Edvance Research is nationally recognized for its innovative and trusted expertise in education. Therefore, from time to time, Edvance Research is called upon by Texas legislators to testify on education policy. Recently, Edvance was asked to speak with the Texas Senate Education Committee regarding preparing middle school students for high school and using data systems to identify effective intervention.

 

 

Kathleen Barfield, Executive Vice President of Collaborative Research and Development at Edvance Research testified before the Texas Senate Education Committee this spring, sharing research regarding Early Warning Indicators, Interventions, Teacher Effectiveness related to Content Knowledge, Parental Involvement, and Instructions on Writing, research that supports policies contained in Senate Bill 518.

 

Highlights from her testimony included:

 

 

ABC’s of Dropping Out: There are early warning indicators, called the “abc’s of dropping out” because they include Academics, Behavior, and Course Failures. State test scores are on the list, as well. These are called “actionable indicators” because educators can address each of them by applying the right type of interventions to remediate the student’s performance.

 

 

Effective Teachers are the Backbone of Reform: There is a large body of research demonstrating that the backbone of middle school reform is effective teachers. Other elements of reform (curriculum, assessment, school climate, technology) are unlikely to succeed unless a school is staffed with good teachers.

 

 

Clear Message: In early adolescence students need to hear a combined and consistent message from school and home that it is important that they attend, behave, and try and that if they do there is a clear and understandable pathway to adult success through achievement in school.

 

 

Writing as a tool: To be an effective writer in middle schools, students need to view writing as a tool to support learning in all content areas.

Access the full transcript of Barfield’s testimony.

 

 

Edvance has also had the opportunity to testify before the Texas Senate Education Committee on serving the needs of middle grade students, specifically on school-based strategies and best practices that encourage at-risk youth to finish school and that deter delinquency, drug abuse, and violence. Dixie Knight, Project Director and Stacy Daugherty, Development Manager at Edvance Research informed the legislators on the groundbreaking work with Texas districts on the Statewide Tools for Teaching Excellence (STTE), a Michael & Susan Dell Foundation initiative, managed by Edvance was reviewed.

 

Knight and Daugherty provided an overview of the innovative STTE project and its goal of helping districts build the capacity for using data to drive improvement.

 

Watch the full video transcript of Knight’s and Daugherty’s testimony.

 

Learn more about the STTE initiative.