Applying Research to Increase

Student Achievement

Meredith Greene, Ph.D.

Student Achievement

Student-level

factors

School-level

factorsTeacher-

level factors

• Home atmosphere• Learned intelligence and

background knowledge• Motivation

Student-Level Factors

Since the 1990’s, educational research has repeatedly found that there is a stronger correlation between students’ background knowledge and their achievement than between their measured intelligence and achievement.

Who Are Your Students?

• Abilities, skills• Aptitudes• Learning style preferences • Interest areas• Past experiences (in and out of school)• Level of commitment to own growth • Attitudes about learning/effort/responsibilities

Social Development / Work HabitsInteracts positively with others

Follows instructions / directions

Accepts responsibility for actions

Completes homework

Resolves conflicts appropriately

Takes pride in quality of work

Works independently Demonstrates organizational skills

Uses time effectively Takes care of own materials and belongings

Follows rules and routines Respects school property and property of others

Completes class work

Successful teaching requires two elements:

student understanding

and

student engagement.

School-level Factors

In order of impact on student achievement, most to least:

1) Guaranteed and viable curriculum

2) Challenging goals and effective feedback

3) Parent and community involvement

4) Safe and orderly environment

5) Collegiality and professionalism

Goals and Feedback

• High expectations and mild pressure to achieve

• Monitoring, tracking the extent to which goal are met

The frequency of formative assessments is related to

academic achievement.

One powerful single

modification that enhances

student achievement is timely,

specific, and non-graded

feedback.

Teacher -

These 3 factors are highly interdependent

Most effective strategies for actively processing of content:

1. Visual 2. Dramatic

3. Verbal

Specific Instructional Strategies that Affect Student Achievement

(in order, most to least)

1. Identifying similarities and differences2. Summarizing and note-taking3. Reinforcing effort and providing recognition4. Homework and practice5. Nonlinguistic representations6. Cooperative learning7. Setting objectives and providing feedback8. Generating and testing hypotheses9. Questions, cues, and advance organizers

Strategies for New Content:• Identify critical information (provide cues)• Organize students to interact with new knowledge• Preview new content• Chunk content into small portions• Ask students to summarize and clarify after each

chunk (group processing)• Elaborate on new information• Record and represent knowledge in multiple ways• Have students reflect on what they understand and

what they are still confused about

Strategies for Practice and Deepening Content

• Review• Organize groups to review or practice

skills• Practice skills, strategies, and processes• Examine similarities and differences• Examine errors in reasoning• Use homework for independent practice• Revise knowledge

Improving learning through assessment depends on five, deceptively simple, key factors:

• The provision of effective feedback to students

• The active involvement of students in their own learning

• The adjusting of teaching to take account of the results of assessments

• The recognition of the profound influence assessment has on the motivation and self-esteem of students, both crucial influences on learning

• The need for students to be able to assess themselves and understand how to improve

The most powerful single

modification that enhances

student achievement is

timely, specific, and

non-graded feedback.

Common Rubrics

• are more equitable for students• represent the most effective strategy for

determining whether the curriculum is being taught and, more importantly, learned

• promote consistency in expectations and priorities

• provide timely, accurate, and specific feedback to both students and teachers

“ . . . final grades should

never be determined by simply

averaging the grades from

several grading periods”

O’Connor, K., How to Grade for Learning: Linking Grades to Standards, Second Edition, Corwin, 2002, 135

“No student’s grade should

depend on the achievement

or behavior of other students.”

William Glasser

Students should be assessed or checked on everything (or almost everything) they do

every score should not be included in the grade.

AND

everything that is assessed and/or checked does not need a score

BUT

Consider…The amount of courses teachers took

in instructional techniques accounts for four times the variance in teacher performance than does subject-matter knowledge.

Meaningful professional development activities can account for as much variance in student achievement as does student background.

Effects on Student Achievement (with student entering at 50th percentile)Scenario

Ach Percentile after 2 years

Average school and average teacher 50th

Least effective school and least effective teacher

3rd

Most effective school and least effective teacher

37th

Least effective school and most effective teacher

63rd

Most effective school and average effective teacher

78th

Most effective school and most effective teacher

96th

According to many years of research, the single most influential component of an effective school is the individual teachers within that school.

Selected References

Marzano, R. J. (2007). The art and science of teaching: A comprehensive framework for effective instruction. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

Marzano, R. J. (2003). What works in schools: Translating research into action. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

Marzano, R. J., Pickering, D. J., and Pollock, J. E. (2001). Classroom Instruction that works: Research-based strategies for increasing student achievement. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.