Achievement at an Advanced Level Among Secondary Students: Changes Over Time and Options that Support Black or African American and Hispanic/Latino Students Office of Shared Accountability July 2017 Elizabeth Cooper-Martin, Ph.D. OFFICE OF SHARED ACCOUNTABILITY 850 Hungerford Drive Rockville, Maryland 20850 301-279-3553 Dr. Jack R. Smith Dr. Janet S. Wilson Superintendent of Schools Associate Superintendent Montgomery County Public Schools Office of Shared Accountability Table of Contents Executive Summary ........................................................................................................................... v Summary of Methodology ............................................................................................................. v Summary of Findings ..................................................................................................................... v Recommendations ......................................................................................................................... vi Problem Statement and Rationale ...................................................................................................... 1 Background ........................................................................................................................................ 3 Programs and Curricular Options for Advanced Level Learning in High School ......................... 3 Signature Programs ........................................................................................................................ 4 Literature Review............................................................................................................................... 5 Changes in Performance Over Time for Advanced-level Students ............................................... 5 State studies. .............................................................................................................................. 6 Advanced Level Performance of Black or African American and Hispanic/Latino Students ...... 7 Recommended strategies and programs..................................................................................... 7 Studies in MCPS. ....................................................................................................................... 8 Scope of the Study ........................................................................................................................... 10 Research Questions ...................................................................................................................... 10 Methodology .................................................................................................................................... 11 Study Sample ............................................................................................................................... 11 Measures of Achievement............................................................................................................ 11 Grade 8. .................................................................................................................................... 11 Grade 12 ................................................................................................................................... 11 Data Sources ................................................................................................................................ 12 Measures of Programs and Curricular Options ............................................................................ 12 Analytical Procedures .................................................................................................................. 13 Strengths and Limitations of the Methodology ........................................................................... 14 Results .............................................................................................................................................. 16 Question 1: What is the Level of Achievement at the Advanced Level Among Secondary Students Over Time?.................................................................................................................... 16 Question 2: Which Programs and Curricular Options Supported Continued Achievement by Black or African American and Hispanic/Latino students at an Advanced Level? .................... 19 Program Evaluation Unit i Achievement at an Advanced Level, Secondary Montgomery County Public Schools Office of Shared Accountability Summary .................................................................................................................................. 22 Question 3: Characteristics of Programs and Curricular Options that Supported Continued Achievement at an Advanced Level ............................................................................................ 23 Descriptions. ............................................................................................................................ 23 Common aspects ...................................................................................................................... 23 Discussion ........................................................................................................................................ 24 Recommendations ............................................................................................................................ 26 Acknowledgements .......................................................................................................................... 27 References ........................................................................................................................................ 28 Appendix A ...................................................................................................................................... 30 Appendix B ...................................................................................................................................... 31 Program Evaluation Unit ii Achievement at an Advanced Level, Secondary Montgomery County Public Schools Office of Shared Accountability List of Tables Table 1 Ford’s Framework to Address Educational Needs of Students who are Gifted and Culturally Diverse .................................................................................................................. 7 Table 2 Measures of Student Achievement by Grade Level ..................................................... 11 Table 3.1 Proportion of Students in Grade 8 who Performed at the Advanced Level on Three Measures .............................................................................................................................. 16 Table 3.2 Students Advanced in Grade 8 and Advanced in Grade 12 on Three Measures, by Demographic Characteristics and Service Receipt .............................................................. 17 Table 4.1 Proportion of Black or African American and Hispanic/Latino Students who Were High Achievers in Grade 8 and who Performed at the Advanced Level at the End of High School by High School Program......................................................................................... 19 Table 4.2 Proportion of Black or African American and Hispanic/Latino High Achievers in Grade 8 who Performed at the Advanced Level at the End of High School by High School Signature Program ............................................................................................................... 20 Table 4.3 Proportion of Black or African American and Hispanic/Latino High Achievers in Grade 8 who Performed at the Advanced Level at the End of High School by Four Types of Courses (N = 1,521) ........................................................................................................ 20 Table 4.4 Proportion of Black or African American and Hispanic/Latino High Achievers in Grade 8 (N=1,521) who Performed at the Advanced Level at the End of High School by Enrollment in High School Programs and Curricular Options ............................................ 21 Table 5 Proportion of Black or African American and Hispanic/Latino High Achievers in Grade 8 (N=1,521) who Completed a Rigorous High School Program by Programs and Curricular Options ............................................................................................................... 24 Table 6 Proportion of Black or African American and Hispanic/Latino High Achievers in Grade 8 (N=1,521) who Completed a Rigorous High School Program by Enrollment in High School Programs and Curricular Options ................................................................... 25 Table A Statistics for Number of Semesters Completed by Black or African American and Hispanic/Latino High Achievers in Grade 8 (N = 1,521) for Four Types of Courses ......... 30 Program Evaluation Unit iii Achievement at an Advanced Level, Secondary Montgomery County Public Schools Office of Shared Accountability List of Figures Figure 1. Percentages of Grade 8 students reading at the proficient and advanced levels in 2013–2014 for total and for subgroups. Source MCPS (2015a). ........................................... 2 Program Evaluation Unit iv Achievement at an Advanced Level, Secondary Montgomery County Public Schools Office of Shared Accountability Executive Summary At the request of the Chief Academic Officer, the Office of Shared Accountability conducted a study of successful secondary students in Montgomery