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By: Robert “Joe” YribarrenNovember 19, 2009CI246Instructor: Dr. Christopher Foster

A Critical Examination of the

George Kelly School Reading

Instructional Model

+Welcome to

George Kelly School!

Tracy, CA Student population = 1,121

K-8

+Our Reading Instructional Model

ExCEL

Excellence: A Commitment to Every Learner

“It is a method of grouping students to allow for early intervention and acceleration. Students can move between groups as needed. This format allows resource personnel to be efficiently placed where needed to support differentiated learning.”

Utilized Assessments

Running records

CST

District benchmarks

Classroom assessments

“Most of our students will be working on grade level.”

(www.cambrian.k12.ca.us/bagby/documents/FAQ for parents.pdf)

+Evolution of the ExCEL Model

INITIALLY =

Hesperia School District Support

PRESENTLY =

TRADITIONAL TRACKING!

•High, Medium, Low groups

Limited assessment data:

Reading comprehension, Vocabulary development, Fluency

(dwindling monetary resources!)

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Action Research Project

How has our school’s commitment to ExCEL impacted student reading proficiency?

How has this shaped our school’s definition of reading proficiency and our instructional philosophy in terms of what qualifies as a proficient reader?

Are these dangers reflected at my site?

Key Questions and Rationale

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Research Methodology

QUANTITATIVE METHODS

Collection and analysis of school-wide CST Language Arts score data over the four year period of ExCEL implementation

Collection and analysis of Language Arts CST score data for a sample group of five sixth grade students who have been placed in the “low” level ExCEL class consistently over the past four years

Analysis of demographic breakdown for each of the leveled ExCEL classes as they are currently composed in grades 4-6, as well as a snapshot of demographic breakdowns for the sixth grade “low” level class as they’ve existed over the past four years

Quantitative

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Research Methodology

QUALITATIVE METHODS

Informal ethnographic interviews of a teacher, a parent, and a student attempting to determine their opinions of ExCEL as it relates to reading proficiency and success in developing reading interest

Structured interview format of a fourth, fifth, and sixth grade teacher for the purpose of analyzing the types of lessons they infuse into their reading instruction and analyzing the results to determine how aligned they are with multicultural and social justice education principles

Qualitative

+School-Wide CST Score AnalysisGEORGE KELLY SCHOOL – LANGUAGE ARTS% PROFICIENT AND ADVANCED CALIFORNIA STANDARDS TEST - ALL STUDENTS

+School-Wide CST Score AnalysisGEORGE KELLY SCHOOL – LANGUAGE ARTS% PROFICIENT AND ADVANCED CALIFORNIA STANDARDS TEST - ALL STUDENTS

+“Low” Group CST Score

Analysis

+An Examination Into Placement

Anysia Mayer (2008), “Understanding How U.S. Secondary Schools Sort Students for Instructional Purposes: Are All Students Being Served Equally?”

READINGABILITY?

+Ethnic Demographics – “Low”

ExCEL Classes Grades 4-6

Fourth Grade

Sixth Grade

Fifth Grade

+ Sixth Grade “Low” Class ExCEL Roster – Demographic Representation

2007-2008

2009-2010

2008-2009

+ExCEL’s Influence on Definitions

of and Attitudes Towards Literacy

“Another consequence of tracking is that students develop enduring classroom personalities and attitudes. They may begin to believe that their placement in these groups is natural and a true reflection of whether they are ‘smart’ or ‘dumb’” (Nieto, pg. 94).

“Tracking leaves it mark on pedagogy as well. Students in the lowest levels, for example, are the most likely students to be subjected to rote memorization and worn methods, as their teachers often feel that these are the children who most need to master the basics’” (Nieto, pg. 94).

How do these factors influence lessons?How does consideration of cultural and racial identity (or lack thereof) affect overallimpressions of ExCEL in terms of interest?

+ Informal Interview

+ExCEL’s Response to Diversity

Frank Biofra and George Ansalone (2008), “Perceptions and Attitudes of School Principals Towards School Tracking: Structural Considerations of Personal Beliefs” “…our research revealed that

many teachers continued to employ tracking both formally and informally in their classrooms, not because they believed it would improve academic achievement, but because they seemed to be particularly overwhelmed with the task of teaching large classes of academically diverse students, and tracking seemed to offer an effective strategy to limit the range of diversity within the classroom” (Biofra & Ansalone, 2008).

HOW DO TEACHERS AT GEORGE KELLY SCHOOL RESPOND TO DIVERSITY? IS IT A CORNERSTONE OF THEIR LESSON PLANNING OR A BURDEN INTERFERRING WITH OTHER PRIORITIES?

+ Structured Interview

+Conclusions and Action Plan

Qualitative data suggests that while our school is making tremendous gains in Language Arts CST scores, we may not be focused enough on various subgroups, such as those students who have been consistently assigned to the “low” level ExCEL groups. A sample student score analysis suggests minimal gains and, for some, even regression.

Our reliance upon traditional forms of assessment may possibly be influencing our own definitions of literacy and who qualifies as a proficient reader. Based upon the interviews conducted with teachers and parents, many still associate positive gains in reading with positive gains in standardized scoring.

As a result, instructional planning may continue to be based in methods that allow for optimal gains in test scoring as opposed to lessons that capitalize upon the diversity present within the “low” level classes. The interviews also suggest that students who have been exposed to lessons based in multicultural themes respond well to them with higher levels interest.

Continue to research language arts assessment strategies that seem to be most prominent at my school

Examine if and where multicultural and social justice based lessons exist within the scripted curriculum and if there are opportunities for teachers to supplement the lessons with other texts to enrich the quality of the students’ learning experience

CONCLUSIONS ACTION PLAN

+Resources

Biafora, F., & Ansalone, G. (2008). Perceptions and Attitudes of School Principals towards School Tracking: Structural Considerations of Personal Beliefs. Education, 128(4), 588-602.

Mayer, A. (2008). Understanding How U.S. Secondary Schools Sort Students for Instructional Purposes: Are All Students Being Served Equally?. American Secondary Education, 36(2), 7-25.   Nieto, S. (2004). Affirming diversity: the sociopolitical context of multicultural education. Boston: Pearson Education, Inc.