What a Majority-Minority Neighborhood High School that has Moved

from the Bottom to the Top Looks Like

A review of Karen Chenoweth’s research by Ross Freshwater

In 2007, when Karin Chenoweth employed Education Trust resources to do a national search for
majority minority neighborhood schools that had greatly narrowed or closed the achievement
gap, she found but one high school, Elmont Memorial in New York. While Elmont reveals
practices that narrow, close, or even reverse racial achievement gaps among a largely working-
class student body that is less than 25% low income, it is a school that appears to have a long
track record of doing so (Chenoweth, 2007). In a follow up to this research for her 2009 book
How It’s Being Done, Chenoweth again used Education Trust resources to uncover another high
school that has greatly narrowed racial achievement gaps—though Imperial Valley High School,
unlike Elmont—has done so only recently. Imperial’s recent success may therefore provide a
stronger blueprint for other neighborhood schools looking to implement a change process that
will lead to substantial boosts in student performance and a closure of racial achievement gaps.

Located in California about 100 miles west of San Diego, Imperial Valley High School caters to
a student body that numbers about 900, with a racial composition that is 71% Latino, 21%
White, and 3% African American, with about 39% of the students qualifying for free or reduced
lunch. In 2001, on the California Standards Tests (CSTs), which are administered by California
to 9th, 10th, and 11th graders to measure their mastery of state standards, 27% of Imperial’s 11th
graders scored proficient or advanced in English, lower than the state as a whole which scored
29%. By 2006, 42% of Imperial’s 11th graders scored proficient or advanced in English, a higher
number than students across the state as a whole, which was 35%. By 2009, 51% of Imperial’s
11th graders scored proficient or advanced in English, a higher number than students across the
state as a whole, which was 40% (California Department of Education, 2009; Chenoweth, 2009).

Similar gains are present at Imperial in every subject tested by the CSTs between 2001 and 2009,
with scores of the school’s Latino students narrowing the gap with the school’s white students,
and surpassing the scores of White students as a whole across the state. On the U.S. History CST
in 2009, for instance, the number of Imperial’s Latino and White students scoring proficient or
advanced was 67% and 88%, compared to California’s Latino and White students with 30% and
59% scoring proficient or advanced (because Black students are such a small percent of
Imperial’s population their scores as an ethnic cohort are not reported in state data) [see chart on
next page].

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Figure 2.11

Source: California Department of Education Statewide Assessment Division, 2009

In less than ten years, Imperial’s gains in student performance moved the school from the bottom
third to the top third of the state. On the California High School Exit Exam, administered in
March 2009, 94% of Latino test takers and 96% of White test takers at Imperial passed the
mathematics portion of the test; compared to statewide numbers of 66% and 87%; while on the
English portion of the test 88% of Latino test takers and 96% of White test takers at Imperial
passed; compared to statewide numbers of 64% and 88% (because Black students are such a
small percent of Imperial’s population, again their scores as an ethnic cohort are not reported in
state data).

In terms of measures of student engagement, in 2007-08, Imperial matched the state average of
79% for the number of 9th graders that started at the school and completed 12th grade there too,
while its 4-year drop-out rates for Blacks, Latinos and Whites were 0%, 1.8%, and 0%;
compared to statewide 4-year drop-out rates for Blacks, Latinos, and Whites that were 25.8%,
19.2%, and 9.9% (California Department of Education Demographics Office). What strategy did
Imperial employ to maintain a high level of student engagement while also sparking such steep
gains in overall student performance and a narrowing of racial achievement gaps?

When Chenoweth visited Imperial, she found district and school leadership that had
methodically examined strategies for coupling the local school culture and traditions with
external mechanisms that, together, could act as a catalyst and driver for collective efforts toward
substantial school improvement (Chenoweth, 2009). Interviews with the district superintendent,
Imperial’s principal, and vice-principal, each traced the beginning of Imperial’s improvement to
the advent of state standards and state assessments in the late 1990s. These external agents, they
believed, created an opportunity and incentive for Imperial’s leaders to tap into the school’s
“competitive spirit.” The school apparently enjoyed a strong reputation within the community it
served. However, when compared to schools across California on a standardized metric, it fell in
the bottom third. District and school leaders believed that the local culture could and would want
to rise to the higher bar set before them by state-level actors.

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District and school administrators gathered and shared data on individual student achievement as
a means to motivate Imperial’s staff. Setting an initial goal of raising the school’s performance
to the 50th percentile statewide (a goal that has since been adjusted to “the best we can be”), they
then led staff in a process of backward mapping the curriculum, by first looking at state
standards and then mapping the curriculum to ensure it dovetailed with state requirements. The
superintendent then required that teachers develop benchmark and common assessments within
their subject area departments, which would identify weak spots in student learning. Teachers
were then expected to give individual students the additional instruction, time, and practice
necessary to ensure their mastery of expected knowledge and skills.

At the start of the school’s change effort, the principal orchestrated a symbolic activity to
emphasize the importance of individual students’ learning needs. She called all of the teachers to
the gym and had them shoot baskets, demanding that they all get the ball through the hoop. A
number of teachers complained that taller or more athletic teachers had an unfair advantage. The
principal agreed with them but then stated that they must all get the ball through the hoop. This
activity became a school metaphor for ensuring that all students meet the state standards.

In the beginning, district and school administrators were faced with a large number of teachers
who were uncomfortable with the use of data as a means to drive instruction. At the district level,
they employed an assistant superintendent whose chief responsibility was to gather and package
relevant student achievement data in a way that teachers could easily understand, as well as to
organize professional development opportunities that could help teachers meet the weak spots
that the data revealed. At the school level, the science department was the first to embrace the
use of data as a means to drive instructional improvement, a move the assistant superintendent
attributed to this subject area’s traditional comfort with the use of data as a means to examine the
world and make decisions. The eagerness with which science teachers examined data on past
student performance in order to improve future performance proved infectious, and was quickly
adopted by other subject area departments within Imperial.

Now, every year before school starts, the assistant superintendent leads Imperial’s staff in a Data
Day. During this activity, teachers receive student rosters for their incoming classes, which
include test scores, grades, and reading levels for each student. During the first few annual Data
Days, teachers examined this data by paying attention to an entire classroom’s prior performance
as a means to plan the upcoming year’s instruction. With time however, they began to break
down the data by student clusters and individual students. The data is grouped by the assistant
superintendent ahead of time to allow teachers to more easily identify patterns that can reveal
potential areas for students’ improvement. Trends within and across subject areas, and within
and across student demographic groups are also studied to identify items that staff across the
school can collectively work on to ensure improvements.

At the start of change efforts Imperial also started identifying students who had high scores on
state tests but low grades in the classroom. Operating on the theory that these students had low
grades because they were bored, the administration systematically moved them into more
challenging classes. Imperial also made the college preparatory curriculum—mandatory for any
student who wants to attend college within one of California’s two public university systems—

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the school’s default curriculum. Unless students request otherwise, they are placed within this
curriculum upon enrollment at the school. To assist with the goal of preparing every student for
college, Imperial created a summer algebra academy to bring incoming 9th graders up to speed
with the school’s curriculum.

To dovetail with a college focused curriculum, Imperial also actively worked to create a
“college-going culture” for all students. All staff begin talking with students about going to
college their freshman year. The district also began hosting a “College Week” during which
college recruiters could visit the district while gaining efficient access to a large number of
students. Recognizing that many students’ families would find the cost of college challenging,
Imperial’s administration also moved to actively share with students the pathways by which a
start at a two-year community college could lead to a transfer to and graduation from a four-year
college. In their analysis of two-year colleges, the administration also came to realize that most
of their students who moved to a distant city to begin two-year college (e.g. San Diego) ended up
dropping out of school due to the high cost of living and the need to get a job to cover costs.
Now, they actively discourage students who are examining two-year colleges from applying to
schools outside of the Imperial Valley.

Chenoweth points out that, contrary to many other schools that adopt a college-preparatory
focus, Imperial chose to embrace and dovetail its vocational programs with its college prep
curriculum, instead of discarding it. The school recognized that many vocations were elemental
to the local economy, and also moving in directions that now require a college degree.
Recognizing the importance of core academic concepts within their areas of study, vocational
teachers at Imperial study the state standards to see what content carries a high degree of
relevance within their vocational focus (e.g. applying the scientific method to real-world
problems). When data reveal trends in weak student performance that are spread across the
school’s core academic subject areas (e.g. vocabulary acquisition), vocational teachers are tapped
to reinforce instruction in these areas.

Athletic participation is also strongly stressed at Imperial. However, to ensure that after-school
activities do not get in the way of academics, practices start at 4:30—so that daily after-school
tutoring can take place before (most teachers at Imperial offer after-school tutoring). Students
who don’t maintain a certain grade point average are not allowed to play. Upperclassmen
athletes are also asked to serve as tutors and mentors to younger students. Imperial’s football
coach pointed out to Chenoweth that, on a website catering to college football scouts, his players
had posted their GPAs alongside video clips of their performances on the field.

Another key element that Imperial’s principal believes plays an important role in the school’s
continuous improvement is a governing structure that places teachers in charge of many
organizational decisions. Many decisions about curriculum and instruction are made by teachers,
and many decisions about how the school operates are made by the faculty senate, which meets
once a month. For instance, the teachers made the decision to allow any student who would like
to take AP courses to do so. However, they also added the requirement that all AP students must
also take the AP test, a move that teachers believed would ensure high student engagement and
the maintenance of a rigorous curriculum. The principal pointed out that the faculty senate has
voted against some of her proposals, and that she is usually accepting of their decision when this

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occurs. Subject area departments also meet once a month. Since each department is given one
vote on the faculty senate, the department meetings are taken very seriously by the teachers.

One item that the principal maintains control over is the master teaching schedule. Prior to
Imperial’s big changes, individual teachers were allowed to choose what they would teach and
when they would teach it. The principal changed course choice and scheduling from a teacher to
a student focused approach, to make sure that class offerings most meet what a majority of the
students need when they most need it. As a result, Imperial does not have a large number of
electives classes. Imperial encourages students to take courses that are not offered outside the
core curriculum at the area community college. The principal stated that though the students
don’t always get the courses that they want, “they get what they need.”

In regard to administrators working with teachers to improve instruction during the school
change process, the principal stated that they moved in steps, with each step expanding
expectations. At first, teachers were only required to post the day’s lesson objectives and
standards someplace visible in the room, which administrators would regularly enter classrooms
to quickly check for. Once the administration felt this practice was widely in place, they began
making regular classroom visits to look for other aspects of instruction—for example,
challenging assignments, probing questions, and bell-to-bell assignments.

The principal believes that student discipline problems have been minimized at Imperial due to
students being challenged (and therefore not becoming bored) by a rigorous curriculum. In her
eyes, the biggest discipline challenges come in the form of new students who are transfers from
other schools. The administration takes a “meet them where they are” approach with these
students. A first goal might be for a student to make it through an entire day without getting
kicked out of a class. Once this goal is regularly met, a second goal might be to show up
prepared for class. A third goal might then be to complete class assignments. Integral to this
approach is the abundant tutoring and mentoring that is available after school from teachers and
upperclassmen students.

Chenoweth’s study of Imperial reveals that it is possible for a majority-minority neighborhood

school to successfully implement changes that close racial achievement gaps, while also greatly
boosting overall student engagement and achievement. It is clear that Imperial’s staff—
administrators and teachers—employed a carefully thought out plan for the implementation and
evolution of changes within a school environment that is continually transforming. While
Chenoweth’s observations at Imperial certainly reveal highly competent and thoughtful school
staff behind the school’s substantial improvements, and a complex cocktail of change efforts, the
policies, procedures, actions, and attitudes at Imperial are not, at the end of the day, rocket
science. They were, however, implemented within an environment in which low-income students
compose less than half the school population (39%). To date, researchers—even those backed by
substantial resources— have failed to identify other majority-minority neighborhood high
schools that have closed the racial achievement gap in standardized achievement and
engagement. What might so many of these high schools hold in common that makes them so
impervious to positive change?