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60
federal and state performance targets rise over time, the percentage of schools meeting
those targets drops considerably. This reality represents a major question about the
efficacy of California schools and their ability to meet the challenge of educating students
to the desired level of proficiency in state content standards.
EdSource (2010e) shares more troubling news about California students’
performance on California state assessments: only half of students are proficient in
English-Language Arts and less than half are proficient in Mathematics. The results of
the California High School Exit Exam offer a glimmer of hope. In order to graduate,
public high school students must pass this exam, which tests ninth and tenth grade
English standards and sixth and seventh grade mathematics standards. Ninety-one
percent of the students in the class of 2009 passed the exam by the time they reached
grade 12. Still, there are great disparities in achievement as indicated by the lowest pass
rates of Hispanic/Latino and African American students, with pass rates of 87% and 81,
respectively (EdSource, 2010e). How California schools choose to allocate resources to
reach these struggling student groups is the ever-present challenge.
School finance. As earlier sections of this literature review indicate, local school
districts’ fiscal stability has been challenged because their revenues are linked to the
state’s budget. The economic crisis that has affected schools since late 2008 has resulted
in public education in California receiving $18 billion less in state funding than
anticipated over the last two budget years (California Department of Education, 2010).
As part of the overall budget solutions affecting funding for both 2008-2009 and 2009-
2010, policymakers repeatedly cut funding for K-12 schools (EdSource, 2010f). As
Object Description
| Title | Navigating troubled waters: case studies of three California high schools' resource allocation strategies in 2010-2011 |
| Author | Landisi, Brian Anthony |
| Author email | landisi@usc.edu; blandisi@charter.net |
| Degree | Doctor of Education |
| Document type | Dissertation |
| Degree program | Education (Leadership) |
| School | Rossier School of Education |
| Date defended/completed | 2011-03-28 |
| Date submitted | 2011 |
| Restricted until | Unrestricted |
| Date published | 2011-04-28 |
| Advisor (committee chair) | Picus, Lawrence O. |
| Advisor (committee member) |
Hentschke, Guilbert C. Nelson, John L. |
| Abstract | This study was conducted to examine instructional strategies and resource allocation in successful schools. The study was based on the analysis of three comprehensive high schools in one school district in Southern California. Each of the study schools increased students’ academic achievement over time as measured by sustained growth on California’s Academic Performance Index. The efforts of these study schools also contributed to narrowing the achievement gap.; Successful schools in this study were analyzed primarily through the lens of Odden’s (2009) 10 Strategies for Doubling Student Performance. In addition to effective organizational and instructional strategies, this study also analyzed human and fiscal resource allocation at the sample schools. The study used the Evidence-Based Model (Odden & Picus, 2008) to analyze how the schools allocated resources during 2010-2011, navigating a catastrophic economic crisis facing California and the rest of the nation. Interview data, student achievement data and information on school-level resource use were included in case studies on each of these successful schools.; The findings indicate that although the resource use patterns of the study schools were significantly fewer than what the Evidence-Based Model suggests, the improvement strategies showed many commonalities to those suggested in the body of literature on school improvement. Strong leadership from the district office supported the reform efforts at each of the school sites. This leadership came in the form of a single district focus combined with continuity of leadership, development and retention of talent within the district and a common school improvement framework.; A heavy investment of time and fiscal resources into professional development created a collaborative culture within and between the high schools in the study. The schools that were most successful in raising student achievement demonstrated a commitment to collaboration and embraced the role of teacher leaders. The most effective schools in the study had in place internal accountability structures to support the implementation of the school and district focus. It is the effective implementation of research-based strategies, not simply resource allocation that makes schools successful and contributes to further growth in student achievement. Implications for policy and practice are discussed. |
| Keyword | education finance; secondary education; educational leadership; budget crisis; instructional leadership; Odden and Picus; resource allocation; school finance; school reform |
| Geographic subject (county) | Los Angeles |
| Geographic subject (state) | California |
| Geographic subject (country) | USA |
| Coverage date | 2010/2011 |
| Language | English |
| Part of collection | University of Southern California dissertations and theses |
| Publisher (of the original version) | University of Southern California |
| Place of publication (of the original version) | Los Angeles, California |
| Publisher (of the digital version) | University of Southern California. Libraries |
| Provenance | Electronically uploaded by the author |
| Type | texts |
| Legacy record ID | usctheses-m3797 |
| Contributing entity | University of Southern California |
| Rights | Landisi, Brian Anthony |
| Repository name | Libraries, University of Southern California |
| Repository address | Los Angeles, California |
| Repository email | cisadmin@lib.usc.edu |
| Filename | etd-Landisi-4355 |
| Archival file | uscthesesreloadpub_Volume14/etd-Landisi-4355.pdf |
Description
| Title | Page 72 |
| Contributing entity | University of Southern California |
| Repository email | cisadmin@lib.usc.edu |
| Full text | 60 federal and state performance targets rise over time, the percentage of schools meeting those targets drops considerably. This reality represents a major question about the efficacy of California schools and their ability to meet the challenge of educating students to the desired level of proficiency in state content standards. EdSource (2010e) shares more troubling news about California students’ performance on California state assessments: only half of students are proficient in English-Language Arts and less than half are proficient in Mathematics. The results of the California High School Exit Exam offer a glimmer of hope. In order to graduate, public high school students must pass this exam, which tests ninth and tenth grade English standards and sixth and seventh grade mathematics standards. Ninety-one percent of the students in the class of 2009 passed the exam by the time they reached grade 12. Still, there are great disparities in achievement as indicated by the lowest pass rates of Hispanic/Latino and African American students, with pass rates of 87% and 81, respectively (EdSource, 2010e). How California schools choose to allocate resources to reach these struggling student groups is the ever-present challenge. School finance. As earlier sections of this literature review indicate, local school districts’ fiscal stability has been challenged because their revenues are linked to the state’s budget. The economic crisis that has affected schools since late 2008 has resulted in public education in California receiving $18 billion less in state funding than anticipated over the last two budget years (California Department of Education, 2010). As part of the overall budget solutions affecting funding for both 2008-2009 and 2009- 2010, policymakers repeatedly cut funding for K-12 schools (EdSource, 2010f). As |
