Instructional Innovation in Summer School: Outcomes for Urban Students

Abstract

In this paper, we present evaluation findings from a high stakes summer school program intended to help students failing Grade 8 in June 2000 meet promotion requirements by mid-August. Program components included: teacher professional development, an interdisciplinary curriculum, a Classroom, Inc. computer simulation and a related student workbook, and weekly on-site support visits. Over 300 students and 27 teachers in an urban district’s nine middle schools participated in the program. The district and a not-for-profit organization (Classroom, Inc.) collaborated to offer the program. We used a pre-/post- design with traditional and non-traditional measures to examine student outcomes. The program fostered positive outcomes, including improvements in attendance, disciplinary referrals, and academic engagement. Performance in four core subjects—mathematics, reading, science, and social studies—was enhanced. District students made a greater than average improvement in standardized mathematics test scores, and reading gains comparable to the citywide Grade 8 results. Overall, scores on problem-solving performance assessments improved modestly between the pre- and post-testing; the scores of the lower two-thirds of the sample improved significantly. Students and educators deemed the program valuable; they would recommend it to others. Educators would use the program again—for Grade 8 and other levels. Implications for a larger scale implementation are discussed. The program was scaled up tenfold in 2001.