action plan presentation.6.16.09

USC Rossier School of Education

Basic Skills Action Plans: Action-ability and Account-ability

BSI Leadership Institute, June 16, 2009

Laura Lord, Research Associate

USC Rossier School of Education

The Center for Urban Education (CUE) conducts socially conscious research and develops tools needed for institutions of higher education to produce equity in student outcomes.

USC Rossier School of Education

Accountability (& action) for California’sBasic Skills Challenge

The

Basic

Skills

Initiative

USC Rossier School of Education

Intermediate Algebra

Transfer Level MathTransfer Level Math

Elementary Algebra

Pre-Algebra

Navigating the Basic Skills Pipeline

Only about 10% of Original Cohort

Succeeds in Navigating

the Gateway Curriculum

Only about 10% of Original Cohort

Succeeds in Navigating

the Gateway Curriculum

USC Rossier School of Education

Purposes/audiences for accountability

• Taking the temperature…(external)

• Creating actionable knowledge (internal)

USC Rossier School of Education

Creating Actionable Knowledge for Improved Student Outcomes

• To enable practitioners to recognize that there is a problem.

• To motivate institutional leaders and practitioners to inquire and act.

USC Rossier School of Education

The BSI through the Lens of…

• Professional Accountability

• Learning and Change Theories

Center for Urban Education

Policy/Research Questions

To what extent does the BSI provide a new model of accountability?

To what degree are the BSI action plans action-able?

USC Rossier School of Education

Methods

Basic Skills as a Foundation of Student Success• Literature review• Self assessment tool (four domains; 26

effective practices; 107 strategies)• Action planning matrixCompliance CCCC Documents• Action Plans for 25 colleges; 22 of these are

Hispanic Serving

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Conceptual Framework

Theory Based Evaluation (TBE)—level I– Problem/issues– Assets– Outcomes– Factors– Strategies– Surfacing the assumptions(Suchman 1967;Weiss 1972, 1995, 1997, 1998; Bickman 1987, 1990; Chen 1990; Patton, 1997)

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Assumptions

• Professional learning• Followed directions• Artifact

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Action Plans

Your ideas, beliefs, experiences, predictions…

USC Rossier School of Education

Overall

• Broad consensus on priorities• Variations in length, depth, approach,

capacity(?), action-ability!

USC Rossier School of Education

Analysis

• Strength– Problem/issues– Strategies– Outcomes*

• Opportunity– Assets– Factors– Assumptions– Outcomes*

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Actionable? Action Plans

• Something will stick/Battleship• Hear no evil, see no evil…• College anywhere• Not counting/no compass

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Actionable Action Plans

• Problem: Reflective response to challenges• Assets: resources/ways to leverage • Results: Cohesive, concrete steps towards a specific

end—planning was evident• Factors: Culture (institutional/students)• Strategies (more than a list)• Assumptions—the how and why of change• A story, not a “saga”

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Leaders & Exemplars

• Inquiry/evaluation• Practitioner learning/driven change• Culture

– Institutional– Community– Student

USC Rossier School of Education

No

Low

Med

Hig

h

Cu

lture

InquiryNo Low Med High

Non-HSI

1

19

Outlier

8 colleges high usage of inquiry12 colleges

low usage of inquiry

USC Rossier School of Education

No

Low

Med

Hig

h

Cu

lture

InquiryNo Low Med High

Non-HSI

1

19

Outlier

5 colleges high inclusion of culture

12 colleges low inclusion of culture

USC Rossier School of Education

No

Low

Med

Hig

h

Cu

lture

InquiryNo Low Med High

Non-HSI

1

19

Outlier

4 colleges high usage of inquiry/ culture

USC Rossier School of Education

No

Low

Med

Hig

h

Cu

lture

InquiryNo Low Med High

Non-HSI

1

19

Outlier

USC Rossier School of Education

Action-ability & Accountability

• Action-ability? (19)• Actionability! (4+2)

• Awareness• Acceptance (?)• Allocation of resources• Professional learning• Inquiry• Not just taking temp• But not fully actionable

USC Rossier School of Education

Outcomes?

• Learned?• Unanswered questions/areas for inquiry?

USC Rossier School of Education

The Center for Urban Education leads socially conscious research and develops tools needed for institutions of higher education to produce equity in student outcomes.

Center for Urban EducationRossier School of Education

University of Southern CaliforniaContact us at:

Website: www.usc.edu/cueE-mail: rsoecue@usc.edu

USC Rossier School of Education

Copy Right

CitationDowd, A. C., Lord, L., Bensimon, E.M., and Kutz, E. (2009). Performance Funding for Practitioner Inquiry in California: A Model for Improving Institutional Effectiveness. Paper presented at the 2009 Annual Meeting of the American Educational

Research Association, San Diego, CA.

© 2009 University of Southern California, Center for Urban Education, All rights reserved. Reproduction or translation of this work beyond that permitted in Section 117 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act without the express written permission of the copyright owner is unlawful. Request for further information should be addressed to the Center for Urban Education.