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These are the appendices for the report, "The Implementation and Outcomes of Lesson Study in Community College Mathematics." The report describes a project undertaken by Community College Research Center (CCRC), Education Northwest, and three community colleges in Oregon to adapt lesson study for use among faculty teaching a precollege (developmental) quantitative literacy course. Lesson study is a collaborative professional development approach that has been implemented among K-12 mathematics teachers with promising results for both teachers and students. There are four appendices in the document. [For the full report, see ED615171.]

This report describes a project undertaken by CCRC, Education Northwest, and three community colleges in Oregon to adapt lesson study for use among faculty teaching a precollege (developmental) quantitative literacy course. Lesson study is a collaborative professional development approach that has been implemented among K-12 mathematics teachers with promising results for both teachers and students. There has been limited research on its application in higher education. The authors discuss findings from a mixed-method study of the adapted model's implementation among faculty in the community colleges as well as limited findings on student learning and progression in developmental mathematics. Data sources for the study include interviews with participating faculty and college administrators, a survey of all mathematics faculty at the three colleges, observations of lesson study activities, an assessment of student learning, and administrative data. Although lesson study is different from typical professional development available in community colleges, faculty at the colleges were able to implement lesson study successfully. Participants largely enjoyed their lesson study experience, particularly its focus on improving mathematics pedagogy and the opportunities it provided for intensive and productive collaboration. And faculty adopted new teaching practices as a result of their participation in lesson study. Owing to study design and time limitations, the authors were not able to rigorously evaluate lesson study's impact on student outcomes. Drawing on qualitative analysis, they present a theory of change for lesson study and offer suggestions for future research that could assess the impacts of lesson study on student learning and outcomes in community colleges. [For the appendices, see ED615173.]

Lesson Study (LS) is a structured, collaborative professional development approach that gives instructors a framework for actively investigating how to improve student learning in their classrooms. Despite evidence of LS improving teacher practice and student learning in K-12 settings, there have been few documented examples of its use among instructors in higher education. The Adapting Lesson Study for Community College Mathematics Instruction project is investigating whether the model can be feasibly implemented by community college mathematics faculty and will eventually document whether and how it influences instructors' pedagogical practices and student outcomes. In this short report, we describe LS and provide a rationale for its implementation in the community college context. We then report on activities from the first year of the project and share some early observations about LS implementation that could have implications for the effectiveness and sustainability of LS in community colleges.

Disaggregating the data across four school variables--size, locale, racial/ethnic minority population, and population eligible for free or reduced-price lunch--this study examines the extent to which Oregon grade 9-12 students enrolled in high school math courses during 2006/07 and 2007/08 would not have been on track to graduate had the new graduation requirements for the class of 2014 and beyond been in place. It looks also at how well the state's 2006/07 and 2007/08 availability of advanced math-endorsed teachers would meet the increased demand stemming from the new requirements. Students were considered off track if they were enrolled in a course that would not allow them, by completing no more than one math course per year, to complete by grade 12 the required three classes at the level of algebra I and above. Four research questions guide this study: (1) What percentage of Oregon's grade 9-12 students enrolled in high school math classes in 2006/07 and 2007/08 would not have been on track to meet the state's new graduation requirements for the class of 2014 and beyond had the requirements been in place?; (2) How does the percentage of Oregon's grade 9-12 students enrolled in high school math classes who would not have been on track to meet the state's new graduation requirements vary by school size, locale, racial/ethnic minority population, and population eligible for free or reduced-price lunch?; (3) How well does the 2006/07 and 2007/08 availability of advanced math-endorsed teachers for grades 9-12 meet the increased demand for advanced math courses that will result from the new requirements?; and (4) How does the relationship between the availability of advanced math-endorsed teachers and the grade 9-12 demand for advanced math courses vary by school size, locale, racial/ethnic minority population, and population eligible for free or reduced-price lunch? Key findings include: (1) Had the new graduation requirements for the class of 2014 and beyond been in place during the two study years, at least 11 percent of grade 9-12 students would have been off track to meet the new requirements; (2) Of the subcategories within each school type, those with the greatest proportion of students who would not have been on track to meet the new requirements were small schools (18 percent), schools in towns (14 percent), schools with a high racial/ethnic minority population (15 percent), and schools with a high population eligible for free or reduced-price lunch (16 percent); (3) Had the availability of advanced math-endorsed teachers remained at 2006/07 and 2007/08 levels, 62-80 percent of grade 9-12 students needing to take advanced math courses would have had access to these teachers under the new requirements, depending on how demand was estimated; and (4) Grade 9-12 students in small schools would have faced a lower availability of advanced math-endorsed teachers than students in other school size subcategories would have (29-47 percent, depending on how demand for advanced math-endorsed teachers was estimated); schools with a low population eligible for free or reduced-price lunch would have faced a higher availability than students in other subcategories of free or reduced-price lunch-eligible population would have (75-88 percent, depending on how demand for advanced math-endorsed teachers was estimated). [For the full report, "Meeting Oregon's New High School Math Graduation Requirements: Examining Student Enrollment and Teacher Availability. Issues & Answers. REL 2012-No. 126," see ED531497.]

Students entering high school face many new academic challenges. One of the most important is their ability to read and understand more complex text in literature, mathematics, science, and social studies courses as they navigate through a rigorous high school curriculum. The Regional Educational Laboratory (REL) Northwest conducted a study to examine the effectiveness of a teacher professional development program called Project CRISS, which stands for Creating Independence through Student-owned Strategies. Through Project CRISS, high school teachers learn how to apply research-based learning principles and reading/writing strategies in all major subject or content areas using materials, training, and follow-up support provided by the developer. The pretest and posttest were administered in the fall and spring, respectively, of the second implementation year of the treatment. It was hypothesized that by year 2 of the treatment, teachers would have had familiarity with how to use the Project CRISS instructional methods, given the training and guided coaching they received during the first year of implementation. During the second year, when student impact was assessed, the model specified that teachers would continue to receive some training from the national trainer and technical assistance from the district-certified, in-school local facilitator. There was no statistically significant difference between the treatment group and control group on the mean reading comprehension scores. Because random selection was conducted within a blocking design defined by cohorts, poverty status, and state, a sensitivity analysis was performed to determine whether explicit modeling of the effect size variability across blocks would alter the substantive result. The substantive result remained the same: there was no statistically significant treatment effect. In addition to the main impact analysis, one exploratory research question was addressed: does the impact of Project CRISS on student reading comprehension differ for boys and girls? Concerning the moderating effect of gender, no statistically significant impact difference was found between boys and girls. Appendices include: (1) Statistical power analysis; (2) Teacher questionnaire for treatment schools; (3) Missing data imputation procedures; (4) Project CRISS full implementation model description; and (5) Complete multilevel model results for impact analysis. (Contains 3 figures, 18 tables and 4 endnotes.)

The past two decades have brought the second largest wave of immigration in U.S. history. This has led to a rapid and unprecedented influx of immigrants to the Pacific Northwest as well as a rise in the number of English language learners (ELLs) in schools. Between 2002-2003 and 2007-2008, the Northwest's annual growth in ELL enrollment was nearly five times faster than the national average. By 2007-2008, ELLs represented 8.6 percent of total public school enrollment in the Northwest. To address these changes, many district leaders in the Northwest are taking a direct role in supporting the education of ELLs. These leaders are looking for programs, strategies, and practices to help this growing population of students develop English proficiency while simultaneously mastering academic content. The lessons presented in this paper are derived from Education Northwest's research, evaluation, and technical assistance experiences. They are intended to address questions that administrators may have about how to mitigate barriers to the linguistic and academic achievement of ELLs. They will also help leaders provide better support to teachers as they learn and implement evidence-based instructional practices for ELLs. [This paper was written with contributions from Elizabeth Autio, Theresa Deussen, and Lynette Thompson.]

This paper describes implementation of the federal government's DC 21st Century Community Learning Center (DC 21st CCLC) program during the summer of 2001, focusing on the use of computer technology to improve academic achievement. The DC 21st CCLC program provides funding to schools in the District of Columbia to improve their out-of-school-time programs, thus enhancing students' academic success and later employment outcomes. Activities in the 2001 summer programs involved reading and mathematics software programs. Researchers collected data on middle and junior high school students via direct observations of activities, document reviews, interviews with program coordinators and facilitators, and focus groups with student participants. Results revealed that the technology appeared to have been well implemented, with large numbers of well-functioning machines in almost all observed classrooms and generally positive reactions from staff and students. Students tended to be well-behaved and engaged, though they did not appear excited or motivated by their achievement. Student enrollment was somewhat lower than hoped. Observation data suggested that use of the Internet, pretests, and aides could be improved to better support student achievement. Three appendices provide tables, reading and math software, and protocols for site visits. (Contains 13 references.) (SM)

The local education fund (LEF) movement started in the early 1980s, when public schools were struggling with changing demographics and a need for greater community commitment to public education. Small, independent, community-based organizations were established to bridge the gap between schools and communities. More recently, the Public Education Network (PEN), the national representative for over 70 LEFs nationwide, has begun specifying what its unique contribution to education has been and will be. The Urban Institute has worked to support emerging research around LEF leadership. This report examines efforts by the Urban Institute and PEN to describe a leadership model that characterizes the LEF movement. Data from interviews with LEF executive directors and founders highlight four themes: LEF leaders create a space for sustained collaboration in communities; although LEF leaders are invested in their communities in terms of socioeconomic status and race, they are not typically representative of the communities they serve; LEF leadership appears to involve making strategic choices in an environment of constraints; and LEF leadership fits well in an adaptive leadership framework. The report recommends a two-pronged approach to future studies of LEF leadership. Three appendixes present founding director interview summaries, founding director telephone interview protocol, and topics to be explored in future research. (SM)

A study examined how nonprofit organizations, particularly local education funds, and their leaders address social issues. Local education funds are a set of voluntary, intermediate, and mission-driven organizations at the center of educational and civic capacity building. This report provides the results of the first phase of the Public Education Network leadership study of 59 LEF executive directors, portraying their characteristics and perceptions. Survey items were formulated by Urban Institute researchers, examined by experts inside and outside the network, and pilot-tested using current and former Los Angeles executive directors. Judging from the survey, executive directors would prefer to spend less time carrying out management of programs and more time on strategic planning. Interpersonal skills and strategic planning were ranked as key to effective leadership. A community-collaborative model of leadership was preferred because interacting with and mobilizing the community is an integral role. That executive directors tend to be white and middle-income, whereas students in the districts served tend to be lower income, is a concern. The majority believe their boards of directors are executing their responsibilities effectively. (Contains 20 references.) (RKJ)

This report analyzes information from 12 Educational Flexibility Partnership Demonstration (EFD) program state reports submitted to the U.S. Department of Education in spring 2000. The EFD program helps schools and districts implement educational reforms and raise student achievement by providing increased flexibility in implementing federal education programs. Twelve state educational agencies (SEAs) were delegated the authority to waive certain federal education requirements that could impede local or state efforts to improve education. The reports summarize 1999 waiver activity (number and type of federal waivers granted to districts or schools and disposition of waiver requests). They include achievement data and other information for waivers that were in place for 2 or more years. This analysis includes information from states' original applications for waiver authority and phone calls to SEA officials. In 1999, more waivers were granted to districts and schools by EFD SEAs than were granted from 1994-2000 to districts and schools in non-Ed-Flex states by the Secretary of Education. The reports do not provide adequate information to describe the effects of waivers on education reform and student achievement. Some questions about the increased accountability demanded of districts and schools receiving waivers remain unanswered. (SM)

This report describes the implementation of the DC 21st Century Learning Centers (DC 21st CCLC) Summer 2000 program, which enrolled about 1,000 children attending 9 middle and junior high schools. The report is designed to provide feedback to managers of the DC 21st CCLC program and to inform Children and Youth Investment Partnership, of which DC 21st CCLC is a part. The DC 21st CCLC program, run by the District of Columbia public school system (DCPS), began as an initiative to help coordinate the different types of youth activities provided for children in the District of Columbia and currently includes after-school, summer, Saturday, and adult evening programs. The report, based on observations of program activities and interviews with coordinators, facilitators, and parents at the 9 DC 21st CCLC summer schools, concludes that in general the program has been well implemented with sufficient resources and support, and that it has responded with flexibility to challenges beyond the program's control. Parent responses were positive, staff appeared to be satisfied with program implementation, and activities appeared to give students many opportunities to develop a variety of skills in the areas of education, technology, sports and community service. Appendixes present characteristics of observed program activities, a description of technology use in DC 21st CCLC program, and protocols for site visits. (SM)

This report describes the implementation of the DC 21st Century Community Learning Center (DC 21st CCLC) After-School Program between October 1999 and May 2000, as well as the implications of current implementation for continued evaluation of the program. The report is also designed to inform Children and Youth Investment Partnership Investment activities, of which the DC 21st CCLC program is a part. The study was based on interviews with the 10 program coordinators and student participants at 10 DC 21st CCLC sites (between 7 and 12 students at each site). The investigation revealed that many key elements of the program have been implemented at all sites, with positive student reactions to activities, but lower than expected student enrollment. Appendixes contain a description of program activity characteristics and the program coordinator interview protocol. (Author/SLD)

This book highlights the reform policies, practices, and procedures of nine promising Goals 2000 subgrantees. It describes how Goals 2000 and/or Technology Literacy Challenge Fund (TLCF) grants are being used to start, support, and/or sustain these reforms. The report examines the nine subgrantees' reform efforts using a multiple case-study approach and addresses the following research questions, grouped into four main categories: (1) What reform efforts have the subgrantees implemented to improve teaching and learning in their districts and how have Goals 2000 and/or TLCF funds sustained these efforts; (2) What evidence suggests that the reform efforts have been successful; (3) How and to what extent do these subgrantees coordinate program funds to promote reform; and (4) What do these case studies tell policymakers about the planning and implementation of successful programs? The findings show that subgrantees implemented several reform efforts to improve teaching and learning, such as the adoption/creation and implementation of state and local standards and curricula. Successes were evident through state and local assessment scores and improvements in professional development. The flexible nature of Goals 2000 subgrants enabled districts to spend the funds on their priorities. Finally, several policy issues emerged, including the finding that districts play a significant role in implementing systemic standards-based reform. (RJM)

The Presidential Awards for Excellence in Science and Mathematics Teaching program was established in 1983 to recognize outstanding science and mathematics teachers in the United States. In 1993 a national probability sample was taken of approximately 6,000 elementary/secondary teachers asking about their backgrounds and preparation, classroom practices, and professional activities. Questionnaires were also sent to all teachers who had received the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science and Mathematics Teaching. The purpose of this monograph is to provide information on the nature and extent of the differences between these groups. Presidential Awardees generally are much more experienced and more highly educated than their national counterparts. Differences in attitudes translate into differences in instruction, with Presidential Awardees' classes considerably more likely to work in small groups and use manipulative materials and considerably less likely to read a textbook in class or do worksheet problems. Awardees were much more likely to be active professionally, serving on school or district committees, teaching in-service workshops for colleagues, and participating in science- and mathematics-related professional development activities. The process of selecting Presidential Awardees seems to be effective in recognizing teachers whose backgrounds, beliefs, teaching styles, and professional involvement are consistent with the recommendations of professional associations and state and national standards. (PVD)

For two Arizona schools with widely diverse ethnic makeup and socioeconomic backgrounds, the arts became a medium for defusing the potential for conflict. During spring 1995, sixth graders from both schools participated in "New Beginnings," a collaborative poetry and visual arts project. Through their interactions, the children created a basis for understanding, compassion, and trust. (MLH)

Discusses innovations in testing methods in college-level science. Highlights previous efforts at reform, new thinking, new practices, and computer-generated exams and scoring systems. Reports on focus group interviews that explore student recollections of in-class examinations in college-level science. (24 references) (JRH)

The kinds of educational technologies selected can make the difference between uninspired, rote computer use and challenging learning experiences. University of Arizona's Image Processing for Teaching Project has worked with over 1,000 teachers to develop image-processing techniques that provide students with exciting, open-ended opportunities for exploration, discovery, and quantitative analysis. (MLH)

Teachers participating in the Image Processing for Teaching Process, begun at the University of Arizona's Lunar and Planetary Laboratory in 1989, find this technology ideal for encouraging student discovery, promoting constructivist science or math experiences, and adapting in classrooms. Because image processing is not a computerized text, it captures student interest. (MLH)