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I: Need for Project I: NEED FOR PROJECT A. BACKGROUND Alabama is primarily a rural state; however, with its urban areas, the population contrasts create a challenge for implementing a single approach to professional development (PD). With a population of approximately 4.8 million people, the contrasts in population are evident in its density. Thirteen of the 67 counties in Alabama (19.4 percent) have a population under 15,000 people, yet, there are 14 urbanized areas, each with a population over 100,000 people (U. S. Census, 2010). The larger size of the state combined with its rural and urban needs presents challenges when working with districts. The rural counties complicate the provision of technical assistance (TA) due to the paucity of available fiscal and personnel resources for schools. The urbanized areas often have the personnel available; however, other cultural and socioeconomic factors can impede the attainment of educational outcomes. The demographics of Alabama’s population can generally be characterized as diverse, less educated, and poor compared to U. S. averages. According to the Kids Count (2011) index of the overall child well-being indicators, Alabama ranks 45th in the nation. Additionally, the state ranked 42nd in terms of economic indicators (Kids Count, 2011). The percentage of African Americans in Alabama is 26.5 percent, more than double the national average. According to the U. S. Census Bureau (2011), 4.9 percent of residents of Alabama speak a primary language other than English. The most common language, other than English, is Spanish. Only 81.4 percent of Alabamians 25 years and older have graduated from high school. Furthermore, only 21.7 percent of Alabamians have completed a Bachelor’s degree or higher, however nationally, the percent is 27.9 percent. In addition, 6.3 percent of the population (25 years and older) has not completed Grade nine (U.S. Census, 2012). ALSDE/SPDG 2012 Page 1 PART III, APPLICATION NARRATIVE The median household income in Alabama is almost $10,000 less than the national average ($42,081 in Alabama vs. $51,914 nationally). As of June 2012, the state unemployment rate was 7.8 percent, although that rate is as high as 18.8 percent in Wilcox County. Furthermore, approximately 24.6 percent of children in Alabama live in a household below the poverty threshold. This percentage varies dramatically by county, from 9.9 percent to 52.7 percent (Kids Count, 2009). There are currently 134 school districts in Alabama, serving approximately 741,057 students. As of October 2011, the state serves approximately 80,149 students with disabilities (SWD) which is equal to 10.82 percent. In fall 2010, 55.78 percent of Alabama students were enrolled in the Free and Reduced Lunch Program (Alabama Report Card, 2011). The Alabama State Department of Education (ALSDE), led by the State Superintendent of Education, is comprised of 11 divisions overseeing education professionals in 1,499 schools. The ALSDE oversees 134 LEAs and 11 Regional In-service Centers provide educational services to educators. One of the 11 ALSDE divisions, the Office of Learning Support, contains the Special Education Services (SES) Section, the office that oversees the services for SWD. An organizational chart for the ALSDE can be found in Appendix A. The proposed State Personnel Development Grant (SPDG) Project Closing the Gap (Project CTG): Improving Literacy and Mathematics Outcomes for Students with Disabilities was developed based on State Performance Plan/Annual Performance Report (SPP/APR) indicator data, the Alabama State Board of Education’s (SBE’s) strategic plan, the reorganization and adoption of Dr. Jim Knight’s partnership and coaching approach by the ALSDE, and an examination of the prior SPDG’s activities and outcomes. The proposed project will work with ALSDE partners to provide high quality professional development (PD) focusing on response to ALSDE/SPDG 2012 Page 2 PART III, APPLICATION NARRATIVE intervention, creating effective inclusive environments, and improving post-school outcomes for SWD. Through its SPDG, Alabama seeks to close the gap between students with and students without disabilities and improve both graduation rates and positive post-school outcomes. SPP INDICATORS & OTHER ALSDE STUDENT DATA In preparation for developing Project CTG, the SES staff examined the SPP indicator data to drive the SPDG goals. While Alabama met and exceeded most of its SPP/APR targets for the 2010-2011 school year, many areas still need improvement. In its data drill-down, the SES found key areas of need in graduation, achievement, parent involvement, college and career readiness, and the gap between SWD and students without disabilities (SWOD). Graduation Rates Figure 1 demonstrates the graduation rate trends for SWD compared to all students over the three prior academic years. The state’s target on the SPP is also indicated. Figure 1: Graduation Rate Percentages for SWD and All Students (APR Indicator 1) 100 90 80 70 60 SWD 50 All Students 40 SWD target 30 20 10 0 2008-2009 2009-2010 2010-2011 As the graph depicts, the graduation rates for SWD have increased from 36.9 percent in 2008-2009 to 62.9 percent in 2010-2011, likely due to the increased emphasis on reading and ALSDE/SPDG 2012 Page 3 PART III, APPLICATION NARRATIVE math initiatives as well as the state’s focus on increasing graduation rates. Even with these dramatic gains, only 62.1 percent of SWD graduate from high school. Furthermore, there continues to be a 9.1 percent gap between all students and SWD, and both the SWD and all students are well below the 90 percent graduation rate target set by the state. Project CTG will work toward reducing this gap by improving instruction (Goal 2) and increasing knowledge about secondary transition and post-school outcomes (Goal 3). Student Achievement on the State Assessment Alabama’s least restrictive environment (LRE) data are very strong and far exceed its state targets. In 2010-2011, 84.17 percent of SWD were served in the regular classroom 80 percent of the time or more. While most SWD are served in the inclusive classroom, the academic achievement data on the Alabama Reading and Mathematics Test+ (ARMT+), the Alabama state assessment, show that more focus is needed on improving achievement in the inclusive classroom. Both the achievement results and the gap between SWD and SWOD demonstrate the need to focus on reading, math, and effective instruction. Figure 2: Percent Proficient in Reading and Math for SWD (APR Indicator 3c) 50 45 40 Reading 35 Math 30 25 2008-2009 2009-2010 2010-2011 ALSDE/SPDG 2012 Page 4 PART III, APPLICATION NARRATIVE The SPP/APR data show gains in both reading and math for SWD over the past three years. These results also indicate, however, that only 43 percent and 46 percent of SWD are scoring proficient on the ARMT+ in math and reading, respectively. The goal for Alabama is to have all students proficient by 2014 (ALSDE, 2010), which is more than double the current percentages in reading and math for SWD. The ALSDE’s review of the Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) results for the prior three years demonstrates the gap in performance on the state assessment. Alabama calculates a proficiency index for AYP, which are presented in Figure 3. The proficiency method collapses grade levels and combines the percentage of students that are proficient for a school. A proficiency index score of “0” indicates the subgroup met AYP. Figure 3: AYP Reading Proficiency Index Scores of SWD and All Students 20 15 10 5 Students with 0 disabilities All students -5 -10 -15 -20 2008-2009 2009-2010 2010-2011 Figure 3 demonstrates the reading achievement proficiency index for all students and SWD over the prior three years. These results show a decrease in the performance of the subgroups and the significant gap between all students and the SWD subgroup. With a goal of “0,” the SWD subgroup is the lowest performing subgroup in the state. In 2010-2011, other than ALSDE/SPDG 2012 Page 5 PART III, APPLICATION NARRATIVE English Language Learners (ELL) students, who had an index score of -0.38, all of the other subgroups were higher than “0” and met AYP for reading. Figure 4 demonstrates similar results for the math achievement on AYP. Both SWD and all students showed a negative trend in their proficiency index scores over the prior three years, and the large gap between the groups. In 2010-2011, all other subgroups had a proficiency index greater than “0” and met AYP for math. These data support the need to address reading and math content and instruction for SWD. Figure 4: AYP Math Proficiency Index Scores of SWD and All Students 25 20 15 10 Students with 5 disabilities 0 All students -5 -10 -15 2008-2009 2009-2010 2010-2011 The final key data related to student achievement is the reading proficiency scores compared across grade level (Alabama Report Card, 2009, 2010, 2011). Table 1 shows the change in percent proficient from Grades three through eight for both SWD and SWOD, as well as the difference between the two groups. Reading proficiency among SWOD has remained relatively constant with a 10 percent decline between Grade three Grade eight. Reading proficiency among SWD has been consistently 40-50 percent lower than SWOD. The SWD and SWOD gap in proficiency rates has generally increased between Grades three through eight. ALSDE/SPDG 2012 Page 6 PART III, APPLICATION NARRATIVE Therefore, proficiency scores decrease at a greater rate among SWD than SWOD as they advance in school. The results show a need to address reading instruction among adolescents. Table 1: ARMT+ Reading Achievement of SWD and SWOD in Grades 3–8 Year Grade 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 08-09 SWD 46.7 46.85 41.05 45.31 33.07 25.1 SWOD 90.04 90.88 89.56 90.60 86.73 80.50 Difference 43.3% 44.0% 48.5% 45.3% 53.7% 55.4% 09-10 SWD 49.98 46.40 42.74 43.18 37.40 22.07 SWOD 90.58 91.05 90.23 90.85 87.84 79.26 Difference 40.6% 44.7% 47.6% 47.7% 50.4% 57.2% 10-11 SWD 41.09 50.54 48.65 48.76 40.8 30.53 SWOD 90.70 92.03 92.86 92.35 89.62 81.73 Difference 49.6% 41.5% 44.2% 43.6% 48.8% 51.2% Parent Involvement Figure 5 demonstrates the parent involvement results for SPP Indicator 8 over the past three years.
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