Schools with strong professional community show faster instructional pacing than schools with weak professional community, including among high-poverty schools¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · associational r2 · q2
Currency · newest study 1998 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q2 i? Strong professional community among teachers is associated with instructional pacing aligned with ITBS math content standards, an effect that persists in high-poverty schools and appears from fifth grade onward. → Julia B. Smith 1998

Evidence¶

Julia B. Smith 1998¶

Julia B. Smith, BetsAnn Smith, Anthony S. Bryk. (1998). Setting the Pace: Opportunities to Learn in Chicago's Elementary Schools. Consortium on Chicago School Research. https://consortium.uchicago.edu/publications/setting-pace-opportunities-learn-chicago-public-elementary-schools

q2 · i? · associational · r2

Comparison of pacing trajectories between top-quartile and bottom-quartile schools on the professional community index (Figure 10). The difference does not significantly affect grades K-4 but students in succeeding grades experience slower pacing in weak-community schools. Figure 11 confirms the gap within high-poverty schools only.

"students who attend an elementary school where faculty enjoy strong professional community tend to receive instruction closely aligned with the ITBS math content standards (i.e., consistently at or above the ITBS grade-level mastery line)."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• High-poverty Chicago schools show instructional pacing that flattens out around fourth grade, while mixed-income schools keep pace with ITBS norms — related
• Less than half of Chicago elementary schools keep pace with ITBS grade-level content expectations during the last three years of elementary schooling — related