k Name First Last Select up to four of the following Research Nuggets that would be relevant to planning interventions for students and aligning services. In 2000, after a decades-long war on phonics vs. whole language for a method of teaching children to read, Congress commissioned a National Reading Panel to review all the research. The panel discovered that teaching children phonics helped them become better readers, whereas teaching them whole language did not (Hanford, 2018b). Teachers who believe in the “fixed theory of mathematical intelligence,” i.e., they believe people simply have good or poor math skills and cannot change, are more likely to use “kind” strategies for poor performing students. They assign easier or less work, thus contributing to lower achievement and lower self-esteem. Teachers who believe in the “incremental theory of math intelligence” believe poor students can improve if taught correctly. Their students not only perform better mathematically, but have better self-esteem and enjoy mathematics more (Li & Schoenfeld, 2019). Although on-time high school graduation is used as a federal and state standard for measuring success of most traditional public schools, a newly published report suggests that North Carolina students are graduating on time without being prepared for post-secondary success. Since 2007, North Carolina’s graduation rates have been growing steadily and consistently for both females and males, and in all five ethnic groups (Tippett & Stanford, 2019). In 2015, in one large Pennsylvania school district, more than half of kindergartners tested below a reading benchmark score. After an intense program to teach teachers to introduce phonics into their reading instruction, 84% of kindergartners scored above the benchmark. At three schools, 100% of students scored above the benchmark (Hanford, 2018b). Minority and lower-income students are more likely to be placed in lower academic tracks, even when data indicates they should be placed on the higher track (Bromberg & Theokas, 2014; Education Trust, 2006; Neff et al., 2017c; Neff, Helms, & Raynor, 2017b, 2017a). This disparity of opportunity has been documented repeatedly in education. The tracking continues to affect minority and low-income students despite evidence that, given the opportunity, these students could perform as well as their more affluent peers (Johnson & Cutler-White, 2018, 2019). In 2017, less than 40% of fourth- and eighth-grade students were proficient in reading (Hanford, 2018a). On a 2015 survey of GEAR UP NC schools, GEAR UP high school staff reported that the longer, slower-paced versions of Math I, II, and III were indeed for struggling students. Yet analysis of the data for these GEAR UP districts showed that many high achieving students were enrolled in these versions of the courses. Comparing the Math I EOC scores of top scoring mathematics students (Levels 4 or 5 on 8th Grade Math EOG) who took the standard course and those who took the slower paced course showed that standard course students scored significantly higher on the Math I EOC (82% vs. 41% scored college ready) (GEAR UP NC FPR, 2019). Until recently, many people thought learning to read was a natural occurrence, like learning to speak. In fact, children must be taught to connect sounds with letters, i.e., phonics (Hanford, 2018b). The increase in the number of graduates who lack readiness for college or careers is being addressed at both state and federal levels. The Education Commission of the States compiled a 50-State comparison report for state legislated developmental education initiatives (Whinnery & Pompelia, 2019). Students who have not taken Algebra 1 by 8th grade will not likely be able to take advanced math or science courses before they graduate. Only 59% of U. S. schools offer algebra in 8th grade, and only 24% of students take it in 8th grade (United States Department of Education, 2018). Asian students are most likely to enroll in Algebra 1 by 8th grade, with 34%. Among black students, only 12% enroll in Algebra 1 by 8th grade (United States Department of Education, 2018). Parents and teachers can foster a growth mind-set in children through praising effort (rather than intelligence or innate ability), sharing success stories that emphasize hard work and love of learning (great mathematicians fell in love with math and developed the skills rather than were born geniuses), and likening the brain to a learning machine (teaching that the brain is like a muscle that gets stronger with use) (Dweck, 2007). Parents and school staff can work with the community to help pass laws and policies that allow parents to take off work for school functions (National Education Association, 2008). Good parental involvement in schools with high numbers of students from both sides of the economic spectrum include parents who: * want the school to be an asset to the entire community, and not just to their child. * volunteer for services and bring resources with a goal to benefit the entire school.* celebrate the diversity and believe all the children are enriched by it.* market the school, not in terms to get more people “like themselves” to enroll their children, but to get all parents to enroll their children (Cucchiara & Horvat, 2009). Many parents are unaware or unconcerned about their children’s course placement. Only 58% of parents of sixth grade students indicated they knew how placement was determined, and 58% believed placement was important. For parents of fifth grade students, only 8% believed that placement was important. More than half (55%) of the parents of sixth grade students either didn’t know their role or believed they had no role in their children’s placement. Parents can actually play a role in their children’s placement by advocating for their placement in higher level courses if they believe it is appropriate (Akos, Shoffner, & Ellis, 2007). Students will comprehend and retain what they have read better if they anticipate having to provide a summary afterward (Reading A-Z, 2010). Directed Reading-Thinking Activity (DR-TA) is a teaching strategy that guides students in making predictions about a text and then reading to confirm or refute their predictions. This is an excellent method of teaching reading to beginning students (Family Education Network, n.d.) From first to third grade, students learn to read. Beyond third grade, they are expected to read to learn. Those who have failed to learn to read are likely to fall behind in all their subjects, putting them on a downward spiral that often leads to dropping out (Reach Potential Movement, n.d.). The number of NC students potentially impacted by pre-graduation remedial education is large. In 2014, about 60% of students graduating from GEAR UP high schools did not meet the Minimum Admission Requirements (MARs) for the University of North Carolina System (UNC System) or Multiple Measures Requirements (MMR)s for the North Carolina Community College System (NCCCS). In 2017, nearly 72% of all North Carolina juniors failed to score the ACT college-ready benchmark in math (NC DPI data). Of the students in 2013, who graduated from high school and immediately enrolled in a North Carolina community college, 52% were required to take up to 10 remedial courses at the community college (General Assembly of North Carolina, 2015). Students who are not reading at grade level will benefit greatly from one-on-one tutoring (Hammond & Reimer, 2006) Improving students’ vocabularies by making connections among words and exposing students to content-related words can positively affect their reading abilities (Neuman & Wright, 2014). To encourage critical reading, teachers should ask students questions about the text before, during, and after they read. This method is useful for most subjects, from reading to social studies, and is an excellent way to structure literature homework (Family Education Network, n.d.). Examples abound of school systems that expect all of their students to perform rigorous coursework. The outcomes show the gap can be narrowed—and even eliminated—when all students, regardless of race or socioeconomic status, are held to high standards (Achieve Inc., 2008; Bromberg & Theokas, 2014; Education Trust, 2006; Garrity, 2004; Singleton & Linton, 2006; Theokas & Saaris, 2013; Van den Bergh, Denessen, Hornstra, & Voeten, 2010). For individuals who are not given proper access to a rigorous education, the consequences include lower wage earnings, poorer health, and a higher probability of incarceration (McKinsey & Company, 2009). School systems continue to associate socio-economic status and race with academic abilities. Placing high-achieving minority students on the low track is often done as the soft prejudice of low expectations by educators who mean well. Nationally, enrollment in advanced courses has become a status symbol for the elite and people with social power. In recent years, schools have tried to promote equity while preserving privilege, and as a result have developed ways of making course enrollment decisions that convey to low-income and minority students that they would not benefit from or be successful in these courses (Labaree, 2012). The result continues to be the downward trajectory of these students’ academic pathways, which can ultimately affect their careers and their livelihood. Students with similar 3rd grade math and reading scores are more likely to be placed in advanced classes if they come from households with high incomes (Cratty, 2014) Every year, in America’s high schools, over half a million low-income and minority students who are eligible for AP and IB (International Baccalaureate) classes do not enroll in these classes (Theokas & Saaris, 2013). Students from low-income households are more likely than their peers to be assigned to low tracks, regardless of their demonstrated academic ability. This low tracking begins as early as third grade. Consequently, a third grade student from a low-income household who scores average on a standardized state test is far less likely to take college prep math in high school than a third grader from a high-income household who scores average on the same test (40% vs. 75%) (Cratty, 2014). A North Carolina study examined course-taking patterns among eighth-grade students who scored at or above grade level on math EOG test. Among these students, those who enrolled in eighth-grade Algebra were three times more likely to take chemistry and physics in high school compared with the students who waited to enroll in ninth-grade Algebra. Among the students who scored Level III (at grade level), the students who enrolled in eighth-grade Algebra were 55 times more likely to take chemistry and physics in high school (SAS Institute, 2009). One study found that dropping out is often a long-term, cumulative process, with risk factors present as early as 6th grade predicting whether a student completes school. In Philadelphia, it was found that a 6th grader with even one of the following four signals had at least a three in four chance of dropping out of high school: • A final grade of F in mathematics • A final grade of F in English • Attendance below 80 percent for the year • A final “unsatisfactory” behavior mark in at least one class (Neild, Balfanz, & Herzog, 2007). Throughout the country, schools that offer AP course enrollment make them more available to white students and students from high socioeconomic backgrounds than to Black, Latino, and low-income students (Theokas & Saaris, 2013) Schools which demonstrate frequent use of suspension have higher rates of dropouts than other schools (Lehr, Johnson, Bremer, Cosio, & Thompson, 2004). High-achievers, regardless of race or socioeconomic status, take similar course loads in high school, unless they attend schools offering advanced courses like calculus. In these schools, access to the advanced courses is more restricted for Black and Latino high-achievers and high achievers from the low socioeconomic group (Bromberg & Theokas, 2014). Every year, in America’s high schools, over half a million low-income and minority students who are eligible for AP and IB (International Baccalaureate) classes do not enroll in these classes (Theokas & Saaris, 2013). In one North Carolina commissioned study in which middle school students who had demonstrated high achievement in math were reassigned to advanced math classes, the school saw a significant reduction in total suspensions the following school year (Stiff & Johnson, 2011; Stiff, Johnson, & Akos, 2011) Teens who participate in after-school activities, particularly during the “dangerous” hours of 3 pm to 7 pm, are more than three times less likely to use marijuana than teens who are left unsupervised (4% compared to 14%) (Ericson, 2001). Reading aloud to students has been found to expand their imaginations, provide new knowledge, support language acquisition, build vocabulary, and promote reading as a worthwhile, enjoyable activity (Family Education Network, n.d.). In North Carolina, a study of a large school system’s eighth and ninth grade students determined that ninth grade dropouts are more likely than the general population of students to possess at least one of three factors: • Retention in a grade or failing to have enough credits to enter tenth grade • Scoring below grade level on 8th grade EOG Math • A long-term suspension (Sparks, Johnson, & Akos, 2010). Low attendance during the first 30 days of 9th grade is a more powerful predictor than any 8th grade factor for failing 9th grade, including test scores, age and academic failure (Neild & Balfanz, 2006). High school counselors often advise low-income, high-achieving students to attend schools with low selectivity standards, despite evidence that shows they are less likely to graduate from these schools than they would schools with higher selectivity (Wyner, Bridgeland, & DiIulio, 2007) Achievement data are a better predictor of future achievement than are demographics (Finn & Finn, n.d.). Researchers analyzed data to determine the effects of tracking on students with similar math abilities and found that when high average (C+) students are placed in low, middle and high tracked courses in middle school, the percentages who will successfully complete two college prep math classes in high school are 2%, 23% and 91%, respectively. This study shows that capable students who are placed in low tracks have a decrease in self-efficacy (Burris, Heubert, & Levin, 2006). Teacher expertise is the single most important measurable predictor of student achievement, and accounts for 40% variance in student test scores (Darling-Hammond, 2010). Counselors should involve parents in the task of closing the gender gap in STEM courses through activities such as family technology nights and STEM career days (Burger & Sandy, n.d.). A recent North Carolina study compared two groups of the parents of middle school students. In both groups, the parents earned less than $30,000 per year. One group was given a brochure showing them their children could likely attend NC Community College, UNC at Chapel Hill, NC A&T, or Duke free of charge, with additional grants and scholarships to pay for books and living expenses. Actual costs (without scholarships) were also provided, to show what they were saving. The control group was not given the brochures. Afterward, the first group was far more likely to know the cost of college than was the control group (72% vs. 59%), to understand that many students pay far less than the published prices for college (65% vs. 43%), and to recognize that children from low-income families can attend college for free (68% vs. 44%) (The College Board Advocacy & Policy Center & The College Foundation of North Carolina, 2012). Middle school course placement affects achievement and course placement is strongly associated with social factors, not ability (O’Connor, Lewis, & Mueller, 2007). The number of high-achieving lower-income students nationally is larger than the individual populations of 21 states (Wyner et al., 2007) As of 2009, African American students make up 17% of student bodies in the United States, yet only 10% are placed in gifted classes. Similar figures for Hispanic students are 22% and 15%, respectively (Grissom & Redding, 2016) When teachers are allowed input to gifted program assignments, students are more likely to be recommended if their race matches that of the teacher, i.e., Black students are more likely to be recommended by Black teachers, and white students by white teachers (Grissom & Redding, 2016). High school graduates without post-secondary education are not eligible for many of North Carolina’s knowledge-based jobs (myFutureNC, 2019). Students who are required to take remedial education courses in college are less likely to graduate or earn a certification for a job which could earn them a living wage (Tippett & Stanford, 2019). In general, half of the students who need one semester of mathematics remediation leave school without graduating, and more than 70% of those who need two semesters leave school without graduating (Hughes, Edgecombe, & Snell, 2011). In North Carolina, only about 25% of students enrolled in community colleges ever attempt a college-level math course, and many of them do not successfully complete one. (Dec 2018, RISE presentation). Untitled A review of achievement test data for six years (2009-2015) showed that 9,000 low-income North Carolina students who scored at the highest academic level in math were excluded from advanced math courses, even when advocates tried to help them gain access (Neff, Helms, & Raynor, 2017c) In 2017, 47% of North Carolina high school graduates met no college readiness benchmarks on the ACT. A score of 22 on the ACT Math subscale is considered the benchmark to be college-ready for a non-STEM career path without the need for remediation courses. In 2017, the average score for North Carolina students was 19.3.
