INTRODUCTION

Research on effective schools and school practices has clearly demonstrated that schools/school systems can become more effective. The literature defines effectiveness as having high achievement among all student groups, high student and staff attendance, high employee and student satisfaction, and high public confidence in schools.

Effective schools/school districts also "add value" to the performance levels of students:

the level of student performance increases uniformly the longer students are in school

Effectiveness levels are those levels which are achieved by the top 20 percent of the student population in a given category of student population demographics. In statistical terms, effectiveness levels are those results achieved at one standard deviation above the mean of the population. They are, therefore, rigorous levels of achievement.

Effectiveness is strongly associated with specific conditions of schooling. These conditions are commonly called "the correlates of effectiveness":

  1. Strong instructional leadership provided by the principal.
  2. A comprehensive curriculum - learning objectives, learning activities, and appropriate achievement measures.
  3. Measurement - regular monitoring of student achievement and staff/student attendance.
  4. A safe, orderly, disciplined, and supportive school climate.
  5. High expectations for quality work supported by staff and students.
  6. The existence of extensive school/community partnership programs.

Schools and school systems which are effective practice the behaviors associated with the correlates of effectiveness. The behaviors are understood, supported, practiced, and are observable. Such behaviors can be established through effective school training programs which are readily available from a variety of sources. These behaviors are generally under the control of adults. It should be clearly understood that conditions for effectiveness are the results of decisions made by adults in the community.

An audit of educational effectiveness examines the degree to which a school district meets the levels of effectiveness. Each school district is examined against student and staff populations with similar demographics nationwide which are currently achieving effectiveness levels and which have firmly established the correlates of effectiveness. An educational effectiveness audit includes:

  1. An analysis of school system policies.
  2. An analysis of test data.
  3. An analysis of attendance data.
  4. An examination of drop-out ratios.
  5. An examination of Advanced Placement/honors classes.
  6. An analysis of grading patterns to uncover grade inflation.
  7. An examination of the curricula.
  8. An analysis of school improvement plans.

The audit also consists of other activities to obtain effectiveness information, including:

  1. Interviews with school district administrators and teacher leaders.
  2. Observations in a sample number of schools when needed.
  3. Administration of questionnaires to a sample number of administrators, parents, and teachers.
  4. Examination of state department of education documents.
  5. Examination of accreditation documents when appropriate.

An effectiveness audit can be conducted for a single school, for a cluster of schools, or for an entire school district. The larger the number of students involved, the more accurate is the audit.

This audit has been conducted for the Duval County Public School District, Jacksonville, Florida. It was conducted to ascertain the degree to which the schools meet effectiveness levels. As such, it is an examination of the entire system as a whole and of individual school buildings. It is not an examination of individual teachers or individual administrators.

SchoolMatch maintains databases on each of the nation's public school systems and over 14,000 accredited private schools. A multiple regression analysis technique was applied to the SchoolMatch databases to identify other student populations in the United States similar to students enrolled in the Duval County Public School District.

The study compares student populations rather than school systems in order to provide more fair, accurate and comprehensive cohort comparisons. In the case of Duval County, its unusually large student population makes it particularly difficult to find school systems with both student demographic similarities and student population size. If the "mean-match" was on the basis of school system size or demographics alone, the results would not be reliable. In order to arrive at the most meaningful effectiveness levels for the Duval County Public School District, members of the audit team searched the entire student population of the United States for similar student populations. Included in the aggregate student population data are some of the following school districts which approximate the size of the Duval County Public School District and share some of its demographic characteristics:

This list is not intended to be exhaustive, nor is it to be used for comparative purposes. Its inclusion here is meant only to give readers of this report a sample of the types of student populations analyzed.

Data obtained from documents (Appendix A) are examined against information obtained through interviews. Reliability is established through professional judgments. Validity of effective school practices has been established by the combined efforts of researchers who have adequately documented that school practices associated with effective school correlates produce beneficial results for school systems. These research data are readily available.

One purpose of an educational effectiveness audit is to identify areas of school system operation or system results which can and should be improved. The audit serves as a basis for school system improvement and for the allocation of resources. The audit makes recommendations and provides possible methods for achieving school system improvements.

The audit report has been incorporated into the proposed work plan for Duval County's "New Century Commission on Education" as Item II.B.2. which states:

"SchoolMatch Audit of Educational Effectiveness: Independent audit of the school system. Results will be analyzed by working committees and the Commission for integration into findings and recommendations."

The audit will assist the system to:

  1. Examine school system leadership, structure, and policy development.
  2. Examine appropriateness of school system goals and objectives.
  3. Analyze pupil performance information and establish the degree to which schools are effective.
  4. Analyze the perceptions of various groups toward effective school practices and their implementation in the school system.
  5. Establish appropriate school improvement programs.
  6. Establish accountability structures to validate school improvement.

Information related to various levels of achievement is provided in Appendix B. It should be understood that researchers differ widely on the meaning and use of test data. Regardless of the position taken, however, most agree that test data (or student performance assessments) do indicate the degree to which schools/ school systems are effective. This is especially true when longitudinal test data are available and utilized. On occasion, cross-sectional data may be utilized for extremely large school districts.

There are four levels of achievement in effectiveness auditing: basic, normative, effectiveness, and absolute. Basic achievement levels are the minimum which will be accepted. Normative achievement levels are achieved by the average of the group. Effective levels of achievement are achieved by the top 20-25 percent of a mean-matched group of schools or school systems. Such levels are at one standard deviation above the average. Absolute achievement levels are achieved by the top schools or school systems in the distribution of mean-matched schools or school systems. For instance, the achievement of 100 percent average daily attendance would be the achievement of an absolute level.

The first step in conducting an audit is to analyze school system policies and practices. The next section of this report delineates the results of this analysis.

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