EOI Client Schools Archival Study

Lighthouse Academy and NOVEL/STARS™

Abstract

The Lighthouse Academy High School began using the NOVEL/STARS™ system in January of 2002. Since that time, the number of students graduating has increased to 70 students, nearly twelve times the amount that graduated prior to NOVEL/STARS™. The Academy has also witnessed great increases in average daily attendance rates which is up by 29.7% from the year previous to NOVEL/STARS™ implementation.

Introduction

Lighthouse Academy began utilizing the NOVEL/STARS™ during the second semester of the 2001-2002 school year. Results from this intervention strategy indicate that a rigorous curriculum, when coupled with a powerful and intuitive on-line delivery system can have a significant impact on student academic achievement and other performance measures.

Documenting the impact of educational interventions, like NOVEL/STARS™, is crucial to the accountability goals of the No Child Left Behind Act. The following sections provide a brief overview of the structure of the alternative education program, the NOVEL/STARS™ system, student demographics, and outcomes since the 2001-2002 school year.

Lighthouse Academy

Lighthouse Academy High School is an alternative public school located in Bowling Green, Kentucky that falls under the purview of the South-Central Kentucky School District. Lighthouse Academy specializes in personal attention to students and high-tech alternative education methods. The Academy opened its doors in 2001, and the first graduating class consisted of six students. The Academy has graduated 173 students since it opened its doors. They now have approximately 41 students in college, 6 in the military, and all but 1 of the graduates are now working and making a positive impact in the community.

The current enrollment at Lighthouse Academy is 63 students, 31 are female, and 32 are male. There are 27 students who qualify for free or reduced lunch. All of the students in attendance transport themselves to and from school, and 34 of the students are employed. Two of the students currently in attendance have lost both parents. Several of the students live on their own, pay for their own food, clothing, child care, and rent. Seven of the 31 females in attendance have their own children, and 4 are currently pregnant.

When female students deliver their child, Lighthouse Academy gives them a lap-top computer and they continue with their academics from home using NOVEL/STARS™. A teacher also visits with the students at their home as necessary.

There are 152 students that have indicated an interested in attending Lighthouse Academy, of this group there are 81 students that have submitted the required paperwork and are currently on the waiting list.

The Lighthouse schedule is split into two sessions, 8-11am, and 11:30am-2:30pm. Some students attend only one session, and some attend both depending on their need. With the NOVEL/STARS™ it is also possible for the students to continue working on their class assignments from home or anywhere they can get access to a computer and the internet. Students work at their own pace to complete the credits they need to catch up with their peers and eventually to graduate.

Outcomes

Lighthouse Academy began using the NOVEL/STARS™ system in January of 2002. In total, Lighthouse Academy reports that during the period from January of 2002 through May of 2005,167 students have successfully completed credits they needed, through the NOVEL/STARS™ system, to either catch up with their peer group or for graduation requirements.

Most Popular NOVEL/STARS Courses The most popular NOVEL/STARS™ courses English III 50% at Lighthouse Academy Business Math 51% have been English IV, Arts s

e Physics 57% and Humanities, Algebra II, s r

u Physics, Business Math, o Algebra II 59% C and English III. The Arts/Humanities 67% courses have been delivered 97% English IV as full-length, pre- 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% 120% assessment, and credit- Percentage of Students recovery courses. In May of 2002, Lighthouse Academy had 6 graduates utilizing the Jefferson County Curriculum. The graduation rate was only 58.4% during the same school year. In May of 2003, The Academy had 32 graduates, and a graduation rate of 92.1%, after implementing the NOVEL/STARS™ system during the second semester of the 2002- 2003 school year. Lighthouse Academy began utilizing NOVEL/STARS™ to help students with credit recovery. In May of 2004, there were 65 graduates that had participated in the use of the NOVEL/STARS™ system, and the school had a graduation rate of 97.4% for the school year. In May of 2005, the number of graduates had increased to 70 graduates, and the school had a graduation rate of 96.8% for the school year. The school is hoping that this number will increase to 100 during the 2005-2006 school year, and that the graduation rate will be 100%.

Graduation and Attendance Rates In addition to the great outcomes in 100% graduation rate, Lighthouse Academy 80% has also seen a 60% significant increase in 40% Graduation Rate average daily 20% Attendance Rate attendance. The 0% Academy had an 2001- 2002- 2003- 2004- average daily 2002 2003 2004 2005 attendance of 64.6% School Year for the 2001-2002 school year. After instituting the NOVEL/STARS™ system, the average daily attendance increased to 91.1% during the 2002-2003 school year. The rate again increased to 94.3% in 2003- 2004, and to 94.6% for the 2004-2005 school year.

According to Lighthouse Academy principal, Mark Williams, prior to instituting the NOVEL/STARS™ system, “Lighthouse was using the Jefferson County Curriculum that really was no different than the classroom that the student left at their home school - it involved a textbook, notebook, and a workbook. The only thing that changed was a location”. He believes that was the major issue with the attendance being so poor. Mr. Williams suggests that after the NOVEL/STARS™ system was incorporated into the school, students “started hoping where they had lost all hope, they started believing where they had lost all belief that people cared, and when you put those two together, they started achieving”. Mr. Williams explains that “Lighthouse Academy High School continues to see students who want to be at school and make something out of their life. These are the same students that their former high schools could never get to attend school. They were in truancy, and now they are coming to school each day. NOVEL/STARS™ has made a tremendous difference in the lives of many students”.

Lighthouse Academy High School has entertained over 100 schools from 6 different states who wanted to see why the Academy was experiencing the success that they have. Lighthouse Academy has appeared on several television shows in the State of Kentucky, and has had several articles written about its success that have appeared in newspapers and magazines. Lighthouse is recognized as the leader in the State of Kentucky in Alternative Education. Mr. Williams suggests that “a major contributor with the success at Lighthouse has been the implementation of the NOVEL/STARS™ system. NOVEL/STARS™ has allowed the staff to build relationships. While Jefferson County Curriculum was being used at Lighthouse, the teacher was constantly grading, preparing lessons, taking work home to grade and never had enough time for the most important thing in the school - the students”.

During Mr. Williams 4 years at Lighthouse Academy, they have not had a single fight between students. He attributes this to NOVEL/STARS™, because they are able to focus more on building relationships and getting to know their students. Students don’t feel like a number, instead they become concerned with each other’s wellbeing. “We have become a family”, says Mr. Williams, “thanks to the time that NOVEL/STARS™ has given the staff”.

One student left Mr. Williams a note on a snow day that said he couldn’t stick around because he had to sell blood to buy groceries. He thought the student was just messing around until he verified that he actually had. This student lived by himself in a motel. Not long after the above incident, the same student approached Mr. Williams and said “Mr. Williams I’m going to graduate.” Mr. Williams said, “I believe that you will graduate.” The student responded “No Mr. Williams I am going to graduate for sure.” Mr. Williams asked him how he could be so positive, and the student looked at him with tears in his eyes and said, “Mr. Williams, you know that I live in a motel by myself…I went to the bank when I got out of school on Friday and took out all my savings. After I got my money out I went and bought me a computer and paid for them to hook it up in my motel room.” Utilizing NOVEL/STARS™, he completed all of his required credits and is now in his second year at the University of Louisville.

Data Sources

Data collection for this program was accomplished by mechanisms built into the NOVEL/STARS™ system, or by maintaining separate records for school attendance, demographic data, and anecdotal notes from the staff and students. Data was self- reported by the school as submitted directly to Educational Options, Inc..

NOVEL/STARS

The NOVEL/STARS™ system is a combination of the NOVEL™ curriculum, and the STARS™ on-line delivery system. Educational Options, Inc. provides this system for use at over 1000 schools or school districts in 42 states throughout the nation. Schools used this system to meet the educational needs of over 125,000 students during the 2004- 2005 school year. The system can be used to deliver courses for various purposes including regular full-length courses, pre-assessment, credit recovery, summer school, state standardized test preparation, adult education, college preparation, remedial courses for at-risk students, and advanced placement courses for gifted students.

The NOVEL™ curriculum covers all core subject areas (including Math, Science, English, and Social Studies) and is aligned with state, national, and Bureau of Indian Affairs standards (the new Native American Studies course is aligned with BIA American Indian content standards). It is a comprehensive middle and high school curriculum consisting of 32 subjects that meet state learning standards. The NOVEL™ curriculum was originally developed by Home Study International, a recognized leader in providing high quality competency based curriculum. Home Study International is fully accredited and their curriculum is approved by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. Educational Options has the exclusive license to provide this outstanding curriculum online. The NOVEL™ curriculum consists of complete half credit or one credit courses.

The Student Testing, Assessment, and Remediation System (STARS™) is an on-line internet-based system that provides unique curriculum delivery capabilities. These capabilities include automated assessment, individualized prescriptive remediation, and comprehensive reporting.

Plans for Future Use of the NOVEL/STARS system at Lighthouse Academy

Lighthouse Academy High School plans to continue to use NOVEL/STARS™ to meet the educational needs of their students during the 2005-2006 school year. Mr. Williams would like to expand the program to include individuals over the age of 21 who want to complete their high school education and graduate from Lighthouse Academy with a diploma. He envisions the development of multiple satellite locations that could serve as many as 500 teenagers and adults per year.

Theoretical Overview and Previous Research Studies

It is well established that student learning styles are diverse and varied and must be met by utilizing multiple methods. No single method of instruction meets all of the educational needs of all students at all times. In order to address the universe of student learning styles, teachers must have access to high quality educational resources, training on the use of such resources, and the will to utilize these resources in their classroom.

In this era of high stakes testing under the No Child Left Behind Act, schools and teachers are held accountable for the educational outcomes of their students based on state standardized assessments and other measures of academic success. Math, science, language arts, and social studies comprise the core subject areas that are tested and reported on an annual basis. Thus, there exists a very practical need for educational resources that will help teachers increase student academic achievement, graduation, retention, and attendance rates.

A study completed in 1975 by Klausmeier and Goodwin and another completed in 1999 by the Milken Exchange on Education Technology (Coughlin & Lemke, 1999) identified similar variables in major factors that impact the school learning environment. In both studies, the integration of instructional technology was identified as a key variable.

In 1994, Kulik’s meta-analysis of over 500 studies on the effectiveness of computer based instruction concluded that students learn more in less time in classrooms that incorporate computer based instruction, and that students wrote more effectively and fluently. The meta-analysis also found that students like this type of class better than classes that do not integrate such technology, and that students develop a more positive attitude toward technology based on their exposure in this type of educational environment.

In 1995, Bailo and Sivin-Kachla conducted a review of 130 studies on the impact of the use of educational technologies in the classroom. Their findings suggest that educational technologies, like computer assisted instruction, can improve student academic achievement in math, science, language arts, and social studies.

An evaluation of the West Virginia Basic Skills/Computer Education Program in 1999 conducted by Mann, Shakeshaft, Becker, and Kottkamp had similar conclusions. In the West Virginia evaluation it was concluded that the effective use of learning technologies had a direct impact on increases in student academic achievement in the areas of math, reading, and language arts.

In their study of Texas Public Schools in 1999, Knezek, Christiansen, and Fluke (2000) found that the combined impact of the willingness of a teacher to integrate technology in the classroom, along with proper skills training and the availability of technology contribute to higher student academic achievement.

In their evaluation of the NOVEL/STARS™ program at Lake Clifton/Eastern High School in Baltimore, Maryland, Borman and Rachuba (2000) of the Center for Social Organization of Schools at the John Hopkins University found that students in the experimental group (NOVEL/STARS™ classroom) successfully completed the credits they took at a rate that was as much as twice that obtained by their peers in the control group (regular classroom). The experimental group also maintained a higher overall grade point average and attendance rate than their peers in the control group. All students who participated in this study were African American and would have been categorized as at-risk due to multiple factors including: failing GPA, low attendance, retention in grade, and low score on state standardized tests.

Conclusion

The outcomes of the Lighthouse Academy utilization of the NOVEL/STARS™ system attests to the effectiveness of internet based instructional technology in general, and the NOVEL/STARS™ system in particular, on student academic achievement as measured by successful credit completion, graduation rate, and average daily attendance. The significant increase in graduation and attendance rates for Lighthouse Academy is thought by school staff to be directly attributable to the implementation of the NOVEL/STARS™ system.

For More Information Contact:

Martin Reinhardt, Ph.D. Vice President for Diversity and Research Mark Williams, Principal Educational Options, Inc. Lighthouse Academy High School 5005 S. Ash Ave., Suite A-13 877 Jackson Street Tempe, AZ 85283 Bowling Green, KY 42101 (480) 777-7720 (270) 782-5410 E-Mail: [email protected] E-Mail: [email protected] Website: http://www.edoptions.com

References

Bailo, E., & Sivin-Kachla, J. (1995). Effectiveness of technology in schools. 1990-1994. Washington, DC: Software Publishers Association.

Borman, G, & Rachuba, L. (2000). A quantitative and qualitative evaluation of the implementation and effects of the Lake Clifton/Eastern High School Novel Program. Final report submitted to the Abell Foundation. Available from the Center for Social Organization of Schools, John Hopkins University. Coughlin, E., & Lemke, C. (1999). Technology in American schools: Seven dimensions for gauging progress. Santa Monica, CA: The Milken Exchange on Education Technology.

Klausmeir, H., & Goodwin, W. (1975). Learning and human abilities: Educational psychology (4th ed.). New York: Harper & Row Publishers.

Knezek, G., Christensen, R., & Fluke, R. (2000). Testing a will, skill, tool model of technology integration. Available from the Institute for the Integration of Technology into Teaching and Learning, University of North Texas.

Kulik, J. (1994). Meta-analytic studies of findings on computer-based instruction. In Baker, E. L. and O'Neil, H. F. Jr. (Eds.), Technology assessment in education and training. (pp. 9-33) Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

Mann, D., Shakeshaft, C., Becker, J., & Kottkamp, R. (1999). West Virginia story: Achievement gains from a statewide comprehensive instructional technology program 1999. Available on-line: http://www.milkenexchange.org/publications

Other Helpful Resources:

Center for Applied Research in Educational Technology http://caret.iste.org/index.cfm

Institute for the Integration of Technology into Teaching and Learning http://www.iittl.unt.edu/

US Department of Education, Office of Educational Technology http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/os/technology/index.html

Journal of Educational Technology & Society http://www.ifets.info/