Making the Case: Compelling Data
This growing library features data points describing the impacts and outcomes of student-centered and competency-based teaching and learning. The data are sourced from research studies, evaluation reports and journal articles, as well as evidence collected directly by classroom, school, district and state leaders.
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Personalized Alternative Program Drives Graduation Gains in MA District
Holyoke Public Schools reduced dropouts and increased graduation from 62% in 2015 to 72% in 2019, with larger jumps for English Language Learners, students with disabilities and Latinx students. Gains were driven by a successful alternative program offering a variety of personalized programs including mastery and project-based learning options.
More States Use Portrait of a Graduate
A recent review of state policies showed in the last 10 years 17 states have begun using Portraits of a Graduate which can help foster student-centered practices. The trend continued to build with 4 states adopting these polices from 2022-23.
Students Report Better Self-Regulate When Teachers Use Formative Assessment
Students in 3rd-12th grades whose teachers participated in formative assessment training reported higher use of self-regulated learning strategies on surveys in 3 Arizona districts. There was also a small but statistically significant association between more frequent use of formative assessment practices and more use of self-regulated learning str
Teachers Not Using Most Impactful Assessment Strategies
Based on a survey study of 3 Arizona districts, the formative assessment practices that were most strongly associated with reported positive self-regulation by students – self-assessment and peer feedback – were among the assessments teachers used least.
Most DC Black Female Students Passing AP from One Student-centered Tech School
A study of a middle school project-based science curriculum showed on average students performed higher than a matched comparison group on state math assessments by 12 percentage points in Year 2 and 18 percentage points in Year 3 and on the ELA assessment by 8 percentage points in Year 2 and 10 in Year 3.
Student-Centered Approach in DC Serves Students Underrepresented in the Sciences
90% of the Black students who passed the 2019 Advanced Placement computer science exam in the entire city of Washington DC attended Washington Leadership Academy, a school using student-centered practices to support students traditionally underrepresented in the sciences (20 out of 22 students).
Community Connections in Oakland Prepare Students for Future
Students at Latitude High prepare for careers through real-world projects, career exploration and Extended Learning Opportunities in the Oakland Community. Despite disruptions from COVID, 44% completed outside internships in 2022. And 92% reported feeling prepared for the future on a XQ Institute survey of seniors.
Collaborative Project-based Learning Prepares Students for Future
A 2022 survey showed 97% of students felt prepared for the future after attending Iowa BIG, a program where students design community-based projects while also enrolled in their home school. 90% credited the collaboration skills gained there as a key reason.
Project-based Learning Supports Traditionally Underserved Students at IN STEM School
Black, Latino and low-income students at Purdue Polytechnic High Schools, a IN network committed to individualized project-based learning to increase students attending college in STEM fields, were more likely to pass state exams than their peers in the district. All these groups had passing rates 4 times others in Indianapolis Public Schools.
Project-based School in IN Outperforms District
Students at Purdue Polytechnic High Schools, a network in Indianapolis committed to individualized project-based learning to increase students attending college in STEM fields, performed better on state assessments than other district students. In 2021, 11th graders were four times as likely to pass both the math and ELA sections (34% vs. 8%).
Community Connections Bring High Graduation Rates in TN School
In 2022, Elizabethton High, a school in rural TN transforming through project-based learning and community-connections, had a 93% graduation rate, 10% higher than other high schools in their county. This included students from low-income families and students with disabilities.
12% Rise in Postsecondary Enrollment After Personalized, Competency-based Learning Implemented
Following full-scale implementation of a proficiency-based system in 2011, a Maine high school's postsecondary enrollment increased to 71% by 2018, up from an average rate of 59% over the 10 years prior to the district’s shift to personalized, competency-based learning.
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