A group of high schools that received special assistance in blending academic and vocational studies and modifying instructional strategies was successful in raising the achievement of career-bound high school students between 1993/94 and 1996. These AIM sites showed substantial progress in student performance and in improving school and classroom practices related to student achievement.

The positive results included:

• The reading and mathematics scores of career-bound students at AIM sites increased significantly between 1993/94 and 1996.
• The percentage of career-bound students at AIM sites who met the HSTW performance goals in reading and mathematics increased substantially more between 1993/94 and 1996 than the percentage at experienced HSTW sites. The percentage who met the science goal increased slightly.
• AIM sites made more progress than experienced HSTW sites in enrolling career-bound students in higher-level academic courses.
• AIM sites made more progress than experienced sites in engaging career-bound students in completing challenging learning activities.

While 18 HSTW sites were selected for the AIM project, only 15 schools completed the full process and participated in the 1996 HSTW Assessment. These schools represented a diversity of student characteristics, school sizes and structures and geographic locations. Like all schools in the HSTW network, these sites had adopted a goal of improving the achievement of career-bound students by implementing key practices that focus on combining high-level academic learning with challenging career studies. The heart of the High Schools That Work school improvement strategy is the integration of demanding academic and vocational-technical studies.

The purpose of the AIM project was to develop, demonstrate and disseminate information about school and classroom practices for integrating academic and vocational studies. HSTW sites receive assistance from SREB in the form of assessment, technical assistance, staff development and information services.

Each AIM site organized a team or teams of academic and vocational teachers and administrators to plan and implement programs of study that prepare career-bound students to enter postsecondary education and/or employment. Using small grants from project funds, participating schools gave teams of teachers time to plan interdisciplinary learning activities and supported team members’ participation in HSTW workshops and networking sessions.

Because of the varied needs of the sites, no single model of integrated learning was emphasized. The integrated learning approaches developed by the 15 sites included in-depth team projects, short-term projects, individual or group senior projects, thematic units and team teaching.

Some care must be taken in evaluating the gains of students at the AIM sites. Although AIM activities undoubtedly played a role in the positive changes that took place at these schools, they cannot receive all of the credit. For example:

• The project lasted only two years;
• The number of students tested at each site was small;
• No “control” group of non- AIM students was available for testing;
• Some sites had been in HSTW for a number of years and had already made progress in integrating the curriculum.

Findings from the 1996 Assessment

The High Schools That Work Assessment, administered biennially since 1988, measures the achievement of “vocational completers” in reading, mathematics and science. Vocational completers—also referred to as career-bound youth—are students completing at least four courses in a broad career area. Nearly 17,000 students at 555 HSTW sites participated in the 1996 assessment. A total of 844 of these students were enrolled at 15 AIM sites. (Three AIM sites did not test in 1996 due to scheduling or other problems.)

The 1996 results showed that students at AIM sites as well as experienced sites scored significantly higher in reading and mathematics in 1996 than in 1993/94. How-ever, the progress at AIM sites was significantly greater than that of experienced sites. (See Figure 1.)

Even though the AIM sites as a group failed to achieve average scores that met the HSTW performance goals in reading, mathematics and science, eight of the sites reached goal in one or more areas. The group’s increases toward goal between 1993/94 and 1996 were substantial in reading and mathematics but were slight in science. A larger proportion of AIM sites than experienced sites showed improvement in each of three achievement areas—reading, mathematics and science. (See Figure 2.)

The annual reports from AIM sites also showed evidence of progress in student achievement. For example, eight sites reported gains in state assessment results and/or other standardized tests such as the Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT), American College Testing (ACT) program and Adult Basic Learning Exams (ABLE).

What Happened at AIM Sites to Raise Student Achievement?

SREB looked at the results of HSTW student and teacher surveys and on-site findings by MPR in an attempt to explain why the AIM sites made greater strides than the experienced sites between 1993/94 and 1996 even though the AIM sites had a more diverse student population. (See Figure 3.) The student survey is administered at the time of the students’ reading, mathematics and science tests. The teacher survey is administered to gather information on teachers’ instructional practices and perceptions of their career-bound students. MPR Associates analyzes the results of the teacher survey in relation to the HSTW goals and key practices.

SREB found four possible reasons that AIM sites excelled in raising student achievement:

AIM sites taught higher-level academic and vocational content to career-bound students.

These schools had successfully replaced—or were in the process of replacing—the general track and were requiring career-bound students to complete an upgraded academic core of college preparatory-level English, mathematics and science courses as well as a major in an academic or vocational area. Transcript information showed that a much larger percentage of students at AIM sites than at experienced sites in 1996 were completing the HSTW-recommended curriculum of high-level English, mathematics and science courses and a career concentration. The percentages included 55 percent in English at AIM sites, compared to 34 percent at experienced sites; 73 percent in mathematics at AIM sites compared to 66 percent at experienced sites; and 60 percent in science at AIM sites, compared to 42 percent at experienced sites. (See Figure 4.)

The percentage of career-bound students taking more mathematics courses increased at AIM sites between 1993/94 and 1996, while the percentage at experienced sites remained about the same. The percentage of students taking four or more science courses doubled at AIM sites between 1994 and 1996 but increased by only six percent at experienced sites. AIM sites also made more progress than experienced sites in enrolling more students in higher-level mathematics and science courses. (See Figures 5 and 6.)

Technical assistance teams visiting the AIM sites noted examples of how these schools enrolled career-bound students in more challenging courses:

• Sussex Technical High School in Georgetown, Delaware, requires all students to complete a rigorous academic curriculum linked to technical-based studies.
• Maury High School in Norfolk, Virginia, did away with the general diploma and set stricter requirements for Algebra I, geometry, lab science and vocational concentrations.
• Lawrence North High School and McKenzie Career Center in Indianapolis, Indiana, replaced low-level academic courses and strengthened the grading system.

In interviews with the MPR project evaluation team, teachers at AIM sites reported that they had changed their perceptions of what students were capable of doing and, as a consequence, were providing more opportunities for students to demonstrate their talents and abilities in learning more complex content.

Advanced integration sites used more engaging instructional strategies.

As academic and vocational teachers planned together across disciplines, participated in common staff development and networked with other school teams, more teachers at AIM sites than at experienced sites made more progress in using engaging instructional strategies. In 1996 more students at AIM sites than at experienced sites reported that they made oral presentations more than twice a year, completed mathematics projects using mathematics as it is used on the job, completed joint academic and vocational assignments more than twice a year and had mathematics teachers who related mathematics to the real world weekly.

AIM sites were more likely than experienced sites to engage students in activities that relate positively to student achievement. These activities include applying academic knowledge and skills in solving problems like those found in the workplace and collecting, evaluating, organizing and presenting information. (See Figure 7.) These findings from the HSTW Student Survey were echoed in the MPR teacher interviews. Teachers at AIM sites reported that they were requiring more academic skills in vocational classes, using more “real-life” applications in academic classes and assigning more “hands-on” projects.

Students at AIM sites told the MPR team that they were seeing a stronger relationship between their school work and the real world. They also said they saw the importance of teamwork and that their integrated learning activities had helped them learn how to work in teams. This was echoed by the teacher survey in which a much higher percentage of teachers from AIM sites reported having students write to clarify and communicate ideas, assigning projects of value to the students and using manipulatives and hands-on projects to make content more concrete. Teachers working together across disciplines seemed to spur greater changes in teacher behavior.

AIM sites set higher standards and required more effort from career-bound students.

Cross-curriculum planning, staff development and networking with other sites seemed to promote positive changes in teachers’ perceptions about the abilities of career-bound students to meet more demanding standards.

A larger percentage of teachers at AIM sites than at experienced sites—43 percent compared to 31 percent—agreed strongly that career-bound students are expected to meet the same standards as students planning to enter a four-year college or university. More teachers from AIM sites (53 percent compared to 45 percent at experienced sites) also felt the school should develop students’ problem-solving skills, while 40 percent at AIM sites compared to 33 percent at experienced sites encouraged students to use high-level academic content in solving real-world problems. More teachers from AIM sites also ex-pressed the belief that vocational teachers should require students to use reading, writing, mathematics and science in completing vocational assignments.

Students at AIM sites in 1996 were more likely to complete activities outside of class for credit than were students at experienced sites. These activities included doing homework, reading books and completing short writing assignments. For example, 10 percent fewer students at AIM sites than at experienced sites reported they did not have homework or usually did not do it daily.

Increased student motivation appears to be another positive result at AIM sites. Teachers reported that students working on integrated learning projects seemed to be more highly motivated to work on projects after school. Students told the MPR evaluation team that they felt “productive” when doing their integration projects.

The MPR evaluation team found that students at AIM sites were being evaluated using performance-based approaches such as portfolios and projects in which they applied research skills to problems related to their vocational concentrations. As teacher teams at AIM sites were exposed to new approaches, they were receptive to trying them.

AIM sites provided guidance in helping career-bound students select and complete a challenging program of study.

A critical factor in improving the quality of learning for career-bound students is to ensure that students complete a challenging four-year program of academic and vocational studies. Several items in the HSTW student survey capture information concerning the level of support students receive in planning a program of study for high school and beyond.

Students at AIM sites were somewhat more likely than students at experienced sites to have received encouragement and support in planning a program of study. Over half of the students in both groups said they received the most help prior to grade 10. Neither the AIM sites nor the experienced sites seemed to be doing a very good job of involving parents with their sons and daughters in the planning process.

It is not surprising that the annual reports from several AIM sites listed “strengthen the guidance and advisement system” as a priority. The exemplary guidance practices implemented at many HSTW sites include requiring career plans for ninth-graders, offering transition courses in grade 9 and developing guidance manuals for teachers and students.

AIM sites created a climate of continuous improvement.

High Schools That Work is a school-wide revitalization effort aimed at revising academic and vocational studies, raising standards for student learning, arranging for academic and vocational teachers to plan and work together and giving students the guidance, support and extra help needed to complete a challenging program of study. This revitalization can occur only when school leaders and teachers see a need for improvement, make a commitment to change and receive support for their efforts.

The AIM process—cross-discipline teams, common planning time, staff development and networking with teams from other schools—allowed teachers to examine beliefs and practices, adopt new teaching methods and change school practices.

Several AIM sites made changes in what and how they taught and how they were organized to support integrated learning and student achievement. Five sites adopted block scheduling to allow students to take more courses, including vocational courses. One site established “learning clusters” staffed by teams of academic and vocational teachers. Seven sites involved business and industry partners in developing curricula and evaluating student projects. Some sites provided planning time for teachers at the site and at other schools (vocational centers, middle schools and postsecondary institutions) to coordinate instruction. Six sites introduced year-long senior projects for 12th-graders.

Technical assistance teams have found that the changes at AIM sites are lasting. At one school, integrated learning has been incorporated into career majors such as pre-engineering, technical design and maritime trades. Senior projects are now a tradition at several schools. One school has made curriculum integration a priority at all grade levels and across all academic and technical programs.

As might be expected, more teachers at AIM sites than at experienced sites reported that they frequently worked as members of teams to plan collaborative instruction. More teachers at the AIM sites also reported having students complete joint assignments for academic and vocational classes.

More teachers who completed the teacher survey at AIM sites in 1996:

• Were teaching high-level content in vocational courses and having students apply academic content in real-world activities;
• Were familiar with the content and goals of other teachers’ courses and were increasingly meeting as teams to plan integrated instruction.

Teachers at AIM sites reported to the MPR team that the project had resulted in improved communication—teacher-to-teacher, teacher-to-student and department-to-department. This led to increased use of examples from other disciplines and to common learning objectives across departments. Teachers also said they felt less isolated and had support from other teachers as a result of the effort to integrate learning experiences. Teachers felt confident that they could change their instructional approaches to advance student learning.

Observations

The process of achieving the HSTW goals and key practices, and of advancing student learning, seems to occur more readily and at a faster rate when cross-discipline teams of academic and vocational teachers receive common time to do curriculum planning, support for common staff development and frequent opportunities to network and share ideas with teams of teachers from other schools.

Teams at the AIM sites benefited from the outside push from HSTW, from contact with other teams and from having time to plan together at the local level. The AIM process created conditions that allowed teachers to examine beliefs and existing school and classroom practices, to experiment with unfamiliar techniques, to question current school practices and to suggest changes. More teachers at the AIM sites tried new approaches within and outside their classrooms to engage students in completing challenging assignments and to better connect the content to students’ interests and to what they were learning in other classes.

There is some evidence that experiences at the AIM sites enabled teachers to challenge underlying beliefs about the capacity of certain students and to begin the process of changing what is expected of these students, what they are taught and how they are taught. More teachers at AIM schools than at experienced schools have worked through the barriers of accommodation and have developed a greater consensus and willingness to enroll career-bound students in more demanding courses. Teachers at the AIM schools became invested in these students and began to see them as more capable, more willing to learn and more likely to accept responsibility for their learning. This resulted in accelerating the pace at which the school was shifting from low to high expectations for career-bound students.

There is some evidence that when academic and vocational teachers work together in teams, they gain confidence and a greater willingness to enroll career-bound students in more demanding courses. This is based on the belief that teachers can motivate career-bound youth to work hard to meet higher standards. As teachers begin to understand that these youth need high-level academic skills to pursue further studies or to advance in a primary career pathway, they become more willing to abandon the sorting and accommodating of the past and to try new methods of instruction.

A major lesson learned from the AIM sites is that teachers need time to confront obstacles within themselves, their colleagues and the school and to take thoughtful action that can make a difference. Unless high school teachers are given the opportunity to rethink teaching and learning for career-bound students, the self-fulfilling prophecy of low achievement will likely continue for many of these youth.

Not all sites were successful in addressing all of the barriers. For example, several AIM sites encountered roadblocks that they were not completely able to overcome, including:

• Changes in leadership. One site had three different principals in the two-year period of the grant.
• Missing the opportunity to participate in staff development activities offered in connection with the project.
• Lack of time and structure for teachers to meet and plan.

Implications for State and Local Leaders and Policy-Makers

The AIM project demonstrated that four ingredients are essential in getting schools to change. These include:

• An overarching framework such as that provided by High Schools That Work;
• External stimulation in the form of ideas, information and networking opportunities;
• Time to build local teams and time for the teams to plan, reflect on their ideas and try out, assess and revise their plans;
• District and school support for teachers.

State and local education leaders can take a number of actions to create conditions that support change aimed at improving student learning. For example, state and district education leaders can create networks of schools that will bring cross-curriculum teams together to plan integrated learning. Such networks would direct sites toward a vision of what is needed to improve student learning and would provide a vehicle for capacity-building by being a source of ideas and support for problem-solving. State and district leaders can also take the lead in communicating to sites the importance of assessment as an essential part of improving school and classroom practices. They can provide site staff development in how to use assessment data to evaluate progress and plan needed curriculum and instructional changes.

Small grants to schools to buy time for teachers to plan collaborative activities and to participate in staff development directed toward specific school improvements would be a worthwhile use of state and local funds. Buying time for teachers to meet together was a key ingredient for success at AIM sites.

State and local leaders need to implement policies that will allow schools to change how they are organized and how they schedule student and teacher time. They need to encourage collaboration across curriculum areas and to support teachers with materials, planning time and staff development aimed at engaging career-bound youth in intellectually- challenging learning.

Conclusions Drawn from the AIM Project

• The 15 AIM sites used a number of strategies that combined to improve student achievement. No single action made the difference.
• Participation in the project seemed to have an energizing effect on the schools.
• School teachers and leaders were committed to the effort and had the support of the district office, the school board and the community.
• Schools used the small grants as “seed money” to buy release time for teachers to take part in staff development and to do curriculum planning.
• The focus on integrated learning often led to changes such as curriculum alignment, adoption of national standards and additional personnel.

The project enabled SREB to expand the level of technical assistance and information services provided to all HSTW sites. It also allowed SREB to study what it takes to begin and sustain an integration effort of a small network of high schools.

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