Texas High School Project

John FitzpatrickTHSP Executive Director

February 8, 2011

Our Mission

To significantly improve the postsecondary readiness of low-income students with a focus on students in low performing schools.

Our Strategy

The Texas High School Project develops practical insights and proven solutions that can be scaled in schools and districts throughout Texas based on our evidence and data analysis across the transition from middle school (8-9) through high school (9-12) and into postsecondary programs (four-year, two- year, and technical programs).

THSP: A $375 Million Public-Private Alliance

PhilanthropyState of Texas

Scale

Interventions designed to test impact, measured by

specific improvements over a baseline

Multiple instances of interventions are designed to prove repeatability, measured by narrowed distribution

of results from the intervention proof point

Roll-out is designed for scale, measured by rate of adoption

and achievement of expected impact

Transitions

Feedback and Redesigns

One to a Few Instances Multiple, Varied Instances School Systems Statewide

Manage an R&D Pipeline for Identifying Successful Practices

THSP Focus on Four Key Strategic Areas

StudentSuccess

Education Leadership

Learning Systems

Performance Management

Teacher Effectiven

essAddressing key practices and policies that increase teacher productivity and impact

Hiring and developing campus- and district-level leaders to improve instruction and lead operations efficiently

Identifying and scaling models and practices that support better learning environments for students

Establishing infrastructure and processes for informing data-driven decision-making to increase school and district productivity

TeacherEffectiveness

• Raise Your Hand Texas

• Texas High School Project

• Communities Foundation of Texas

• The Brown Foundation

• The Meadows Foundation

• Houston Endowment

• Sid W. Richardson Foundation

How we do define and identify effective teachers?

How do we ensure that all students, particularly those who need greater support in the classroom, have effective teachers?

And how do we have this dialogue in a way that is both respectful of the profession, but still asks the right questions about teacher’s

impact on individual student achievement?

• Mathematics classes in high-poverty high schools are twice as likely to be assigned to an out-of-field teacher as are mathematics classes at affluent high schools.

• Science classes in high-poverty high schools are three times as likely to be taught by an out-of-field teacher as science classes at a affluent high school.

Early Findings

• The most critical year-to-year element is the past track record of value add.

• Teachers with high value add promote deeper conceptual understanding.

• Student perception match the value-add and objective data on student performance.

• Teachers do watch videotapes of themselves in the classroom.

PerformanceManagement

Data Diagnostic and Planning Project

EducationLeadership

THSP Superintendent Networks

Big Ten• Aldine, Austin, Corpus Christi, Dallas, El Paso,

Fort Worth, Houston, Lubbock, San Antonio, Ysleta

Rio Grande Valley• Brownsville, Harlingen, Hidalgo, La Villa, Lasara, Los Fresnos,

McAllen, Mission, Pharr-San Juan-Alamo, Port Isabel

Small and Rural • Athens, Fort Hancock, Fruitvale, Lasara, New Deal, Panola, Roscoe

LearningSystems

SRI evaluation of THSP portfolio identified academic improvement in target demographics

• THSP portfolio schools serve more economically disadvantaged, African-American, and Hispanic students compared to average Texas high schools

• T-STEM students performed better than comparison school peers on 2008–09 TAKS-Math and Science scores

• Attending an Early College High School (ECHS) had positive effects on TAKS performance in almost all core subject areas

• ECHS students had higher promotion to 10th grade and higher participation in 11th grade accelerated learning courses than peers

• T-STEM 9th graders and ECHS 9th- 11th graders demonstrated higher attendance than comparison students

‒ Largely attributed to stronger academic culture and higher expectations for T-STEM and ECHS students than peer school students

Source: SRI International “Evaluation of the Texas High School Project - Second Comprehensive Annual Report,” November 2010

THSP focus SRI independent evaluation findings

Low-Income and Minority

Students

Academic Achievement

Student Engagement

STEM program is increasing postsecondary preparation

STEM campuses achieving approximately 12% higher

TSI Math Qualification than peers

* Comparison group based on campuses matched by TEA. **Relationship also holds for reading.Source: AEIS 2010.

Notes: Weighted average based on student count. THSP portfolio does not include SWS or schools with less than two years of continuous STEM operation. TSI performance based on 11th grade exit-level TAKS. N= 13 campuses. % Complete is defined as the number of 9-12th grade students who completed at least 1 advanced course in 2008-09. N= 21 campuses.

STEM Students

Comparison Group*

Statewide

STEM Students; % TSI Math; 78%

Comparison Group*; % TSI Math; 66%

Statewide; % TSI Math; 66%

% Qualified under Texas Success Initia-tive - Higher Education Readiness

Component, Math**

STEM program is increasing postsecondary preparation

STEM students achieving approximately 21% higher rate of Advanced Courses/Dual Credit

completion than peers

* Comparison group based on campuses matched by TEA. **Relationship also holds for reading.Source: AEIS 2010.

Notes: Weighted average based on student count. THSP portfolio does not include SWS or schools with less than two years of continuous STEM operation. TSI performance based on 11th grade exit-level TAKS. N= 13 campuses. % Complete is defined as the number of 9-12th grade students who completed at least 1 advanced course in 2008-09. N= 21 campuses.

STEM Students

Comparison Group*

Statewide

STEM Students; % Completion; 40%

Comparison Group*; % Comple-

tion; 19%

Statewide; % Completion; 25%

% Completion, Advance Course/Dual Credit

STEM programs increase student engagement

* Comparison group based on campuses matched by TEA. Source: AEIS 2010. Measure based on grades 9 – 12 in 2008-09 .Notes: Weighted average based on student count. THSP portfolio does not include SWS or schools with

less than two years of continuous STEM operation. N= 21 campuses.

10X less than the state

STEM Students

Comparison Group*

Statewide

STEM Students; % Drop Out; 0.3%

Comparison Group*; % Drop Out; 1.0%

Statewide; % Drop Out; 2.9%

% Drop Out

STEM programs narrow and close ethnic achievement gaps based on key indicators of college readiness

Hispanic STEM students have demonstrated the ability to close the gap.

Source: AEIS 2010. Notes: Weighted average based on student count. THSP portfolio does not include SWS or

schools with less than two years of continuous STEM operation. TSI performance based on 11th grade exit-level TAKS. % Complete is defined as the number of 9-12 th grade students who completed at least 1 advanced course in 2008-09.

STATE STEM0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

STATE; African American; 49%

STEM; African American; 57%

STATE; Hispanic; 58%

STEM; Hispanic; 78%

% TSI 2010, Math

African AmericanHispanic

State average for white stu-dents = 78%

STATE STEM0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

STATE; African American; 18%

STEM; African Amer-ican; 34%

STATE; Hispanic; 21%

STEM; Hispanic; 43%

% Advanced Courses/Dual Credit Completion

African AmericanHispanic

State average for white stu-dents = 29%

T-STEM Centers

• Center for STEM Education and Research University of Texas at Dallas

• Transformation 2013 Collaborative of Regions 13 and 20 ESCs, Austin/San Antonio

• Aggie STEM Center Texas A&M University, College Station

• Southeast Regional T-STEM Center University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston

• El Centro Del Futuro Region 1 ESC, Edinburg

• East Texas STEM Center Ingenuity Center, University of Texas at Tyler

• Texas Tech T-STEM Center Texas Tech University, Lubbock

ECHS program is increasing postsecondary preparation

ECHS campuses achieve approximately 23% higher

TSI Math Qualification than peers

* Comparison group based on campuses matched by TEA. **Relationship also holds for reading.Source: AEIS 2010.

Notes: Weighted average based on student count. THSP portfolio does not include SWS or schools with less than two years of continuous STEM operation. TSI performance based on 11th grade exit-level TAKS. N= 13 campuses. % Complete is defined as the number of 9-12th grade students who completed at least 1 advanced course in 2008-09. N= 21 campuses.

ECHS Students

Comparison Group*

Statewide

ECHS Students; % TSI Math; 81%

Comparison Group*; % TSI Math; 58%

Statewide; % TSI Math; 66%

% Qualified under Texas Success Initiative - Higher Education Readiness Component,

Math**

ECHS program is increasing postsecondary preparation

ECHS students achieving approximately 42% higher rate of Advanced Courses/Dual Credit

completion than peers

* Comparison group based on campuses matched by TEA. **Relationship also holds for reading.Source: AEIS 2010.

Notes: Weighted average based on student count. THSP portfolio does not include SWS or schools with less than two years of continuous STEM operation. TSI performance based on 11th grade exit-level TAKS. N= 13 campuses. % Complete is defined as the number of 9-12th grade students who completed at least 1 advanced course in 2008-09. N= 21 campuses.

ECHS Students

Comparison Group*

Statewide

ECHS Students; % Completion; 64%

Comparison Group*; % Comple-

tion; 22%

Statewide; % Completion; 25%

% Completion, Advance Course/Dual Credit

Pharr-San Juan Alamo ISDMay 13, 2010

PostsecondaryAccess & Completion

Where is THSP Heading in 2011?

Stage One

• Teacher Effectiveness• Learning Systems• Postsecondary Access & Completion

Stage Two – Scaling Promising Practices

• STEM & ECHS District-wide Implementation

• Statewide STEM Strategy• Resource, Convener &

Thought Partner

Texas High School Project

John FitzpatrickTHSP Executive Director

February 8, 2011