Meeting Yearly Progress

Meeting Yearly Progress

Different Ways of Knowing schools report increased student achievement in core subject areas. These achievement gains helped many schools meet their annual state performance accountability targets. Many Different Ways of Knowing schools received special recognition from the U.S. Department of Education, state education agencies and assessments, and education improvement organizations.

• In 2004, fifth graders at Martha Thomas Elementary, Mobile County School District, Alabama, acheived a 32-point gain, from 18-50 points, in writing scores, exceeding yearly target goals by 30 points.
• Two Kentucky middle grades schools were selected by the National Forum to Accelerate Middle-Grades Reform as Schools to Watch for increasing their state rankings: Auburn School (2003) and Barren County Middle School (1999). Adairville K-8 School in Kentucky was selected as a National Blue Ribbon School of Excellence (2001).
• In Southern California, 82 percent of elementary schools implementing Different Ways of Knowing met state performance targets in 2002 compared to 60 percent of elementary schools statewide.
• In Louisville, Kentucky, middle schools implementing Different Ways of Knowing increased their state accountability index an average of 6.5 percent compared to the statewide increase of 1.3 percent.
• Halsey Middle School 296 in New York City and Clark Elementary School in Michigan were recognized by state and local achievement programs (2002).
• Atwater Elementary School in California and Jason Lee Elementary School in Oregon were singled out by the Education Trust as high-performing, high-poverty schools (2001).
• Jason Lee Elementary School in Portland, Oregon, improved its reading performance from 54 percent of third grade students meeting and exceeding standards to 76 percent (2001–2002).
• A Michigan school was selected a 2002–2003 Michigan Blue Ribbon Exemplary School.
• Minadeo Elementary School in Pennsylvania was recognized as surpassing its district goal in reading (85 percent at grade level) in 2002 by moving a cohort of students in grade 2 from 66 percent proficient to 87 percent proficient in grade 3.