Approach to Reducing the Achievement Gap Paul A. LeBuffe Jennifer - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Social and Emotional Assessment and Intervention: A Promising Approach to Reducing the Achievement Gap Paul A. LeBuffe Jennifer Fleming Robitaille Devereux Advanced Behavioral Health Center for Resilient Children Villanova, PA Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) 2016 National Conference on Student Assessment

Symposium Outline 1. LeBuffe - Overview of the Devereux Student Strengths Assessment (DESSA) Comprehensive System 2. Robitaille - Presentation of research findings concerning the contributions of both economic disadvantage and social emotional competence as measured by the DESSA-mini to the achievement gap 3. Discussion, Q & A

Disclaimer • LeBuffe is the lead author of the DESSA. • Neither LeBuffe nor Robitaille receive financial reward for the sale of the DESSA. • However, royalties from the DESSA are an important revenue stream for the Devereux Center for Resilient Children.

Devereux Center for Resilient Children • Our mission is to promote social and emotional development, foster resilience and build skills for school and life success in children birth through school-age, as well as to promote the resilience of the adults who care for them. www.CenterForResilientChildren.org

Overview of the DESSA Comprehensive System

Emerging Importance of SEL • Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL.org) • Increasing number of state and local educational agencies adopting social and emotional learning standards • Durlak et. al., 2011 • Popular Press (e.g. Paul Tough, Angela Duckworth) • ESSA – at least one “non - academic” measure

CASEL Meta-analysis ( 213 studies 270,000 K- 12 students) Durlak, J. A., Weissberg, R. P., Dymnicki, A. B., Taylor, R. D., & Schellinger, K. B. (2011). The impact of enhancing students’ social and emotional learning: A meta - analysis of school-based universal interventions. Child Development , 82 , 405-432. 9% improvement in attitudes about self, others, and school 23% improvement in social and emotional skills 9% improvement in classroom behavior 11% improvement in achievement test scores 9% decrease in conduct problems, such as classroom misbehavior and aggression 10% decrease in emotional distress, such as anxiety and depression

DESA System Key Features • Entirely Strength-Based Approach • Behavior Rating Scale completed by parents, teachers, and out-of-school time professionals • Grades K-8 (9-12 to be published Spring 2017) • Nationally Normed ( n =2, 498) • Strong Psychometrics (detail to follow) • Evo SEL web-based platform • English, Spanish, Dutch and Italian • Appropriately used by teachers

What are the Needs & Components? • Universal Screening • DESSA-mini • Detailed Assessment • DESSA • SEL Instruction • DESSA Strategies • Progress Monitoring • Ongoing Progress Monitoring Form (OPM) • Outcome Evaluation • Advanced & Quality Interpretation Improvement Techniques

The DESSA-mini • Four parallel 8-item forms • Completed in 1 minute by teachers • Yields one score – Social-Emotional Total Score (SET) • The DESSA-mini allows for: • Universal screening • Repeated evaluation

CASEL (2012)

DESSA Scales • Social Emotional Composite (SEC) • Eight Scales: • Self Awareness • Self-Management • Social-Awareness • Relationship Skills • Goal-Directed Behavior • Personal Responsibility • Decision Making • Optimistic Thinking

DESSA Results • T Scores • Mean of 50, SD of 10 • Percentiles • Descriptive Terms for Score Ranges • > 60 = Strength • 41-59 = Typical • < 40 = Need for Instruction • Individual Profile • Classroom Profile

Individual Student Profile

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Pretest-Posttest Comparisons Pretest-Posttest Time 1 T - Posttest Time 2 Outcome – Check One Comparison Score Confidence T -Score Significant No Significant Range Decline Increase Change Personal 58 50-65 65 X Responsibility Optimistic Thinking 39 31-49 48 X Goal-Directed 51 44-58 50 X Behavior Social Awareness 60 51-67 69 X Decision Making 48 40-56 38 X Relationship Skills 58 51-64 62 X Self-Awareness 40 32-50 57 X Self-Management 53 45-60 59 X Social-Emotional 51 48-54 57 X Composite Mary Smith Rater 1 Name: ________________ 10/10/14 Date of Rating: ________________ Mary Smith Rater 2 Name: ________________ 2/28/15 Date of Rating: ________________

DESSA-mini: Key Psychometrics • Internal Consistency (Cronbach’s Alpha) • Ranges from .91 to .92 • Alternate Form Reliability • Ranges from .90 to .93 • Predictive Validity with full DESSA • Sensitivity .63 • Specificity .98 • Consistent Classification 87% of the time

DESSA: Key Psychometrics • Internal Reliability (Cronbach’s Alpha) • SEC (total Score) .98 (parents) .99 (teachers) • Scales .82 to .89 for parents; .86 to .94 (teachers) • Criterion Validity • SED vs. non SED ( d -ratios ) • SEC 1.33 • Scales .97 – 1.28 • Construct Validity • Convergent validity with the BASC and BERS • Strengths .77 - .92 • Deficits -.64 - -.72

Social and Emotional Competence and the Income Achievement Gap

Background • Achievement Gap definition: • Differences in academic performance between groups of students of different backgrounds • Race and ethnicity, gender, English language learners, disability, and income status • Income achievement gap • Significant achievement gaps exist between low and high income students on most measures of academic success (Reardon, 2013) • Graduation rates in 2013: 73.3% for low income students vs. 81.4% national rate (National Center for Education Statistics, 2015) • Persistent gaps in NAEP test scores based on eligibility for free or reduced price lunch (National Center for Education Statistics, 2014)

Background • Income Achievement Gap ( con’t ) • Gap is already large when children enter kindergarten (Reardon, 2011) • Gap has grown widely in last three decades (Reardon, 2013) • Changing US demographics: • Persistent increase in the growth of low income public school students (51% in 2013) • In 21 states, 50% or more of students eligible for free or reduced price lunch (Southern Education Foundation, 2015)

Research Question • Evidence that Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) can lead to improvements in academic achievement • Durlak et al., 2011 – 11 percentile point gain • Can we narrow the income achievement gap by promoting students’ social and emotional competence?

Allentown School District • 3 rd largest urban school system in PA • Student enrollment ~17,500 • 23 schools • Diverse student body: • 65% Hispanic ethnicity • 86% eligible for free/reduced price lunch • 2011 – 2014: District-wide SEL Initiative

Method • Teachers completed DESSA-mini 3 times per year • Pre – October • Mid – January/February • Post – June • Students completed Pennsylvania’s standardized achievement tests (PSSAs) in Reading and Math in March

Sample • Stratified randomly selected sample N = 486 elementary students • Income (free/reduced lunch eligibility): • Eligible (low income) = 243; Not eligible = 243 • Gender: • 140 Males in each income group (57.6%) • Grade • 87 3 rd graders in each income group (35.8%) • 87 4 th graders in each income group (35.8%) • 69 5 th graders in each income group (28.4%)

Analysis Approach 1. Examined relationship between academic achievement and income 2. Examined relationship between academic achievement and social emotional competence 3. Examined the unique contribution of income and social emotional competence in predicting academic achievement test scores

Relationship Between Academic Achievement and Income Math Proficiency and Income Reading Proficiency and Income 100.0% 100.0% 11.1% 90.0% 90.0% 29.6% 30.9% 80.0% 80.0% 51.9% 70.0% 70.0% 40.3% Percent of Students Percent of Students 60.0% 60.0% Advanced 33.7% Advanced 50.0% 50.0% 42.4% Proficient Proficient 40.0% Basic 40.0% Basic 17.3% 30.5% Below Basic Below Basic 30.0% 30.0% 21.4% 20.0% 12.8% 20.0% 31.3% 11.9% 10.0% 10.0% 15.2% 14.0% 5.8% 0.0% 0.0% Eligible (low income) Not Eligible Eligible (low income) Not Eligible Free/Reduced Lunch Eligibility Free/Reduced Lunch Eligibility N = 486 elementary students (grades 3-5)

Relationship Between Academic Achievement and Social Emotional Competence Reading Proficiency and Social Emotional Math Proficiency and Social Emotional Competence Competence 100.0% 100.0% 3.2% 8.1% 90.0% 90.0% 23.6% 21.0% 80.0% 80.0% 29.0% 45.5% 9.7% 70.0% 70.0% Percent of Students Percent of Students 60.0% 60.0% 44.3% Advanced Advanced 50.0% 50.0% 30.6% Proficient Proficient 40.0% 40.0% Basic Basic 32.5% 66.1% Below Basic Below Basic 30.0% 30.0% 15.8% 20.0% 20.0% 32.3% 14.6% 10.0% 10.0% 16.3% 7.3% 0.0% 0.0% Need Not Need Need Not Need Social Emotional Competence Social Emotional Competence N = 486 elementary students (grades 3-5)

Explaining the Variance in Academic Achievement Scores - Reading 8.3% Income alone Income explains 8.3% of the variance in reading scores Reading PSSA Scores 91.7%