Meaningful Urban Education Reform: Confronting the Learning Crisis in Mathematics and Science

Contents

Contents v List of Illustrations vii List of Tables ix Preface xi Acknowledgments xiii List of Abbreviations xv Chapter 1. Historical Context: How National Science Foundation Reforms Build on Earlier Reforms 1 Systemic Reform 3 School Culture—APossible 7th Driver 7 The Current Crisis: Closing the Persistent Achievement Gap 8 Assessing the Impact of the Urban Systemic Initiatives 10 The School Districts and Cities 12 Research on Systemic Reform 26 Chapter 2. The Importance of District and School Leadership 27 District and School Administrator Participants 29 Barriers to Reform 43 Influence of Assessments 44 Conclusion 45 Chapter 3. Building Relationships to Sustain Reform 47 Engaging Stakeholders 48 School-Level Reports of Increasing Stakeholder Involvement 52 Community Stakeholders’ View of USI Impact on Their Involvement 56 Conclusion 65 Chapter 4. Professional Development in Systemic Reform 67 Professional Development and Standards-Based Practices 69 Implications for Practice and Policy 84 Conclusion 86 Chapter 5. Instructional Practices in Mathematics and Science Classrooms 87 Instructional Practices 89 Understanding Instructional Practices: Our Measurement Tools 92 Looking at Instructional Practices 95 Combining Perspectives on Instructional Practices Using Cluster Analysis 114 Conclusion 129 Chapter 6. Student Engagement in Mathematics and Science 135 Experience Sampling Method 137 Conclusion 152 Chapter 7. Closing the Achievement Gap 155 Development of the Model 157 Miami-Dade Initiative 158 Chicago Initiative 172 Summary 190 Conclusion 195 Chapter 8. School Culture: The Missing Lever in Improving Student Outcomes and Achieving Sustainable Reform 196 School Culture 198 Influence of School Culture on Classroom Practices 201 Measuring School Culture, Professional Development, and Classroom Practices 203 Measuring Student Achievement, Professional Development, and Classroom Practices across Sites 206 Conclusion 213 Chapter 9. What Have We Learned? A Summary of Key Findings 215 What Matters at the District Level 216 What Matters at the School Level 218 What Matters at the Classroom Level 219 Appendix A: Instrumentation 223 Appendix B: Survey of Classroom Practices 253 Notes 269 Works Cited 271 List of Contributors 279 Index 283 vi MEANINGFUL URBAN EDUCATION REFORM ...