I was asked resultant from previous posts, “ what’s the big deal about the school effects research?”
I couldn’t have asked for a better question for our time. The school effects research is foundational to many, if not, most of the contemporary practices in education.
In fact, the much maligned "No Child Left Behind” legislation (in title only) is emergent from the “Success for All - no matter what it takes” call to arms that Dr. Ron Edmonds, Dr. Larry Lezotte, and Wilbur Brookover championed as a result of their research.
Their research and findings were seminal for educators that were deeply committed to learner success irrespective of race, gender, age, socio-econmoics, or level of educational attainment by their mother.
The findings paved the way for deeper, more enduring research centered on not just the politically correct “all means all” but the practical reality that all learners could , should, and would be successful if educators, school and school system leaders, and policy makers would focus their energy, resources and efforts on those variables that they have significant influence and control.
The school effects research provides not only focus but clarity to educators that continue to lament about the influences of poverty. Though significant and daunting, Edmonds, Lezotte and Brookover revealed that the challenges of poverty in and of itself were not insurmountable as determinants of a learner’s level of educational attainment.
Further still, the power of the school effects research were not limited to the initial findings. The undeniable power of the school effects research is that it continues to be validated quantitatively and qualitatively - daily.
For over 40 years the body of evidence continues to grow validating the initial school effects findings.
Yet, minimized at best and ignored at worse, educators and policy makers are not conversant with the school effects research. If they were, our educational system would be the envy of the world. Sadly, we’re not - our literacy, our mathematics, and etc. performances continue to lag behind international standards let alone the standards we have set for ourselves.
Looking at just one of the findings -High Expectations - reveals our shortcomings. The school effects research found that high expectations for “every” learner was highly correlated with schools that outperformed their demographics consistently and constantly.
I believe this factor or correlate is all about our beliefs, values, and perceptions about learners that drive our practices.
Next time, I will dive deeper into “high expectations” from both the research and my own experience as educator.
I couldn’t have asked for a better question for our time. The school effects research is foundational to many, if not, most of the contemporary practices in education.
In fact, the much maligned "No Child Left Behind” legislation (in title only) is emergent from the “Success for All - no matter what it takes” call to arms that Dr. Ron Edmonds, Dr. Larry Lezotte, and Wilbur Brookover championed as a result of their research.
Their research and findings were seminal for educators that were deeply committed to learner success irrespective of race, gender, age, socio-econmoics, or level of educational attainment by their mother.
The findings paved the way for deeper, more enduring research centered on not just the politically correct “all means all” but the practical reality that all learners could , should, and would be successful if educators, school and school system leaders, and policy makers would focus their energy, resources and efforts on those variables that they have significant influence and control.
The school effects research provides not only focus but clarity to educators that continue to lament about the influences of poverty. Though significant and daunting, Edmonds, Lezotte and Brookover revealed that the challenges of poverty in and of itself were not insurmountable as determinants of a learner’s level of educational attainment.
Further still, the power of the school effects research were not limited to the initial findings. The undeniable power of the school effects research is that it continues to be validated quantitatively and qualitatively - daily.
For over 40 years the body of evidence continues to grow validating the initial school effects findings.
Yet, minimized at best and ignored at worse, educators and policy makers are not conversant with the school effects research. If they were, our educational system would be the envy of the world. Sadly, we’re not - our literacy, our mathematics, and etc. performances continue to lag behind international standards let alone the standards we have set for ourselves.
Looking at just one of the findings -High Expectations - reveals our shortcomings. The school effects research found that high expectations for “every” learner was highly correlated with schools that outperformed their demographics consistently and constantly.
I believe this factor or correlate is all about our beliefs, values, and perceptions about learners that drive our practices.
Next time, I will dive deeper into “high expectations” from both the research and my own experience as educator.
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