Policy interest in the challenge of improving urban high schools has grown recently, as high-profile business leaders and politicians have called the preparedness of graduates for college work into question. The National Governor's Association and President Bush have cited high school reform as a top education priority. Across the nation, foundations, large and small, are attempting to finance a revolution to push the archaic world of secondary education into the 21st century. Still, the majority of urban high school students - those served in large comprehensive high schools - have yet to benefit from their new high profile among politicians and reform funders.
The purpose of this report, Scaling Up: Reform Lessons for Urban Comprehensive High Schools, is to lay out an action agenda for large comprehensive high schools and to clarify what needs to happen at the school, district and state levels in order for sustainable change to take effect. This report highlights the lessons that comprehensive high schools must heed in enacting improvement efforts and provides promising examples of urban high schools that are making it possible for all students to achieve at high levels. The report also explores three interrelated pieces of the reform puzzle, each of which is an essential component of whole school improvement. These pieces are: personalizing the learning environment, building teacher capacity, and setting and meeting high expectations for all students.
This report builds on the December 2003 Rennie Center report, Head of the Class, which detailed the characteristics of higher performing urban high schools in Massachusetts. Scaling Up continues the work of Head of the Class by addressing the question of how we can take the lessons of urban high schools to scale. Throughout the report, considerations are provided for leaders at the school, district and state levels. Some report recommendations include:
- Provide ongoing opportunities for teachers to collaborate and engage in high quality, content-based professional development at the school level;
- Create a sense of urgency at the district level around improvement based on student data; and,
- Commit resources to urban high school improvement at the state level.
Summary of Head of the Class: Characteristics of Higher Performing Urban High Schools in Massachusetts [Report]
With few exceptions, urban high schools that serve high proportions of low-income and minority youth are failing to meet the academic needs of their students, according to a new study released by the Rennie Center for Education Research and Policy at MassINC. Using a range of indicators, some of which include: attendance rates, drop-out rates, college plan data, and MCAS scores, Head of the Class: Characteristics of Higher Performing Urban High Schools in Massachusetts identifies just one Bay State high school as "high performing:" University Park Campus School in Worcester.
The report identifies eight other non-selective urban high schools that are on the road to success in helping their students achieve at high levels (the study's parameters were 50% minority and 45% low-income). The eight schools are:
- Academy of the Pacific Rim, Hyde Park, Boston
- Lynn Classical High School, Lynn
- Accelerated Learning Lab School (ALL), Worcester
- Media & Technology Charter High School (MATCH), Boston
- Boston Arts Academy, Boston
- Sabis International Charter School, Springfield
- Fenway High School, Boston
- Somerville High School, Somerville
The report details five common practices that were found across all nine schools:
- High standards and expectations: Administrators communicate high standards and expectations for students and teachers;
- A culture of personalization: Each school has been able to develop a culture that personalizes instruction, while offering significant supports for teachers and students;
- Small learning communities: Size is critical to students and teachers forming strong, trusting relationships, and the ability of teachers to respond to student needs;
- Data-driven curricula: These schools respond to data on student performance - including those that put a heightened focus on math and literacy; and
- Strong community relationships: Parents, corporate partners, and higher education institutions provide important supports
The small number of schools identified in the report points to the existence of a persistent and far-reaching achievement gap, despite the important gains made in student learning since the Massachusetts Education Reform Act was passed in 1993. Educators and policymakers concerned about achieving high standards for all students in the Commonwealth need to attend to this stark disparity with urgency.