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245
Cirrus High School has made tremendous progress on another front, however.
Since September, the associate principal has worked to create a CAHSEE Pre-Test that is
used to help students, parents and teachers understand students’ current performance
levels and set goals for the actual exam. The assessment was created in-house using
released items and test bank questions from the Data Director data repository. Ninth and
tenth graders sat for the first administration in November 2010. Results of the Cirrus
CAHSEE Pre-Test were sent home in the students’ primary language and suggestions
were offered on how to prepare for the upcoming exam in March. Administrators held a
follow-up meeting to present intervention options and after school help to families.
Teachers met to discuss the results and design appropriate interventions. Administrators
visited each tenth grade English/World History class to set goals with students related to
their performance on the upcoming CAHSEE exam. The principal acknowledges that the
development of this assessment tool has provided a valuable feedback loop as the Pre-
Test involves all stakeholders and helps build a culture focused on academic
achievement.
While many of the conversations surrounding data and the setting of instructional
goals are conducted in the ILT, a concerted effort has been made by the associate
principal to consciously share data in faculty meetings. Most of the presentations come
in the form of PowerPoint slides with charts and graphs, and the administrator leads the
subsequent discussions. This stems from the fact that many teachers have yet to see a
connection between their role as teacher and student performance outcomes. The ILT
continues to use research to emphasize the social justice aspects of what educators do on
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 257 |
| Contributing entity | University of Southern California |
| Repository email | cisadmin@lib.usc.edu |
| Full text | 245 Cirrus High School has made tremendous progress on another front, however. Since September, the associate principal has worked to create a CAHSEE Pre-Test that is used to help students, parents and teachers understand students’ current performance levels and set goals for the actual exam. The assessment was created in-house using released items and test bank questions from the Data Director data repository. Ninth and tenth graders sat for the first administration in November 2010. Results of the Cirrus CAHSEE Pre-Test were sent home in the students’ primary language and suggestions were offered on how to prepare for the upcoming exam in March. Administrators held a follow-up meeting to present intervention options and after school help to families. Teachers met to discuss the results and design appropriate interventions. Administrators visited each tenth grade English/World History class to set goals with students related to their performance on the upcoming CAHSEE exam. The principal acknowledges that the development of this assessment tool has provided a valuable feedback loop as the Pre- Test involves all stakeholders and helps build a culture focused on academic achievement. While many of the conversations surrounding data and the setting of instructional goals are conducted in the ILT, a concerted effort has been made by the associate principal to consciously share data in faculty meetings. Most of the presentations come in the form of PowerPoint slides with charts and graphs, and the administrator leads the subsequent discussions. This stems from the fact that many teachers have yet to see a connection between their role as teacher and student performance outcomes. The ILT continues to use research to emphasize the social justice aspects of what educators do on |
