EDL 586 Jeyan Danesh Case Study Presentation

Scores for At-Risk Students : 

Scores for At-Risk Students The Effect of Increased Parental Involvement on Standardized Test Presented to Prof. Alan Giles Department of Educational Leadership Azusa Pacific University In Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts in Educational Leadership EDL 586 Respectfully Submitted by: Mr. Jeyan Danesh June 2012

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Increased Parental Involvement & Standardized Test Scores Presented By: Jeyan Danesh Overview Despite many parents best interest, many are incapable or do not know how to motivate their children academically. Students living in low socioeconomic areas and considered at-risk have even greater challenges towards success and may give up on their education if nobody motivates them. Purpose of the case study is to see if there is a correlation between increased parental contact and higher standardized test scores (via common assessments) for students considered at-risk. Students participating in the case study demonstrated increases ranging from 4-37% overall in common assessment scores.

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Increased Parental Involvement & Standardized Test Scores Presented By: Jeyan Danesh Personal Context Over the many years teaching, the observations i’ve been able to make have revolved around the same topics. Many students in rough, urban environments become statistics prior to the time they should be graduating from high school. At the 9th grade level, so many students are given up on by their teachers, who are fed up with behavioral issues. Many parents in the area would like to be involved in their child's education but may not have the resources or may not know how. Many teachers often question me regarding my successes in the classroom, asking how I do it. I’ve noticed that patience and a rapport with parents solves all problems. With persistency, determination and patience, the ratio of classroom management issues has been virtually nonexistent in some rooms, why can it not be all? With the large concentration of ‘at-risk’ students in the area, shouldn’t all teachers be contacting and communicating with parents effectively? Are teachers too focused on teaching core academic standards rather than balancing curriculum with character education?

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Increased Parental Involvement & Standardized Test Scores Presented By: Jeyan Danesh Literature Review “A rigorous curriculum cannot be the only thing we focus on.” (Campbell, 2010) The odds of graduation for at-risk students or students from lower, urban, socioeconomic areas gets closer and closer to 50/50. Despite the potential headaches many parents can bring to school administrators, it is necessary to keep parents in the loop to help their children. As educators, it is becoming increasingly important to focus on character education as a rigorous curriculum. Parents are NECESSARY to reform education.

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Increased Parental Involvement & Standardized Test Scores Presented By: Jeyan Danesh Literature Review “Sadly, the odds of graduating from high school in 50 of America’s largest urban cities amounts, essentially, to a coin toss. The public, and even many educators, remains largely unaware of this national crisis. The data suggest that as educators, we must rethink how to empower and engage students in order to keep them as active participants in our country’s future.” (Slaughter, 2009) The odds of graduation for at-risk students or students from lower, urban, socioeconomic areas gets closer and closer to 50/50. Despite the potential headaches many parents can bring to school administrators, it is necessary to keep parents in the loop to help their children. As educators, it is becoming increasingly important to focus on character education as a rigorous curriculum. Parents are NECESSARY to reform education.

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Increased Parental Involvement & Standardized Test Scores Presented By: Jeyan Danesh Literature Review “ School administrators may be hesitant to make the effort to involve parents in education because it opens up a whole new issue of adult education. Schools may need to help the parents before the parents would be able to help their child.” (Plevyak, 2003) The odds of graduation for at-risk students or students from lower, urban, socioeconomic areas gets closer and closer to 50/50. Despite the potential headaches many parents can bring to school administrators, it is necessary to keep parents in the loop to help their children. As educators, it is becoming increasingly important to focus on character education as a rigorous curriculum. Parents are NECESSARY to reform education.

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Increased Parental Involvement & Standardized Test Scores Presented By: Jeyan Danesh background & Participants Students involved in the case study are enrolled at a Federal Title I school and come from low socioeconomic backgrounds. Students involved in the case study are considered ‘at-risk.’ ‘At-risk’ students are classified as students who have multiple unexcused absences (truants), possible behavioral problems and lacking the required number of credits for graduation. Many students involved in the case study come from single-parent, working-class homes. Participants in the study involved 10-11 grade students enrolled in college preparatory chemistry. Two hispanic females, one hispanic male, one African American male and one Arab American male participated in the study. Student Description G.P.A. Grade Qty F’s at Semester Credit Deficient? Excessive Absences A Hispanic Female #1 1.89 11 1 Y Y B Hispanic Female #2 2.00 10 2 N Y C Hispanic Male 1.51 11 1 Y Y D African American Male 2.00 11 1 Y Y E Arab American Male 2.04 11 2 N Y

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Increased Parental Involvement & Standardized Test Scores Presented By: Jeyan Danesh Setting Students participating in the case study attend a comprehensive, urban, lower socioeconomic high school in San Bernardino, Ca Case study took place within the San Bernardino City Unified School District. Overwhelming majority of students are Latin American, remaining population is mostly African American, figure 1 illustrates population demographics. Most parents want greater levels of education for their children than they obtained, figure 2 illustrates levels of parental education.

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Increased Parental Involvement & Standardized Test Scores Presented By: Jeyan Danesh Setting This figure depicts the average level of education for parents in the San Bernardino area in comparison to the state of California.

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Increased Parental Involvement & Standardized Test Scores Presented By: Jeyan Danesh Setting The average demographics for the school where the case study took place.

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Increased Parental Involvement & Standardized Test Scores Presented By: Jeyan Danesh Method Parents were provided with basic parenting skills, advice and updates concerning their students progress. During the study common assessment scores, attendance and overall grades were monitored and recorded. Parents of students involved in the case study were contacted via telephone, USPS (mail) or email. Parents of students involved in the case study were contacted at a minimum of once per week or any time their students accrued more than three unexcused absences or no significant academic progress was being made.

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Increased Parental Involvement & Standardized Test Scores Presented By: Jeyan Danesh Data & Results Student Description Grade Type of Growth A Hispanic Female #1 11 Marginal B Hispanic Female #2 10 Significant C Hispanic Male 11 Significant D African American Male 11 Marginal E Arab American Male 11 None Students common assessment score increases range between 4-37% Increased common assessment scores indicated increases in curricular comprehension. Students overall growth ranged from ‘none’ to ‘significant.’

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Increased Parental Involvement & Standardized Test Scores Presented By: Jeyan Danesh Data & Results Student Description Grade Type of Growth A Hispanic Female #1 11 Marginal B Hispanic Female #2 10 Significant C Hispanic Male 11 Significant D African American Male 11 Marginal E Arab American Male 11 None

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Increased Parental Involvement & Standardized Test Scores Presented By: Jeyan Danesh Of five participants, only one showed no level of improvement in attendance. Of five participants, three students parents demonstrated consistent parent participation. Of five participants, two students parents demonstrated inconsistent participation. Analyzed data estimates indicate three of the five participants to maintain if not improve their CST scores for the year. Analyzed data estimates indicate two of the five participants to have lower CST scores as a result of previous years scores and multiple attendance issues. Data & Results

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Increased Parental Involvement & Standardized Test Scores Presented By: Jeyan Danesh Data & Results

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Increased Parental Involvement & Standardized Test Scores Presented By: Jeyan Danesh Conclusion Increased common assessment scores indicated increases in curricular comprehension. Increased common assessment scores typically occurred with increases in participation and attendance. Students who had increased parental contact, typically yielded higher scores. Students who had missed the greatest amount of seat time had the most difficult times recovering their scores in courses like chemistry, where the curriculum develops on itself. Policies and practices in attendance recording and reporting are necessary to inform parents of absences. Online systems for credit recovery, notifications and attendance do not help parents in low socioeconomic areas stay up to date with their children's academics. Students with severe psycho-social issues are not likely to overcome certain issues, preventing them from focusing on their education.

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Increased Parental Involvement & Standardized Test Scores Presented By: Jeyan Danesh Summary Increases in effective communication with parents can lead to increases in academics. Average scores increased between 4-37%. Increases in effective communication with parents can lead to increased attendance. Parents without reliable internet services cannot take advantage of online based, attendance reporting and rely on telephone based attendance reporting methods. Telephone based attendance reporting methods are not effective in preventing absences. Increases in absences can be catastrophic for students in courses where curriculum builds on itself.

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Increased Parental Involvement & Standardized Test Scores Presented By: Jeyan Danesh References Campbell, M. (2010, September). Academic and Social Support Critical to Success in Academically Rigorous Environment. Education Digest , 20 , 61-64. Freeman, E. (2010). The Shifting Geography of Urban Education. Education and Urban Society , 42 , 674-704. Retrieved January 1, 2012, from http://eus.sagepub.com/content/42/6/674.full.pdf Haynes, K., Phillips, K., & Goldring, E. (2010). Latino Parents' Choice of Magnet School: How School Choice Differs Across Racial and Ethnic Boundaries. Education and Urban Society , 42 , 758-789. Plevyak, L. (2003, October). Parent Involvement in Education: Who Decides?. Education Digest , n/a , 32-38. Slaughter, T. (2009, January). Creating a Successful Academic Climate for Urban Students. Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE) , 84 , 16-19. Retrieved January 1, 2012, from http://eric.ed.gov/PDFS/EJ829500.pdf