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9. Summary of Findings and Recommendations
Pages 211-225

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From page 211...
... Academic motivation decreases steadily from the early grades of elementary school into high school, and disengagement from coursework is common at the high school level. Students living in low-income communities are not alone in being less than enthusiastic about schoolwork.
From page 212...
... Particularly in disadvantaged urban communities, academic engagement and achievement are adversely influenced by the economic and social marginalization of the students' families and communities. These disadvantages, however, can be mitigated and in many cases overridden by participation in an engaging school community with high academic standards, skillful instruction, and support to achieve educational and career goals.
From page 213...
... CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS The evidence reviewed in this volume leads the committee to the following conclusions and recommendations as a means to achieve the goals of meaningful engagement and genuine improvements in achievement in schools serving economically disadvantaged students. Because our deliberations have revealed significant limits in the available evidence, the committee also specifies directions for future research.
From page 214...
... . The evidence reviewed by the committee suggests also that the following strategies can support efforts to create more engaging high school instruction: · creating schools or small learning communities (clusters or "majors")
From page 215...
... Implementing engaging instruction and effective assessment also require recruiting and retaining high-quality teachers and strengthening the repertoire of current teachers who are struggling so that all teachers have a range of available strategies to use with their students and who are skilled at adapting instruction to the needs of individual students. Recommendation 3: The committee recommends that preservice teacher preparation programs provide high school teachers deep content knowledge and a range of pedagogical strategies and understandings about adolescents and how they learn, and that schools and districts provide practicing teachers with opportunities to work with colleagues and to continue to develop their skills.
From page 216...
... Thus, for example, we urge districts and school administrators to provide summer programs and tutoring when feasible to help students who have fallen behind to progress in their skills. While students work toward meeting the high stanciarcis ultimately required, teachers need to give students more immediate and proximal incliviclualizeci goals, calibrated to students' preexisting knowledge and skills.
From page 217...
... Does the existence of the test, for example, promote teaching that focuses entirely on answering test items, without consideration for deep understanding of the subject, and does it prompt some parents to give up their hope of their child graduating from high school? Or does it engender stronger commitment in teachers and parents to support student learning?
From page 218...
... The conditions under which refusals to tolerate disrespectful behavior take place should provide learning opportunities for students and teachers. Also critical to promoting meaningful student engagement is a social context centered on learning in which all administrative decisions are made with their effects on student learning in mind and teachers leverage their closer relationships with students to "press" students to challenge themselves and develop deep understanding.
From page 219...
... A more challenging curriculum with heterogeneous grouping can be successful only if teachers are well trained to address individual student needs. Preservice teacher preparation programs and district and school administrators need to give teachers support in developing instructional approaches that meet the needs of a class of students who vary dramatically in their skill levels.
From page 220...
... To help students achieve a realistic understanding of how their high school learning experiences and mastery of learning objectives are related to their educational and career options after high school, we suggest also providing students with experiences in work settings, teachers with curriculum materials and instructional supports to integrate rigor and relevance into the core curriculum, as well as close coordination with postsecondary educational institutions. Suggested Research The committee recommends research to identify the conditions under which more respectful and mutually accountable relationships that focus on learning can be infused into a school community.
From page 221...
... Careful documentation of effective strategies for transitioning large high schools into small learning communities is also needed, along with more rigorous studies on the effects of school size that include appropriate control groups. The development and assessment of alternatives to tracking are seriously needed.
From page 222...
... Administrators in social service and health agencies and schools should seek ways to improve communication among school personnel and service providers who see the same adolescents. Suggested Research The committee recommends research designed to identify the barriers to communication and coordination among the various settings in which adolescents spend their time, and effective strategies for breaking down those barriers.
From page 223...
... The development and assessment of technological tools for improving communication among the various organizations adolescents frequent would be useful. Continued research is needed to identify essential resources and the principles underlying the effective mobilization and organization of services that address the multiple, interrelated, nonacademic needs of economically disadvantaged adolescents.
From page 224...
... Although the promise of comprehensive school reform models is still unknown, the committee believes there is value in an approach to school change that involves consideration of many aspects of district and school policies and practices including financing, community involvement, school organization, leadership, teacher professional development, curriculum, accountability, and assessment. Whether school improvements are based on existing reform models, or designed locally, a systemic approach is most likely key to their success.
From page 225...
... But schools can do better, and a fair amount is known about what they need to do to engage students cognitively and emotionally in learning. For most urban high schools, improvement requires a fundamental rethinking of how they go about their work.


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