Midwest Achievement Gap Research Alliance

Download the alliance’s overview handout [136 KB PDF icon ]

Partnership Facilitator

Research Liaison

Jameela Conway-Turner
jconway-turner@air.org

Partnership Objective

Many Black students excel academically and draw on resources such as supportive peers and teachers, as well as strong family ties. However, along their path to educational success, Black students face many hurdles that can prevent them from reaching their full potential. Research shows that Black students are less likely than their peers to have access to high-level mathematics and science courses, more likely to face harsher school discipline, and more likely to attend schools with higher concentrations of inexperienced teachers. These inequities in learning opportunities and environments have been described as opportunity gaps, educational debt, and achievement gaps.

The REL Midwest Achievement Gap Research Alliance (MAGRA) leverages data from state education agencies and other key stakeholders to increase the region’s capacity to access, conduct, interpret, and make sense of achievement gap research and to support the use of this research in state and local decisionmaking to significantly and meaningfully improve opportunities for Black students. MAGRA’s primary focus is addressing educational outcomes for Black students in Wisconsin. In addition, a community of practice connects key stakeholders across the region and is an active partner in the research process.

Wisconsin’s overall high school graduation rate ranks among the top in the nation, according to the National Center for Education Statistics 2015 Condition of Education report. However, the gap in scores between White and Black students on the 2013 National Assessment of Educational Progress was the widest in the country. To address this disparity, the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction is prioritizing improving educational outcomes among Black students.

Members

Tony Chambers, Wisconsin Collaborative Education Research Network
Andreal Davis, Wisconsin Response to Intervention Center
Allison DeGraaf, Kennedy Elementary School, School District of Janesville
Carl Frederick, Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction
Eric Grodsky, Wisconsin Center for Education Research
Madeline Hafner, Minority Student Achievement Network
Julia Hartwig, Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction
Kurt Kiefer, Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction
Brad Saron, Sun Prairie Area School District
Seena Makeeba Skelton, Midwest and Plains Equity Assistance Center
Brianna Stenson, Kennedy Elementary School, School District of Janesville
Chrishirella Sutton, Racine Unified School District
Karen Wendorf-Heldt, Cooperative Educational Service Agency (CESA) 9
Kate Womack, Kennedy Elementary School, School District of Janesville
Jonas Zuckerman, Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction

Training, Coaching, and Technical Support Projects

Madison Metropolitan School District Training With High Hopes and Higher Education: Honoring Black Students’ Aspirations Documentary

REL Midwest is conducting a training with staff at Madison Metropolitan School District to highlight and share research-based strategies for encouraging postsecondary education opportunities to educators working with Black students. This training session features the REL Midwest documentary High Hopes and Higher Education: Honoring Black Students’ Aspirations and interactive activities to allow participants to work individually and collaboratively. In the training, participants reflect, discuss, and develop action plans on their schools’ capacity and readiness to implement the strategies highlighted in the documentary.

Culturally Responsive Instruction Professional Development Coaching With Evanston/Skokie School District 65

REL Midwest is providing in-depth coaching and consultation to district leaders in Evanston and Skokie, Illinois. Evanston/Skokie School District 65 is providing educators with professional development related to culturally responsive instruction as a way to improve outcomes for students of color and students with disabilities. REL Midwest is working with district leaders to develop a logic model for the professional development approach to identify evidence-based practices, ensure fidelity of implementation, and determine measurement points for evaluation.

Reducing Disparities in Student Discipline Coaching With the Minnesota Department of Human Rights

The Minnesota Department of Human Rights (MDHR) identified 43 districts and charter schools that suspend or expel students of color or students in special education programs at a higher rate than their peers. Most of these districts and charter schools entered formal agreements with MDHR and developed plans to meet the agreements’ requirements. Although similarities exist across the plans, the differences challenge MDHR’s ability to identify best practices and draw inferences on the effectiveness of the plans. In this project, REL Midwest is providing in-depth coaching and consultation to help MDHR provide formative feedback to participating districts and charter schools and identify the elements of the plans that are most associated with reducing disparities and improving outcomes.

School Board Administrator Equity Training

REL Midwest worked with the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction and partner organizations to train school board members on understanding and applying research to increase educational outcomes among Black students. MAGRA members requested this training project to support stakeholders in making evidence-informed decisions and highlight the interventions identified in REL Midwest’s systematic literature review. The training materials were designed to increase school board members’ knowledge and skills about how to use available research to improve educational outcomes among Black students. A recording and slide deck from the training are available online.

Madison Metropolitan School District Environmental Scan of Literacy Interventions

REL Midwest partnered with the Madison Metropolitan School District (MMSD), a member of MAGRA, on in-depth coaching and consultation to conduct an environmental scan of programs and interventions used by MMSD’s 48 schools to support K–12 literacy development. District leaders requested coaching to better understand what literacy interventions are being used, how they are being targeted toward students, and how they are being implemented and supported. MMSD plans to use the results of this scan as an important first step in developing stronger policies and program guidance to support students’ literacy skills overall and address racial literacy gaps in particular. The following coaching materials are available for download:

Session 1: Overview of Environmental Scans and Defining a Research Agenda [2,245 KB ]
Session 2: Interview Protocol Development and Interview Best Practices [2,251 KB ]
Session 3: Understanding Coding and Developing a Coding Framework [1,962 KB ]
Session 4: Final Report Planning [863 KB ]

Environmental Scan on Closing the Black-White Achievement Gap

REL Midwest provided in-depth coaching and consultation to support the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction’s continued efforts to close the achievement gap between the state’s Black and White students. REL Midwest’s environmental scan included state and district profiles outlining existing policies, programs, and practices aimed at closing the achievement gap. REL Midwest also created an infographic that details the process for completing an environmental scan.

Works in Progress

Examining How Student and School Characteristics and the Use of Restorative Practices in Schools Relate to Student Suspensions and Expulsions

This study is focused on student discipline and the use of restorative practices in schools in Ingham Intermediate School District, which includes Lansing and a number of nearby school districts. REL Midwest’s analyses will provide insights into the associations of student and school characteristics with student suspensions and expulsions and how the use of restorative practices in schools may be associated with these outcomes. The findings from this study will inform local and state policymakers as they consider the continued and future use of restorative practices in schools.

Initial Findings on a Culturally Responsive Practices Professional Development Training Program in Wisconsin

Improving educational outcomes among Black students is a priority in Wisconsin, and stakeholders formed the Midwest Achievement Gap Research Alliance to address this issue. One topic that the alliance prioritized is understanding how culturally responsive practices are related to student and school outcomes. This study will examine a culturally responsive practices professional development training program to determine whether completing this program is related to school outcomes.