Data Connection
What are the characteristics of high-performing campuses and those that have shown significant improvement over time? How do these campuses differ from those showing less gain? These are questions that every educator has, and ones that have been the focus of decades of research focusing on school success.
A preliminary examination of Texas Reading First data from classroom observations of instructional strategies, surveys of professional knowledge, 3-Tier Model implementation practices, and campus leadership provides promising insights into some of the differences between the two types of campuses. Listed below are practices that distinguish the more successful campuses from the less successful ones. These findings are consistent with findings documented in the larger body of research in the area of school success and reform.
3-Tier Model
- All students are provided a protected minimum of 90 uninterrupted minutes of core instructional time daily.
- The campus sets a well-defined Tier II and Tier III entry and exit criteria.
- Tier II and III students are provided at least 30 minutes of additional intensive intervention (outside the core).
- The campus creates and follows a plan for assessing and providing intervention instruction to students who arrive after assignments to intervention are made.
Curriculum and Intervention Coordination
- Classroom and special education and/or Title I teachers plan curriculum together to ensure consistency for students needing intervention.
- The campus actively promotes teacher monitoring and peer observations to build capacity.
- Teachers and interventionists meet regularly to discuss student performance and to plan coordinated instruction.
Leadership
- Administrators spend time in classrooms observing and providing constructive feedback.
- Administrators participate in grade-level meetings to analyze student performance data and to plan instruction.
- Administrators provide direction in the areas of curriculum, teaching, and learning.
Effective Instruction Strategies (Frequency and Quality of implementation)
Educators:
- Identify elements and objectives to be learned.
- Monitor performance during activities and lessons.
- Pace effectively within and between tasks.
- Provide scaffolding during lessons and practice.
- Reteach when necessary.
- Sequence appropriately.
- Provide adequate student response time.
- Use clear language when providing explanations.