Advanced Learning Survey

 Update from KUOW:

Last month, the parent-teacher associations at Cascadia and Decatur elementary schools, both highly capable cohort schools, retained a lawyer and sent a letter to the district outlining concerns about the changes to the program.

They allege that Seattle Public Schools doesn’t have the resources to adequately implement the neighborhood school model, so closing highly capable cohort schools would be a violation of a state law requiring instruction for highly capable students.

"We haven't seen any evidence of additional staffing, funding, or strategic planning on how we're going to accelerate curriculum," said Lara Hruska, an attorney representing the parents. Hruska also has a child in the district's highly capable cohort.

 Good for these parents. 

The Fordham Institute - which is NOT a liberal institution but full of education reformers - has a new report called The Broken Pipeline: Advanced Education Policies at the Local Level. They have had a report on advanced education every year since 1998. 

Suffice to say we’ve been among a wee group of reformers interested in that topic over the last twenty-five years. Wee because too many assume that advanced education is about increasing privileges for the already advantaged, rather than identifying and maximizing the strengths and potential of every student—including poor kids and kids of color with potential for high academic achievement.

This disregard has resulted in serious neglect of a vital student subgroup, with future national
repercussions for weakened, less diverse leadership and less innovation, progress, and economic growth. More pragmatically, it has also resulted in a lack of informative research for the field of advanced education.

This latest report on the plight of advanced learners—our sweet sixteenth, if you will—aims to address just one of many unknowns: whether districts nationwide have adopted policies and programs to identify, support, and cultivate the talents of all students capable of tackling advanced-level work.

To note, this report has a useful glossary at the end. 

Two key takeaways:

- First, the identification side of advanced education is in better shape than the programmatic
side. 

- Second, the difficulties associated with providing advanced education are most keenly felt in the
latter elementary grades (after students are identified) and in the middle grades, when
advanced courses are often limited to math.

This report addresses three main questions:

1. How comprehensive are the advanced education policies in America’s school districts?
2. How common are specific evidence-based policies in advanced education, such as
universal screening of students?
3. Do district demographics predict the comprehensiveness of district policies?

The data were gathered via Survey Monkey, with surveys completed by 581 district and charter administrators. Using post-stratification weighting, survey results were adjusted to be representative of large and medium districts and charter school organizations, which together educate 90 percent of public school students.

This section discusses the prevalence of advanced programming, the comprehensiveness of
district policies, and five key findings of the report:

1. America’s school district policies for advanced learners are mediocre at best.
2. Good identification policies, such as universal screening, are common, but most districts
do not adopt other best practices, including using local norms to identify advanced learners.
3. Advanced programming in most elementary and middle schools is limited and of
questionable value.
4. Most high schools offer substantial advanced programming, although students may lack
access if they do not meet the prerequisites.
5. District demographics are not good predictors of district policies.

Of interest

- Half of districts have a policy of automatic enrollment that continues advanced education.

- The most common grade for identification is grade 2, and few districts screen before kindergarten.

- Elementary and middle school programs
Once students are identified as advanced learners, the what of advanced education is extremely
variable, ranging from nothing more than asking teachers to differentiate the predominant method of service delivery for advanced learners in elementary schools is, by far, part-time pull-out classes, at 45 percent (Figure 9). 

The “highest-dosage” programs—special classes for advanced learners and full-time schools for gifted students—are rare (6 percent and 1 percent, respectively)

Advanced programming in most elementary and middle schools is limited and of questionable value.
Much more common than high-dosage programs are service delivery methods that require no extra programming at all: cluster grouping in general education classrooms (20 percent) and in-class differentiation with no clustering (13 percent)

-It is most common for districts to use the same curriculum for advanced students
that they use for other students, with some modification.

- More than two-thirds of districts with advanced programs report that less than a quarter of their teachers have an endorsement or credential in gifted or advanced education.*

-  Over half of districts with advanced programs report that they do not require most teachers to participate in professional development on advanced learning strategies at least
once every two years.*

High School

- Most high schools offer substantial advanced programming, although students may lack access if they do not meet the prerequisites.

- About half of districts expand the opportunity to take advanced courses by allowing students to take AP or IB courses online.

*I would recommend - and with vigor - that parents demand that if the district is returning all HC students to their neighborhood schools by '26-'27, all teachers MUST have some professional development in advanced learning.

End of update 

 

 From SPS:

Annual Highly Capable Survey - 2023-24 School Year 

Dear SPS family, 

The Advanced Learning department thanks you for taking the time to complete this annual survey. We hope you can share input and feedback to help us improve the services for your student(s) and every student at Seattle Public Schools.  

 
If you need assistance in completing this survey, please contact us at advlearn2@seattleschools.org 

In partnership,  
Advanced Learning Team 

Not one word about what is coming, parents' thoughts on returning to neighborhood schools for services, etc.