Fifth Ward Elementary School Grades: K-8

158 Panther Drive
Reserve, LA 70084
St. John the Baptist Parish
Phone: (985) 536-4221

The Situation:
Fifth Ward Elementary in St. John the Baptist Parish, Louisiana was not making progress. Principal Perry DiCarlo felt frustrated by his school�s lack of positive growth.

"Our teaching was stagnant, and I felt like teachers were stuck in a rut. Like most schools, we would move from one professional development fad to another�never staying with one particular topic long enough to see it actually implemented in the classroom."

In 2005, Mr. DiCarlo brought in the School Improvement Network Intervention Program to implement the Learning Framework, a comprehensive system that ties together all the critical research in effective instruction, including research-based strategies, differentiated instruction, assessment, and standards.

Recent test data shows significant gains that Mr. DiCarlo directly attributes to the Learning Framework training:

"Because of the Learning Framework, we now have more students at Basic and Advanced levels than students at unsatisfactory levels�a major milestone for Fifth Ward Elementary."

Furthermore, teachers have loved the program:

"We have seen very little resistance from teachers, unlike former professional development activities. Every teacher has really enjoyed the training and clearly sees the value in what is being taught."

Most importantly, students have greatly benefited as Fifth Ward Elementary has met AYP and student achievement has soared.

The Results:
The percentage of students scoring in the three higher levels (from Basic through Advanced) rose from approximately 48% to over 58%, a statistically significant increase of 23% (p<.001). Conversely, the percentage of students in the two lower levels below Basic fell from nearly 52% to over 41%, a significant decrease of nearly 21% (p<.001). The percentage of 4th graders in the three higher levels improved by 17% (p<.01), and 8th graders in the higher levels improved by a full 34% (p<.01).

Figure 1. Change in percentage of students scoring athigher and lower achievement levels, including ELA and Math, and both grade levels.

For ELA (see Figure 2), cumulative data for both grade levels (4th and 8th) showed a switch from 54% performing below Basic to nearly 60% performing at Basic or higher. The percentage of students scoring at Basic or higher improved over 31% (p<.01), while the improvement among those performing below Basic was a 26% decrease (p<.01). The greatest improvement happened among 8th graders categorizable at Basic or better, who experienced a full 95% increase � nearly doubling (p<.01) � while the percentage of 4th graders at Basic or above rose by 9% (p<.05).

Figure 2. Change in percentage of students scoring at higher and lower achievement levels for both grade levels for ELA only.

Cumulative data for Math scores across both grade levels showed a switch from nearly 51% performing below Basic to nearly 57% performing at Basic or higher (see Figure 3). The percentage of students scoring at Basic or higher improved over 15% (p<.01), while the improvement among those performing below Basic was a 15% decrease (p<.05). Fourth grade gains were the biggest, with nearly a 26% improvement in those scoring at Basic or higher (p<.05).

Figure 3. Change in percentage of students scoring at higher and lower achievement levels for both grade levels for Math only.