Dive Brief:
- Fuller Elementary, located in Chicago's Bronzeville neighborhood, has seen above-average improvement in test scores since the 2012-13 school year, when Chicago Public Schools turned its management over to the non-profit Academy for Urban School Leadership, Chalkbeat reports.
- African-American girls accounted for the vast majority of the growth, with boys improving much more slowly and getting most of the school’s Ds and Fs — details that led Principal Marilyn McCottrell to examine the data and make changes to shrink that achievement gap.
- Among her efforts were a new grading system in which the lowest possible test score is a 50, a revised homework policy that doesn't automatically give kids a zero for not turning in homework, and allowing students to redo parts of failed tests after reteaching — ultimately leading to the overall numbers of Ds and Fs decreasing by nearly half.
Dive Insight:
The stakes are high for African-American boys, especially those from economically-disadvantaged households. They are more prone than their not only to falling behind in school, but having run-ins with the juvenile justice system. As adults, they're more likely to be arrested, imprisoned or chronically unemployed. Taking a good look at the data at the school, classroom and individual levels can help administrators pinpoint where they can do better for these students. Holding "data conferences" with other administrators and teachers can bring in new perspectives.
As McCottrell insists, looking at African-American boys as kids who need saving isn't the right lens. Instead, they need to be respected and appreciated for their individual differences and the unique gifts they bring to the educational experience in your school community.
Two tactics that are proving effective at Fuller — identified through a combination of number crunching and simply talking with the boys — are incorporating more black voices and black experiences into lesson plans and increasing opportunities for small-group, individualized instruction.
Other strategies for administrators to consider include promoting more social-emotional learning techniques and restorative practices, rather than punitive approaches to discipline such as expulsions (which inordinately affect students of color), and incorporating anti-bias training into teachers’ professional development.