Through its work with nearly 20 districts nationwide, EXCELerator
has identified seven critical elements of effective districtwide
AP readiness systems and schoolwide AP programs. These
elements include:
3. Culture of expectations
2. Curriculum planning and sequencing
4. Instructional support
5. Student support
6. Data analysis
7. Examination readiness
Monitoring for Improvement
The EXCELerator Group visited Palm Beach County four times over the six months following the initial four-day APAI training, meeting with
school leaders and teachers to discuss successes and challenges in implementing the strategies learned during the training. Follow-up
sessions gave APAI participants the opportunity to confer with experts and work through particularly challenging instructional strategies.
Meetings with teachers reinforced instructional strategies introduced during APAI, such as scaffolding, differentiation, ensuring rigor, and
techniques for reviewing AP Exams. Follow-up meetings with school leaders reinforced leadership skills such as conducting classroom
observations to monitor AP-level rigor and providing teachers with actionable feedback. Teams of EXCELerator facilitators, Palm Beach
school leaders, and Palm Beach district staff conducted classroom walk-throughs and used a classroom observation tool introduced during
APAI to collect data.
After the first EXCELerator follow-up, school leaders requested additional support visits. In response, Palm Beach County district staff
started conducting observations of AP classes and using one of the classroom observation tools introduced during APAI. An annotated
sample observation tool is included at the end of this case study. The classroom observations were positively received by school leaders
working on expanding AP programs. A small number of teachers were initially skeptical about the observations; teacher objections to the
initiative were overcome by emphasizing that classroom observations are a method of providing feedback for improvement. The classroom
observation tool has not been integrated into the district’s performance evaluation process, but rather is used to support continued
professional development for AP teachers and leaders. Observations are conducted at least once a year in schools with the explicit goal
of increasing AP equity and access, and are available upon request for all schools in the district.
District staff observe AP courses alongside school leaders to collect information and provide feedback on instruction. During observations,
the tool provides a framework for assessing the rigor of teacher-student interactions in AP classes. Classroom observers tally questions
asked by the teacher, student responses, and student-initiated questions. Interactions requiring higher-order thinking skills (analysis,
application, synthesis, and evaluation) are also tallied to compare to activities requiring content recall and comprehension. After
observations, district staff and school leaders compare data and discuss rigor and instructional practices. Instructional leaders receive
feedback on how to support observed teachers. For example, after one observation the instructional leader and district observer discussed
pairing a teacher who had mastered questioning strategies with another teacher who requested assistance in developing the skill.
Data collected serve as a record of the practices observed and provide a structure for the post-observation debriefs with teachers. The postobservation discussions lead to one-on-one coaching and reinforcement of instructional strategies covered during APAI. For example, after
one observation, classroom observers suggested that a teacher develop a system for tracking which students answer questions to ensure
that all students remain equally engaged in classroom discussions.
Tracking patterns that emerge out of classroom observation data enables Palm Beach County educators to identify strengths and
weaknesses across multiple schools and classrooms. One district leader noted that classroom observation data indicated that professional
development needs were highest in questioning strategies and engaging students. This observation informed professional development
planning. When classroom observations revealed that a number of teachers in one school were working on developing similar instructional
strategies, district staff organized a schoolwide post-observation debrief. Observation data also influence the topics covered during
districtwide professional development workshops.
Instructional leaders and teachers in Palm Beach County continue to develop the skills introduced during the APAI over two years ago. The
district’s leaders recognized that adults in schools, just like students, need practice and reinforcement to achieve skill mastery. Professional
development was the first step in developing the instructional and leadership skills for improving AP performance. These skills continue to
be developed and refined through practice and the application of learning.
3
Classroom Observation in Practice: What to look for during classroom visits
SAMPLE CLASSROOM OBSERVATION TOOL
COURSE:
SCHOOL:
DATE:
OBJECTIVES OF CLASS VISITS:
■
Evaluate the rigor of student/teacher interactions in the classroom.
■
Analyze the alignment of daily learning objectives with the rigor of student/teacher interactions in
the classroom.
STUDENT INTERACTIONS
NUMBER
Number of teacher questions at the knowledge and comprehension level.
Lower-order questions
Number of teacher questions beyond knowledge and comprehension to reflect the
higher levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy (Analysis, Application, Synthesis, Evaluation).
Higher-order questions
Number of student responses demonstrating use of vocabulary and evidence of
understanding of higher levels of learning (Bloom’s Taxonomy: Analysis, Application,
Synthesis, Evaluation).
Higher-order student responses
Number of student-initiated questions to clarify their understanding of assigned
reading, teacher’s lecture, or AP Exam requirements.
Student clarifying questions
Notes for debrief:
Discussion points for debrief
ALIGNMENT OF INSTRUCTIONAL COMPONENTS
EVIDENT
Class objectives were aligned to the level of interactions observed.
NOT
EVIDENT
Lesson alignment to objectives
Class content was aligned to course description.
Class expectations were aligned to level of rigor.
Notes for debrief:
CLASS INFORMATION
NUMBER
Number of different students involved in interactions beyond the knowledge of learning.
Summary of student/teacher interactions
Number of students in class.
Notes for debrief:
To learn more about EXCELerator, visit excelerator.collegeboard.org.
© 2012 The College Board. College Board, AP and the acorn logo are registered trademarks of the College Board. EXCELerator is a
trademark owned by the College Board. All other products and services may be trademarks of their respective owners. Visit the College
Board on the Web: www.collegeboard.org.
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SAMPLE CLASSROOM OBSERVATION TOOL
COURSE:
SCHOOL:
DATE:
OBJECTIVES OF CLASS VISITS:
■
Evaluate the rigor of student/teacher interactions in the classroom.
■
Analyze the alignment of daily learning objectives with the rigor of student/teacher interactions in
the classroom.
STUDENT INTERACTIONS
NUMBER
Number of teacher questions at the knowledge and comprehension level.
Number of teacher questions beyond knowledge and comprehension to reflect the
higher levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy (Analysis, Application, Synthesis, Evaluation).
Number of student responses demonstrating use of vocabulary and evidence of
understanding of higher levels of learning (Bloom’s Taxonomy: Analysis, Application,
Synthesis, Evaluation).
Number of student-initiated questions to clarify their understanding of assigned
reading, teacher’s lecture, or AP Exam requirements.
Notes for debrief:
ALIGNMENT OF INSTRUCTIONAL COMPONENTS
EVIDENT
NOT
EVIDENT
Class objectives were aligned to the level of interactions observed.
Class content was aligned to course description.
Class expectations were aligned to level of rigor.
Notes for debrief:
CLASS INFORMATION
NUMBER
Number of different students involved in interactions beyond the knowledge of learning.
Number of students in class.
Notes for debrief:
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