APPENDIX E. CASE STUDY METHODOLOGY AND PROTOCOL CONT’D Pieces of the Puzzle
Grades 6-8 Opening Questions: 1. What was the district’s improvement strategy at the secondary level? 2. What changed at the middle school level as a result of NAEP? 3. How do you account for NAEP gains (declines) at the eighth-grade level? Look for:
Middle school course alignment to advanced courses in high school
Intervention programs for students who performed below grade level
Monitoring student achievement progress
District explicitly aligned its secondary curriculum in core courses to college entry requirements or better.
District had a strategy (e.g., double-blocking) to assist students who had arrived in secondary school a year or more behind academically.
District high schools had AP and other similar courses available in all high schools, with a focus on middle school classes that would prepare students for advanced high school courses.
District could track and act on student course-taking patterns, grades, and absences to prevent dropouts and encourage more rigorous course work and greater attendance
Final Question Since the period of study, what changes has the district undergone that are likely to have an impact on NAEP?
E-19 Council of the Great City Schools and the American Institutes for Research 320
PIECES OF THE PUZZLE: FACTORS IN THE IMPROVEMENT OF URBAN SCHOOL DISTRICTS ON THE NATIONAL ASSESSMENT OF EDUCATIONAL PROGRESS