"Evaluators at the Education Alliance at Brown University have analyzed Pinellas’ Florida Comprehensive Assessment (FCAT) data from the first and second years of magnet implementation. This data is looked at in two ways: first, magnet schools are compared to themselves over time, and second, magnet schools are compared to specially selected non-magnet schools for each of the years in question. Significant gains in math and reading (were) driven by significant gains in the minority and free/reduced lunch student population for both subjects. Stanford 9 results were consistent. Significant gains were achieved in math and reading NCE scores driven by significant increases in math and reading scores for the minority and free/reduced lunch student populations from 2002 to 2003. In 2002, the developmental scaled scores for the free/reduced lunch population in Blanton (the comparison school) were significantly higher than those in Campbell Park for both math and reading. By the end of 2003, these significant differences were eliminated in both subjects indicating that as a school, Campbell Park’s FCAT growth rate exceeds Blanton’s. In 2002, Campbell Park’s pay lunch Stanford 9 math NCE scores and non-minority reading NCE scores were significantly higher than those belonging to their comparison groups at Blanton. By the end of 2003, these significant differences were eliminated." - Pinnellas 2002 – 2003 FCAT Data Analysis Report, The Education Alliance at Brown University, 2003.
This paper, presented at the April 1995 annual meeting of AERA (American Educational Research Association) described one school’s implementation of the ITI model. The researcher had a four-year association with the school during which she spent time in classrooms, interviewed teachers and principal on multiple occasions, and witnessed curriculum planning sessions. Additionally, she had access to documents at the school including demographic summaries and standardized test scores. "What effect has ITI had on academic achievement and on the school culture? While no figures have been specifically collected to examine this issue, the evidence of district and state testing speaks to the issue. It is clear that on standardized achievement measures, Orangecrest scores well above district averages. On the CLAS test administered in 1993, Orangecrest scored above 100 other similar schools on every measure." - Integrating the Curriculum: The Case of an Award-Winning Elementary School by Dana L. Grisham, University of California, Berkeley, a paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, San Francisco, CA, April 1995.
"Reading Comprehension and Science standardized test scores were compared for all students who attended Lewis Carroll Elementary for the fourth, fifth and sixth grades. Seventy-one percent of the students improved or maintained their percentile score on the Reading Comprehension of the Stanford 8 Test with an overall percentile increase of 8.43 percentile points. Seventy percent of the students improved or maintained their percentile score on the Science section of the Stanford 8 Test with an overall percentile increase of 9.29 percentile points. This documents significant improvement." - Students Environmentally Aware of Our Shores (SEAS) Program, a Final Report to the Florida Advisory Council on Environmental Education by Lewis Carroll Elementary School, Brevard County, Florida 1997.
"The testing instrument used to evaluate students was the American College Testing ‘Explore Program’ instrument, which is administered at the eighth grade. The instrument has been administered at Thoreau for three years. The following academic areas assessed were: Science Reasoning, Reading, Mathematics, English and a Composite of all the subject areas."
The differences in mean scores between IEP and Non-IEP students from the school year 1999 -2000 to the school year 2001-2002 are as follows: In science the difference dropped from 4 to 3.2; in reading the difference dropped from 7 to 3.5; in math the difference dropped from 4.3 to 3.7; in English the difference dropped from 5.4 to 3.7 and the composite difference dropped from 5.3 to 3.4.
"It should be noted that, with the exception of mathematics the IEP group scored within one standard deviation of the national mean for all subject areas. In the mathematics area, the standard deviation was 3.5, whereas the IEP group scored 3.8 points away from the national mean." - Promising Results for Full Inclusion Incorporating Three Best Research Based Educational Approaches by Evie Lindberg and Dr. Mary Lou Miller from Oral Roberts University and Pamela Bressler from Thoreau Demonstration Academy, a report presented at the National Learning Disabilities Conference in Tulsa in October, 2003 and submitted to the Council for Exceptional Children for publication.
This data was collected from over 100 schools across the state of Indiana and was designed to serve as an examination of the program based on ITI.
"It is clear that there is a generally positive trend regarding changes in the ISTEP scores for the C.L.A.S.S. schools. In real terms, the size of the impact would be equivalent to a school moving from being in the 58th percentile for all schools in Indiana to the 60th percentile.
The research suggests that the specific positive impacts are:
- Increase in interest in professional development and innovation;
- Teachers know about brain compatible research and implement this knowledge;
- Learning is connected to the real world;
- Teachers and Principals support each other.
Further, an analysis of more objective measures of success like school attendance rates and school ISTEP test scores reveals that C.L.A.S.S. schools generally perform better than other schools, and that participation in C.L.A.S.S. does not harm attendance rates or ISTEP test scores." - The Impact of C.L.A.S.S. (Connecting Learning Assures successful Students) on Teaching and Learning in Indiana, William Morgan of Indiana University, 1998.
In a guide for policymakers at the national, state, local and school levels illuminating common ground between education reforms and service-learning, ITI was ranked "highly compatible" and one of the top three comprehensive school reform models. Elements present in ITI that helped lead to this ranking include:
- Use of a variety of learning materials in addition to textbooks;
- Application of students’ knowledge and skills to real-life situations and problems;
- Use of alternative assessments such as portfolios, presentations and rubrics;
- Use of time for student reflection in journal entries and classroom dialog; and
- Addressing local community needs as a part of the curriculum.
Finding Common Ground: Service Learning and Education Reform – A Survey of 28 Leading School Reform Models by Sarah S. Pearson, Sponsored by W.K. Kellogg Foundation for the American Youth Policy Forum, 2002.
"Eight schools were selected in an extensive nationwide search to appear in this volume. They are not the only exemplary programs in the country, though they are among the small number of schools and programs that provide outstanding education for LEP students at the grade levels and curriculum foci pertinent to this study. Data on student outcomes which are comparable across the sites are not available, particularly because LEP students are often not given the standardized tests (in English) that districts or states require of most students. Therefore, we cannot demonstrate quantitatively that the eight case study sites are exemplary in the sense that they manifest significantly higher student achievement scores; nevertheless, the nomination, screening, and field visits all led to the conclusion that these schools are highly innovative and follow practices that are considered by researchers to provide outstanding learning opportunities for LEP and all students." - School Reform and Student Diversity: Case Studies of Exemplary Practices for LEP Students by Paul Berman, Catherine Minicucci, Barry McLauglin, Beryl Nelson, and Katrina Woodworth for the Institute for Policy Analysis and Research, in collaboration with the National Center for Research on Cultural Diversity and Second Language Learning, 1995.
"From June 2000 to January 2004 approximately 1200 Tulsa Public School teachers and administrators have participated in almost 40,000 hours of professional development supporting the TPS Model for School Improvement through Integrated Thematic Instruction. The majority of these teachers have attended awareness level training ranging from a 3 hour overview at the high schools to 18 hours of BodyBrain Basics. In five elementary schools over 90% of the staff members have attended some training and the average number of hours of training ranges from 36 to 85. The amount of training at the beginning level ranges from 20% - 30% and at the advanced level the range is from 15% to 60%. All five schools demonstrate evidence of improvement in the percent of students scoring at the proficient level on the Oklahoma Core Curriculum Tests in at least one content area." Professional Development Report and Recommendations for Elementary Schools with at Least 90% of the Staff Members Attending Some ITI Training between June 2000 and January 2004, Tulsa Public Schools Division for School Improvement.
