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Find out in this Q&A with the authors of Schools that Make the Grade: What Successful Schools Do to Improve Student Achievement |
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About the authors
 Martin J.A. Ratcliffe, Ed.D., is assistant professor of Education at Southeastern University in Florida. Originally trained in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), he has a doctorate in Education from Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, Oklahoma.  Melissa L. Harts, Ed.D., is director of Technology and Information Services for Hernando County Schools in Florida. She has a doctorate in instructional technology from Columbia University Teachers college.
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Q: Recent cheating scandals in the news have underscored the pressure schools are under to make adequate yearly progress. Your book outlines 7, more appropriate and more effective measures schools can take to make AYP and increase student achievement. You call these characteristics "correlates"; what do you mean by that?
A: Correlates are characteristics of effective schools that have been "co-related" to student academic achievement in numerous research studies since the early 1970s. Q: What are the 7 correlates? A: Positive Home–School Relations – The authentic relationship between home and school built on mutual trust and communication that enables the school to achieve its mission of educating students. Opportunity to Learn and Student Time on Task – The planned allocation of time and student involvement in curricular mastery. Climate of High Expectations – The climate set by staff and actions backed up by expectations when they genuinely believe in their students' abilities to achieve at high levels. Clear and Focused Mission – The clear target that brings everyone together for a common purpose. It is the key to setting the direction for educating students throughout the district and ultimately in every school. Frequent Monitoring of Student Progress – A technique that provides continuous feedback to teachers about the effectiveness of the instructional program and student achievement. Instructional Leadership – The school leader's involvement in instruction, curriculum, and assessment. Safe and Orderly Environment – An environment that is free from physical or psychological harm and conducive to teaching and learning. Q: Of all the correlates, which has been found to be most critical? A: Research studies have clearly demonstrated that the Positive Home–School Relations correlate is the number-one predictor of student academic achievement. Q: In your new book Schools that Make the Grade, you make a distinction between schools that demonstrate "proficient" and "advanced" correlates. Can you provide an example? A: We conducted case studies of two excellent schools. The proficient school did not make AYP, but consistently made an A for its school grade, whereas the advanced school both made AYP and an A as its school grade. Subtle distinctions were found in the Positive Home–School Relations correlate. In the proficient school, parents were visible throughout the school as volunteers. They worked in the cafeteria, assisted in the front office, and some substituted for teachers who may have had to leave early for the day. They also participated in fundraisers, parent meetings, and field trips. Teachers made at least one phone call to every parent at the beginning of the school year. The school strived to maintain an updated website, access to online grades, newsletters, friendly reception staff, an online messaging system, and timely communication about student progress or non-progress. However, there was room for much more parent involvement. The advanced school did many of the same activities as the proficient school, but also developed a community of parents and teachers working together to move the students forward academically. There was a strong expectation that parents would participate and be included in schoolwide decisions that would affect the growth and development of their child. Q: In your book, you list steps that highly effective superintendents, principals, and teachers can take to achieve success. Could you include a brief example for each correlate? A: Positive Home–School Relations One way to improve this correlate is to treat parents respectfully as partners and create opportunities for meaningful parental involvement. Opportunity to Learn and Student Time on Task The amount of time in which students are actively and appropriately engaged in learning will determine the amount of success each student will achieve. Schools should operate in a professional, business-like manner, making full use of classroom time and keeping the focus on student learning. Climate of High Expectations One way to create this climate is to boost the self-efficacy of students by believing in their potential and aiming for their hearts. Clear and Focused Mission This mission statement must come alive in the hearts and minds of those working daily to teach students. It must pulsate in the classrooms so that it keeps students, teachers, principals, and support staff all marching to the same beat, moving toward making learning gains in all academic areas. Frequent Monitoring of Student Progress Principals can become assessment-literate by taking the time to understand the indicators from the data, comparing the indicators with previous student assessments, developing research-based interventions that can be used to remediate the student on the learning deficit, and consulting with a data review team to discuss results and integrate the instructional intervention strategies to strengthen the student's skills. Instructional Leadership Instructional leaders recognize that teaching and learning are the top priority and demonstrate this by creating a rigorous and comprehensive curricular program, maximizing instructional time, making daily classroom visits, providing specific feedback (notes), and following up on classroom observations. A Safe and Orderly Environment Teachers can foster positive teacher–student and student–student relationships by nurturing a spirit of connection and community and fostering a caring learning environment. Q: We all know these measures take time, and educators are already straining under the pressures of accountability ... Do you have any message of hope or words of advice that can help them stay the course to make sure their school makes AYP and—most importantly—ensure all their students achieve? A: We encourage educators at all levels to purposefully steer their educational ships by the solidly grounded and researched fundamentals—the 7 correlates—to ensure the highest student achievement. These correlates are beacons of hope amidst the demands of accountability, increased federal mandates, the growing number of district initiatives, and limited time and resources. Our biggest encouragement to weary educators who may feel overwhelmed by all of these demands is to take hope. You're not in it alone. Learn from your colleagues, keep your focus, and lean on the correlates because they have withstood the test of time and can be trusted to improve school and student achievement.
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