AMERICA'S CHOICE

Evidence of positive effects on student achievement		?
Year introduced in schools		Program named "America's Choice" in 1998
Number of schools		300
Support developer provides schools
First-year costs      with new staff      with current staff reassigned		$190,000 $90,000
= Strong	= Promising		= Marginal
= Mixed, Weak		? = No Research

OVERVIEW

The primary goal of America's Choice is to raise academic achievement by holding students to high standards in the core subjects of English, language arts, mathematics, and science. This includes proficiency in reading by the third grade, readiness for algebra by the eighth grade, the ability to write clearly and concisely by the tenth grade, and knowledge of biology, chemistry, and physics (for a Certificate of Initial Mastery) by graduation from high school.

The America's Choice School Design centers on five areas: standards and assessments, learning environments, community services and support, high-performance management, and public and parent engagement.

America's Choice is one of several approaches sponsored by New American Schools, a national initiative to develop replicable schoolwide reform programs.

America's Choice evolved over the past decade, growing out of work by the National Center on Education and the Economy (NCEE) to support and develop standards and assessments. According to the developer, the approach is based on reviews of the research in many areas, including learning theory, standards and assessments, curriculum, and modern management. Beginning in 1992, together with another center, 17 states, and six districts, NCEE developed internationally benchmarked student performance standards and matching reference exams. Subsequently, NCEE began to develop curricula to match performance standards and exams.

In 1998, NCEE codified its research and experience into the current America's Choice design. Since the approach has been the product of such gradual evolution over the years, very few schools, if any, incorporate the full range of America's Choice. Thus, it is difficult to determine the number of schools that could be considered "America's Choice" schools. According to the developers, however, America's Choice serves all grade levels in urban, suburban, and rural districts, and there were an estimated 300 schools in 14 states using the approach as of July 1998.

EVIDENCE OF POSITIVE EFFECTS ON STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT

Strength of the Research Base. As a schoolwide approach, America's Choice is relatively new, and rigorous research on student achievement outcomes is not yet available. No publicly available research studies use rigorous methodology to critically evaluate outcomes of the approach.

However, the developer has begun to collect student test data from several sites. These data are publicly available from the developer. In addition, the Consortium for Policy Research in Education currently is under contract to conduct research on the effectiveness of this approach.

Some research on implementation does exist. Four studies, conducted by contracted independent researchers, track the implementation progress of the America's Choice schools sponsored by the New American Schools Project, a national school reform effort.

Effects on Students. At the time of this report, there were no studies on which to base conclusions about the effectiveness of America's Choice. However, the reader is encouraged to obtain and evaluate the existing test data and the research base on which America's Choice is founded.

CENTRAL COMPONENTS

Organizational Change, Staffing, and Administrative Support. The approach includes a component that targets the organization and management of school districts. It holds that the role of the central administration is to provide schools with clear goals, collect accurate data about progress toward those goals, share decision-making power with those most closely connected to the work being done in schools (e.g., teachers, classroom aides, principals, and parents), and hold schools and school staffs accountable and reward them as appropriate.

America's Choice also emphasizes the roles of several school leaders: the principal, design coach, literacy coordinator (K-8), school-to-career coach (high school), community outreach coordinator, a site council, and the leadership and management team. The developer expects the principal to be the instructional leader and human and financial resources leader, as well as to ensure that the staff has the tools needed to improve student achievement. The design coach's role is to coordinate the implementation of America's Choice at the school in conjunction with the principal. The literacy coordinator's role is to work individually with K-8 teachers to help them use instructional strategies recommended by the developers. The role of the school-to-career coach in high schools is to help teachers use learning standards in the curriculum, connect the high school to business and industry and postsecondary institutions, and coordinate implementation. The community outreach coordinator serves as the school's liaison to the community and focuses on helping students and families receive social support services as needed. A site council monitors implementation of the approach. The leadership and management team, consisting of the principal, design coach, literacy coordinator, community outreach coordinator, school-to-career coach, and other school staff, implements the approach.

The developer requires that teachers above second grade specialize in two or three subjects (e.g., English and social studies, or math and science). The developer reasons that specializing in subjects will help teachers guide students toward a deeper understanding of those subjects.

Each America's Choice high school is divided into houses of fewer than 400 students. Each house has a separate team of teachers, a head teacher, and relative autonomy.

Curriculum and Instruction. With the emphasis on standards in America's Choice schools, the curriculum is critical. The approach lays out a detailed program of instruction. According to the developer, the prekindergarten and kindergarten curricula emphasize early literacy education and phonemic awareness. The curricula for kindergarten through eighth grade emphasize writing and reading, using both phonics and whole language approaches to reading instruction. Additional attention is given to mathematics, art, music, science, physical education, and social studies.

The high school curriculum includes the standard set of academic core subjects (English, mathematics, science, social studies, etc.). Students take America's Choice eighth-grade reference examinations in English language arts and mathematics to help teachers plan instruction that meets students' needs.

America's Choice also includes a program entitled "on-ramps" at both the elementary and secondary levels, to provide tutoring for students who lag behind in mathematics and reading.

Supplies and Materials. NCEE publishes classroom materials that are recommended, but not required. In addition, the developer provides workshops to help school staff find materials that meet the new standards. NCEE also offers help to teachers interested in developing their own materials. Through Harcourt Brace, the developer offers America's Choice schools access to performance standards, reference examinations, practice tests, and sample items and model responses that were used on the examinations.

Scheduling and Grouping. The developer recommends small groups, classes, and schools. In the primary grades, 20 students per class is recommended. In the secondary grades, the approach recommends 400 students per "house." Planning time must be set aside for the teacher team of each house, as well as for teachers of the same content area at each grade level, to discuss instructional practices. The same standards and materials apply to all classes. The developer does not suggest any specific strategy for grouping students within classes.

America's Choice also uses "class teachers." Through eighth grade, these are teachers who are assigned to students for at least three school years. Thus, a student has the same teacher and classmates for three consecutive years. In high schools, the class teacher stays with students and advises them until they meet the Certificate of Initial Mastery standard. Class teachers teach and advise students, and are the main contact for parents.

For primary grades, the developer requires the first two and one-half hours of each day to be set aside for literacy. Of this block, one-half hour is for instruction in phonics skills, spelling, vocabulary, and grammar; one hour for writing; and another hour for reading. The next hour is dedicated to mathematics. Twice a week, one hour of art and music is scheduled. Two hours per week each are provided for science, social science, and physical education. For upper elementary grades, the approach designates two hours daily for reading, writing, literature, and the humanities, one hour for mathematics, and "substantial time weekly" for science, art, music, social studies, and physical education. For grades six through eight, one four-hour block per day is mandated for English language arts, mathematics, science, and social science.

Monitoring of Student Progress and Performance. Since the goal of the approach is to raise achievement by holding students to high standards, teachers are required to monitor student progress in meeting the standards regularly, using weekly oral and written assessments that are embedded in the curriculum. The developer expects students to earn a Certificate of Initial Mastery by their junior year, demonstrating proficiency against the standards for English language arts, mathematics, biology, physics, and chemistry.

America's Choice schools use the America's Choice Reference Examinations to measure student growth, and the America's Choice Portfolio System to make sure students' work covers the full set of standards over time. The Reference Examinations, published by Harcourt Brace, are based on the America's Choice Performance Standards in English language arts, and mathematics for fourth, eighth, and tenth grades. According to the developer, a Reference Examination in science for grades four, eight, and ten is under development and will be available in 1999.

Family and Community Involvement. The developer requires schools to have a community outreach coordinator to support students and their families (e.g., helping families access social services). A school-to-career coordinator is required in high schools to help develop a link between students and employers and postsecondary institutions in the area. According to the developer, both of these positions can be, and usually are, filled by existing personnel.

SUPPORT THE DEVELOPER PROVIDES SCHOOLS

Professional Development and Technical Assistance. America's Choice encourages continual professional development, providing workshops covering performance standards, examinations referenced to those standards, curriculum materials, and planning. Professional development provided by the National Center on Education and the Economy generally begins with workshops, followed by time for staff to practice, and opportunities for staff to reconvene for discussion and further training.

The developer provides intensive training for school leaders:

• Literacy coordinators are expected to attend four one-week institutes on literacy instruction every year for the first two years of implementation. These institutes involve work in schools, where the trainers model and the literacy coordinators try out new techniques for instruction.

• There are three parts to the training for design coaches. A first workshop is on learning the standards, scoring student work against the standards, and understanding the exams. A second workshop is on building a planning process based on student assessment. A third workshop is on the curriculum: choosing texts that are relevant to the standards and, if necessary, developing curriculum materials.

• Community outreach coordinators are expected to participate in two workshops: one is a full-day session with follow-up on parent involvement in the school; the other, provided by the Center for Social Policy, is a part-day workshop on integrated social services.

• Principals participate in a principals' network with peers from other America's Choice schools.

Professional development for teachers is provided by these school leaders (e.g., design coach, literacy coordinator, cluster leaders) or, for special situations, trainers from the developer staff. For example, the literacy coordinator works individually with teachers to help them develop instructional strategies. After participating in the institutes on literacy, the literacy coordinator sets up a model classroom with one of the best teachers in the school. When that teacher is proficient in the recommended strategies, the literacy coordinator works with a second teacher. This process continues until the entire school is trained.

Up to seven days of technical assistance at the school are offered. In addition, the National Center on Education and the Economy sponsors an annual national conference; registration for five teachers each year is included in the fees paid to the developer.

Implementation Requirements and Schools' Experiences. According to the developer, before implementation begins, a "substantial majority" of the faculty must commit to the America's Choice program and agree to phase it in over three years.

The developer recommends a three-year plan for implementation. The first year should be spent orienting school staff to the approach and standards; planning; preparing for and conducting the Reference Examinations; working on the school design; and conducting professional development. For elementary schools, the literacy coordinator participates in training, and for high schools, the school-to-career coordinator begins training.

In the second year, the school continues planning, working on the school design, participating in professional development, and testing students with the Reference Examinations; the school also begins using the results of the Reference Examinations and using core assignments in the curriculum. The literacy coordinator in elementary schools continues training and begins coaching teachers; in high schools, the school-to-work coordinator continues training and begins implementing that component.

In the third year, the school continues everything begun in the second year and begins designing extended student work assignments. In elementary schools, the literacy coordinator continues coaching teachers and a math institute is offered. The school-to-career coordinator continues training and implementing the approach in high schools.

Four studies on implementation show varied results. After two years, America's Choice schools have low levels of implementation, but have made some progress. Research found that America's Choice schools had succeeded in setting up school governance committees after two years, a component that tends to be particularly problematic for other reforms. America's Choice schools had also made progress in establishing standards and assessments, involving the community, providing professional development, working with district and state administrators, and reorganizing the schools. In some cases, America's Choice was successfully combined with other comprehensive reform approaches, (i.e., Different Ways of Knowing). Less progress was made on changing instruction and curriculum, reorganizing students' class assignments, and providing access to integrated social services.

The research also suggests that the approach's comparatively low levels of implementation are due to the relatively large number of schools involved in simultaneous scale-up and the complexity of the design. A serious problem was that, due to the size and complexity of the model, implementation of some elements had been delayed by the failure to implement others. For example, many teachers delayed making changes to their curricula and instruction until they knew more about the standards and assessments.

COSTS

The first-year cost of adopting America's Choice is $190,000. This covers professional development, including estimated staff release time; materials; and an estimated two staff positions. However, schools can lower this to $90,000 if they reassign current staff to fill various coach and coordinator positions.

For an elementary or K-8 school of 500 students, the developer charges $65,000 a year for three years. This includes up to seven days of technical assistance at the school each year, copies of America's Choice Performance Standards for each teacher, four weeks of training for a literacy coordinator, training of a design coach, workshop materials for faculty professional development, participation in periodic meetings of the principals' network, and registration for five teachers at the annual America's Choice National Conference.

The developer estimates that participating elementary schools will bear the following costs: a design coach, literacy coordinator, and community outreach coordinator (expected to be covered by Title 1 funds); travel for training of the literacy coordinator and design coach; tutoring; release time for faculty professional development; travel and related costs for attendance at the America's Choice National Conference; administering the Reference Exams (about $650 per class); release time for teacher planning integral to the design; and supplies for the literacy coordinator (about $1,000 per coordinator).

Other than the developer's fee, costs for high schools are anticipated to be comparable to costs for elementary schools. The developer charges $95,000 per year for high schools of up to 1,200 students. The same number of additional staff are required, although high schools use a school-to-career coach rather than a literacy coordinator.

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