Texas High School Project Conference
December 5, 2007
Remarks by Vicki Phillips, director, Education initiative
I am delighted to be here in Texas to build on our collaboration—a collaboration founded on a common goal of ensuring that every child graduates from high school prepared for success in college and career. The Gates Foundation is pleased to join the Michael and Susan Dell Foundation, Texas Education Agency, Communities Foundation of Texas, and other partners in the Texas High School Project.
We recognized early in our education work your state's leadership in bringing about higher standards and important innovations in teaching and learning.
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is enormously proud of the Texas High School Project family for your unwavering commitment to creating and supporting high-quality high schools. 100 schools are underway and more in development throughout the state. These schools aim to serve nearly 150,000 Texas students. As importantly, you have set the standard by passing and now enacting House Bill One, which makes college readiness your goal. I know it has not been easy. The most courageous ventures never are, but already there are positive results for your young people.
When I think Texas—I think BIG, BOLD and BOUNDLESS. Please know that the foundation remains committed to helping make your big, bold and boundless vision for generations of Texas students a reality. As the great Texan Lyndon Johnson said, "Education is not a problem. Education is an opportunity." Like him, I was a teacher, and I imagine he saw the great promise and potential that stirs in every child's eyes, as well as the incredible personal and academic challenges that many children and their families face. I like to think this firsthand experience with children spurred President Johnson to launch the war on poverty.
He was right! Children and our schools are not problems. But there is a problem with our education system. At the same time, there is tremendous untapped opportunity to improve. We have a national responsibility to create the kind of opportunities that help our children secure a bright future—in the same way that generations before us worked to help us secure ours. As you may know, the foundation's US Program is aimed at reducing the inequities that separate Americans (particularly our children) and this includes the conditions that lead to poverty.
Having joined the foundation just a few months ago, people ask me what will change under my leadership. It will take time to answer that completely. But let me be clear. Our goal and our mission remain the same: to have a strong and enduring impact in preparing our country's young people for successful, productive futures.
I have been privileged to hold roles at virtually every level of education from classroom teacher to superintendent to state positions, and now, again nationally. In all of these experiences, the best decisions and practices were those that took into account the student's perspective.
That commitment to seeing school and the future through the eyes of students was a driving factor in my decision to join the foundation and to help lead this critically important work.
Over the course of my career I have worked in a variety of places—in rural farming communities, in urban settings like Philadelphia, at the state level in KY and as the chief state school officer in PA and most recently as a superintendent in Portland, Oregon. I have seen what our young people—no matter their geographic location or circumstances—can do when given the chance, and for me this work is a personal as well as a professional passion. Having grown up in rural poverty, I have an appreciation for many of the challenges you face in rural Texas as well as the urban centers. Our family home had no indoor bathroom and my stepfather worked two jobs (the rock quarry and our small farm) so we could make ends meet.
Growing up, no adult—at home or in school—encouraged me to do more than finish high school. An affluent friend I met in a high school business class insisted that I was going to college, and did all she could to make it happen. Otherwise, I would probably not be standing here today. I am grateful for every opportunity to give back. I believe, and I know that the foundation believes, that all young people, not just a few of them—deserve that opportunity to succeed by design, not by luck as was my case.
I have not forgotten what it felt like to be that kid and student growing up in Falls of Rough, KY. Viewing our work from students' perspective—gaining insights into what motivates and engages young people to learn at high levels—emboldens me, and I hope you, to make decisions that are in their best interest.
The foundation has been privileged to work with more than 1,800 schools in 47 states and the District of Columbia. We have committed more than $1.7 billion in investments over the last six years in a focused and determined effort to improve our nation's graduation rate and have the high school diploma reflect the preparation our student's need to in order to meet today's demands and tomorrow's unforeseen challenges. We appreciate all that you are doing to help us make it so.
You invited me here today to share our thinking around creating a data-driven culture to transform teaching and learning.
First and foremost, Patricia, Steve, Carol, Christi and I work for a family—Bill and Melinda Gates—that loves data. Like the Dell family, they also love data systems! But not data just for data's sake. Rather data that means something; data that gives us insight into what is/is not working. Data that helps us to determine whether the path we are on will lead us to the bottom line we seek: dramatically improved student outcomes. We believe that data, well-used, has the power to be a transformative force in education. But the key words are data, well-used. We are not in the data collection business as a hobby. We are about applying data to action.
Texas has long been a leader on this front.
There have been early pioneers and important contributors here—such as the National Center for Educational Accountability's work in supporting data-based research and practice improvement. And its founder, Tom Luce [LOOSE], who has been a long-time advocate for evidence-based decision making in education.
In my own and in the foundation's experience, we still have a ways to travel before the use of high quality, real time, and relevant data—from statehouse to schoolhouse—is the norm rather than exceptional practice in education. So let me share some observations and pose some of the questions we are asking ourselves as we think about the next generation of our strategy and as we seek to place our investments against the highest leverage practices.
- Using transparent, common student performance data as the foundation for decision-making
- Getting clear about our destination: College-ready; fewer, clearer, higher, standards
- Understanding the work that students and teachers need to do
- Improving capacity in the field – getting the greatest effect from our largest investment
Transparent, common student performance data. Our students benefit when we are relentlessly focused on improving their outcomes, and we benefit when we have the data to help keep and maintain that focus. Data tells us not only where we are starting from and where we need to go, but whether we are or not being successful along the way.
For example, statewide passing rates on the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills—the TAKS—are showing increases. On the spring 2007 TAKS, 90 percent of 11th graders met the recommended performance level in English compared to just 61 percent in 2003. In math, four out of five (80%) met the recommended level in 2007 compared to just 44 percent in 2003. Cause for celebration!
That same data also allows us to see where more work is needed. Low-income and minority students continue to fail the TAKS in far greater numbers than their white counterparts. In 2007, some 83 percent of white students met the standard in all subjects on the spring 2007 Grade 11 TAKS, while only 52 percent of African-American students, 57 percent of Hispanic students, and 16 percent of limited English proficient students met the standard.
How can we make the collection, review and analysis of school and student performance data a matter of routine? Not just in Texas, but all across the county? How can we use that data as the basis for action, adjusting our practice based on what we actually know about the performance of students—rather than on what we may perceive or suspect.
Being clear about our destination: Fewer, clearer, higher standards that serve as an anchor and a motivator for both policy and practice.
We have managed, with states like Texas leading the way, to become standards-based in all 50 states (and they say we can't get anything done as a country). But we still have work to do. All too often standards are a mile wide and an inch deep, encompassing every element of every discipline in order to reflect the interests and concerns of adults. The critical question is: Do those standards reflect what it truly means to be college ready and as importantly, does every student receive the essential core while also benefiting from the richness that the broader-based standards represent.
If we are data-based and honest with ourselves, we know the answer to that is no—there are troubling disparities in the learning opportunities students receive and we force teachers to default to what they are most comfortable in delivering because they cannot possibly cover it all.
We need to be increasingly clear about what we mean by college and career-ready; about what it will take for all students to gain those core skills and capabilities. We need to identify the fewer, clearer, higher standards that can anchor the work in schools. We need to use those standards in our quest for equitable outcomes while also allowing for the creativity and uniqueness that teachers and school communities bring to their work. One of the most productive things I did as the State Secretary of Education in Pennsylvania was to identify anchor standards which gave educators and students throughout the state a much clearer idea of the core things they needed to know and be able to do to meet state expectations for graduation. I know Texas is taking on this important work now and we are counting on you to once again lead the way.
Can we find that common ground? Can we agree on fewer, clearer, higher standards? Can our assessments reflect those standards without suppressing the effectiveness of our talented and creative teachers?
Understanding the work that students and teachers need to do—this truly is the center of power in our work, driving our ability to tap into students' interests and aspirations and transform their thinking about their futures. We've learned that we can't simply expect good instruction and curriculum to show up at our schools, we must be deliberate about creating it and then constantly nurture it.
Most agree that teachers need to invest considerable personal responsibility for the success of their students, yet America has organized most secondary schools in a way that a teacher cannot even discern his or her contribution to a student's overall success. We need an assessment system that tells teachers and administrators how well students are learning and from whom they are learning and that shows us who is effective and how they do it.
We applaud the work happening here in Texas. You are setting the bar high for all students. You are supporting those students to help them hit the bar. And you are leveraging data to help you determine what is successful practice; what is out-dated practice that should be abandoned and what is promising, innovative practice that should be nurtured and grown.
How do we help this, too, to become the norm, rather than exceptional practice across the country.
In the meantime, we will continue to support you in setting the pace, and I am pleased that tomorrow we will join our partners in making an exciting announcement here in Houston. It would not be fair to disclose the details ahead of the announcement, so let's suffice it to say that we will invest considerably in an innovative approach designed to closely track individual student progress and to identify and encourage the most effective teaching practices.
Improving capacity in the field—getting the greatest effect from "our" largest investment.
As you know, the overwhelming majority of current educational expenditures (80 percent) in most school districts is staff. The effectiveness of the people working in schools and school systems - is a critical barrier (or an unbelievable support) to achieving scalable and sustainable change. So much of our work in high schools depends on the effectiveness of people who teach and lead schools.
The issues are ones you well know:
- Shortages in high demand positions (particularly math and science, also ELL)
- Inequitable distribution of talent
- Little understanding of the knowledge, skills, and attitudes required for key roles
- No performance culture to drive hiring, development, and retention decisions
We are increasingly aware that we need to figure out how to stimulate new talent and help redesign policies, processes, and systems in this area, but it is a massive undertaking. We have been reticent about entering this space until we are very clear about how foundation resources can make a distinctive contribution and result in greater outcomes for kids.
The country has literally invested billions in highly popular initiatives that turn out to have no significant effect on student outcomes, like class size, professional development, and paying more for teachers who have master's degrees.
The challenge is where to most effectively place our investments. There is such a wide span of opportunity that we could have a minor ripple effect or we could create a serious shift in the profession—if we pick the right issues and invest for the longer haul.
We are looking at the issues across the spectrum—school and district leadership, teacher recruitment, retention and effectiveness, state practices. And we are challenged by our seeming inability in education to align our policies and practices with clear and compelling evidence. For example:
- The magnitude of the difference in teacher effectiveness is striking
Some teachers consistently generate much larger gains in student achievement than others, even when they are assigned students with similar baseline performance. That fact alone is not particularly surprising, but the magnitude of the differences is: In elementary and middle school, being assigned a teacher in the top quartile rather than a teacher in the bottom quartile means that the average student in the class moves up 6-10 percentile points in a single year. That's roughly 20-25 percent of the achievement gap. (i.e., High need students with access to top quartile teachers for four successive years can close the majority of the achievement gap.) There has been less work done on the effect of different teachers in high schools, but the initial findings suggest it is also significant. - The burden of ineffective teachers does not fall equally on all students; it falls most heavily on the poorest students
Our most needy students are disproportionately taught by ineffective teachers. Data from Los Angeles suggests that students in the poorest schools (where more than 90 percent of the students come from families that qualify for free or reduced-price school lunch)
were more than 2.5 times as likely to have teachers in the bottom quarter of all teachers than were students in the wealthiest schools (where fewer than 10 percent of students came from families that qualified for free or reduced-price lunch).
New teachers are disproportionately assigned to our highest need students and some of our most challenging schools. These new teachers have not had the benefit of the growth that arises from the first 1-2 years of experience.
These are just two pieces of evidence among many that we are puzzling over in order to find the core set of ideas that might change current practice in a fundamental, not an incremental, way.
We know that excellent teachers and school staff are the lifeblood of schools that prepare students for success in college and career. We know that the greatest investment in education across this country is in people. It stands to reason that we must find ways to support them to be their most effective.
What are the handful of people-based investments we could make that would dramatically, not marginally, improve outcomes for kids?
These are among the questions we are asking ourselves and the learning we are striving to do.
To create the kind of lasting change we imagine, at the scale we imagine, takes bold people, bold solutions and the willingness to take risks. This is required of all of us, at every level and in every community. The foundation, like you, believes the payoff for our young people and their future is huge, and the consequences for not taking those risks untenable.
Your work to date has been remarkable—from teacher incentives, strong data systems and leadership in the American Diploma Project to the expansion and success of the Texas Science, Engineering and Mathematics academies which are a model for the nation.
It is clear that together we are moving in the right direction, but much work remains. From the beginning Texas has been a true partner. The foundation has enjoyed close relationships with the state, with districts and with supporting organizations. And we will remain partners—through good times and bad. As I stated earlier, this work requires courage. And like all worthwhile work—we will face challenges. But, when the going gets tough, you can count on us not to cut and run. This is an enduring and valued partnership and together we will see Texas students reach great heights.
I referenced President Johnson at the beginning of my remarks. As I wrap up, I can’t help but remember another insightful quip he once made. He said: "You aren’t learning anything when you're talking" and I’m here to learn. So I am going to stop talking and spend the rest of my day hearing from you.
Thank you very much.