Feb 08, 1997
DePaul's School Achievement Structure Has Positive Impact on Chicago Public School
Scores
DePaul's School Achievement Structure Has Positive Impact on Chicago Public School
Scores
DePaul University School of Education's School Achievement Structure (SAS) has registered significant improvement in the test scores of several of the 30 Chicago Public Schools it currently advises, with four of the schools' tests scores showing marked achievement in 1996. They are are Herbert Spencer Math and Science Academy, Mary Mapes Dodge Elementary School, Robert Emmet Elementary School and Crane Technical Prep High School.
"Spencer is the real success story," said Kymara Chase, SAS director. "Because of the astronomical size of this elementary school, the improvement was remarkable and shows what SAS is capable of doing." Spencer has 1,200 elementary school students in a two-building campus.
Before SAS involvement in 1994, 90 percent of Spencer's third grade students did not meet Illinois Goals Assessment Program (IGAP) goals. That figure has now dropped to 57 percent. In 1994 only 10 percent of the third graders met the IGAP golas for math, now 40 percent are meeting with goals with three percent exceeding those goals.
Since 1993, SAS has provided teacher and principal support and retraining to Chicago schools targeted for improvement. DePaul's SAS faculty enters Chicago schools, makes evaluations, provides in-service professional development training to the staff and monitors the staff's progress through follow-up consultations.
SAS utilizes a "Ten Routines," which was copyrighted by School of Education Dean Barbara Sizemore in 1995, as a method to measure performance and improve a school's performance through staff evaluation and retaining. They include: assessment, pacing and acceleration, placement, monitoring, measuring, discipline, instruction, evaluation, staff development and decision-making.
SAS school test data show the following schools met and exceeded IGAP goals in 1995-96:
| SCHOOL | SUBJECT | GRADE | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 |
| Spencer: | Reading | Grade 3 | 10% | 31% | 43% |
| Reading | Grade 6 | 32% | 33% | 40% | |
| Reading | Grade 8 | 49% | 40% | 36% | |
| Math | Grade 3 | 21% | 50% | 71% | |
| Math | Grade 6 | 16% | 66% | 78% | |
| Math | Grade 8 | 57% | 51% | 71% |
| SCHOOL | SUBJECT | GRADE | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 |
| Dodge: | Reading | Grade 3 | 21% | 14% | 44% |
| Reading | Grade 6 | 26% | 34% | 36% | |
| Reading | Grade 8 | 22% | 10% | 16% | |
| Math | Grade 3 | 71% | 47% | 76% | |
| Math | Grade 6 | 36% | 35% | 64% | |
| Math | Grade 8 | 32% | 29% | 26% |
| SCHOOL | SUBJECT | GRADE | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 |
| Emmet: | Reading | Grade 3 | 50% | 34% | 58% |
| Reading | Grade 6 | 35% | 35% | 24% | |
| Reading | Grade 8 | 38% | 22% | 62% | |
| Math | Grade 3 | 83% | 53% | 93% | |
| Math | Grade 6 | 45% | 51% | 66% | |
| Math | Grade 8 | 62% | 16% | 39% |
| SCHOOL | SUBJECT | GRADE | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 |
| Crane: | Reading | Grade 10 | 27% | 16% | 29% |
| Math | Grade 10 | 16% | 10% | 31% |
What these scores means for the students, who attend these highly structured schools, is that they are better prepared for high school, higher education and life itself, according to Chase. For teachers it means they are focused on what they need to accomplish to prepare their students for the future.
"What it means for SAS," Chase observed, "is that eventually SAS will be out of business if teachers and principals learn effective ways to teach and run their schools. And that is not a bad goal if we are doing our job right."
For more information call Chase at 773/325-7000, Ext. 1696.