Virginia's Excellent Adventure

Abstract

THE VIRGINIA General Assembly is concerned that there remains a significant gap between the best- and poorest-performing Even as it acknowledged that most elementary and secondary are meeting academic achievement goals, the Assembly proceeded to request that information be collected on best practices used in high-performing and school divisions (districts) in the state. The resulting report, Review of Factors and Practices Associated with School Performance in Virginia, presents important findings. The Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission -- established by the legislature as a free-standing agency to make independent and objective performance reviews of state programs and agencies -- conducted the study that the legislators requested. The study had two major research components: a quantitative analysis of the measurable factors associated with Standards of Learning (SOL) test results in and divisions and a qualitative review of and divisions. Project leader Hal Greer noted that researchers analyzed SOL test scores and the variables associated with them and visited 61 public in 35 school divisions, including high-scoring schools, low- scoring schools, schools that were exceeding predicted test scores, and schools with a large increase in test scores. Researchers held structured interviews with 11 superintendents and 61 principals. In addition, they conducted interviews with the state superintendent and with department of education officials, surveyed core-subject teachers in 56 of the 61 schools, and conducted literature and other document reviews. Six major findings resulted from the review: * Over the course of several years of SOL implementation, SOL test scores and pass rates have increased substantially. * However, a large percentage of the difference in the SOL test performance of and school divisions is still explained by the demographic characteristics of students and their communities. Further analysis revealed that the relationships between these factors and test scores could be partially explained by differences in teacher qualifications and experience, family support and structure, school and division characteristics, and local fiscal conditions. * Some of the challenged by these demographic factors have used best practices that have helped them to achieve success on the SOL tests, and these practices are identified in the report. * Support provided at the division level has a direct bearing on the success of individual schools, and successful divisions generally provide more support to their schools. Effective division practices are identified in this report. * In the divisions and visited for this review, superintendents, principals, and teachers generally indicate a belief that the SOLs have been helpful in improving the performance of their and students. * However, the Commonwealth and its public still face a number of challenges for the future, including addressing the needs of pupils served by where performance is not considered acceptable, responding to issues such as high dropout and retention rates, and meeting the expectations of the federal No Child Left Behind Act. Specific Findings A number of the study's findings concerned relationships between poverty, race, adult educational attainment, and test scores. For example, teacher salaries are lower in divisions serving communities with a low proportion of college-educated adults. Teacher salaries in these areas are, on average, 13% lower than those in communities where a large proportion of adults are college educated. Per-pupil expenditures for instruction are also lower in communities with low adult educational attainment. Overall, the study identified nine practices used in with good SOL test results. …