learners, male versus female; Caucasian versus Black, ‘students with disabilities’ versus ‘all students except for students with disabilities.’ Gaps between these subgroups are significant for ELs (13%) black (14%) for students with disabilities (15%) but insignificant between males and females (2%). These results are adversely affecting students’ performance on other content area assessments that require writing skills. We are looking for a writing instructional strategy that is indicated by research to enhance writing skills for all students and in particular English Learners as they represent the majority of the impacted student population. What is the reason for selecting the strategy/program/initiative including intended results? (Include the connection to the need cited above and the SMART objective(s) identifying intended results) The school community has tried a few other writing strategies in the past with minimal improvement in students’ writing across the grades. Based on the comprehensive needs assessment including student low achievement results in writing, and guided by research summaries, our stakeholders decided to launch BEW. BEW has been shown by research to produce significant gains in writing achievement across all demographic groups and is particularly effective with addressing the unique needs of EL and at risk students, two subgroups where our data indicated the largest gaps existed. Our measurable objectives are as follows: Students placed in each of grades K-5 will increase their writing proficiency levels on local assessments by at least 7 percentage points annually. All trailing subgroups (students with disabilities, English learners, gender, racial/ethnic groups) will increase their writing proficiency levels on local assessments by at least 10 percentage points annually in order to narrow and close the achievement gaps. Cite the research supporting the strategy/program/initiative, including a brief summary of research findings and targeted population. (Research should be current and evidence-based with a brief summary) Kame’euni, E.J., & Carnine, D. (1998). Effective Strategies that Accommodate Diverse Learners. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. Marzano, Robert J., Debra J. Pickering and Jane E. Pollock. 2004. Classroom instruction that Works: Research Based Strategies for Increasing Student Achievement. ASCD. Fontenot, J & Carney, K (2008) Blueprint for Exceptional Writing. Pearson. Results of research studies show that students who were taught using the BEW intervention demonstrated significant learning gains at the conclusion of the studies. Specifically, general education students improved by a factor of 2
learners, male versus female; Caucasian versus Black, ‘students with disabilities’ versus ‘all students except for students with disabilities.’ Gaps between these subgroups are significant for ELs (13%) black (14%) for students with disabilities (15%) but insignificant between males and females (2%). These results are adversely affecting students’ performance on other content area assessments that require writing skills. We are looking for a writing instructional strategy that is indicated by research to enhance writing skills for all students and in particular English Learners as they represent the majority of the impacted student population. What is the reason for selecting the strategy/program/initiative including intended results? (Include the connection to the need cited above and the SMART objective(s) identifying intended results) The school community has tried a few other writing strategies in the past with minimal improvement in students’ writing across the grades. Based on the comprehensive needs assessment including student low achievement results in writing, and guided by research summaries, our stakeholders decided to launch BEW. BEW has been shown by research to produce significant gains in writing achievement across all demographic groups and is particularly effective with addressing the unique needs of EL and at risk students, two subgroups where our data indicated the largest gaps existed. Our measurable objectives are as follows: Students placed in each of grades K-5 will increase their writing proficiency levels on local assessments by at least 7 percentage points annually. All trailing subgroups (students with disabilities, English learners, gender, racial/ethnic groups) will increase their writing proficiency levels on local assessments by at least 10 percentage points annually in order to narrow and close the achievement gaps. Cite the research supporting the strategy/program/initiative, including a brief summary of research findings and targeted population. (Research should be current and evidence-based with a brief summary) Kame’euni, E.J., & Carnine, D. (1998). Effective Strategies that Accommodate Diverse Learners. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. Marzano, Robert J., Debra J. Pickering and Jane E. Pollock. 2004. Classroom instruction that Works: Research Based Strategies for Increasing Student Achievement. ASCD. Fontenot, J & Carney, K (2008) Blueprint for Exceptional Writing. Pearson. Results of research studies show that students who were taught using the BEW intervention demonstrated significant learning gains at the conclusion of the studies. Specifically, general education students improved by a factor of 2
PET_Writing_Exemplar_10-21-15_503883_7.docx