Hendrix Study: Intensive studies improve Benchmark Scores

CONWAY, Ark. (July 3, 2007)

Intensive remediation can significantly affect the educational aptitude of struggling elementary students in rural Arkansas, a Hendrix College study has discovered.

The Above the Line Project, funded by Hendrix College Odyssey program and designed by Dr. James Jennings, an associate professor of education and history at Hendrix, studied 22 third graders in the Forrest City (Ark.) School District who previously scored “below” or “below basic” on the Arkansas Benchmark Exam, a state-sponsored testing program designed to grade the educational aptitude of public school students. Following three weeks of intensive remedial studies utilizing the Above the Line Project curriculum, a majority of students improved their test scores in a number of subject areas. Specifically, following the three-week program (conducted from June 11-29, 2007):

73 percent of the students had gains in science skills. One student moved from 25 percent on the pre-test to 43 percent on the post-test, while another moved from 30 percent to 48 percent. The science curriculum involved carnivores, herbivores and omnivores, the Solar System, and parts of the body.
59 percent of the students had gains in writing skills. One student moved from 5 percent on the pre-test to 32 percent on the post-test, while another moved from 50 percent to 72 percent. The writing curriculum involved subject/verb agreement in compound sentences, possessive pronouns, capitalization in titles and abbreviations, development of central ideas, and development of introductory and concluding paragraphs, along with other areas.
55 percent of the students had gains in mathematics skills. One student moved from 19 percent correct on the pre-test to 35 percent on the post-test, while another moved from 61 percent to 78 percent. The mathematics curriculum involved various items, including the identification of regular polygons with at least four sides, drawing lines of symmetry in a polygon, the use of common language and geometric vocabulary, telling time to the nearest one-minute interval, determining elapsed time in contextual situations, and developing strategies for finding the volume of rectangular prisms and cubes using models.
41 percent of the students had gains in reading skills. Three students moved from 50 percent on the pre-test to 59 percent, 68 percent and 68 percent respectively on the post-test, while one student moved from 59 percent to 92 percent. The reading curriculum involved vocabulary, article details, and author’s purpose, along with other areas.

“Our findings can be a roadmap for improving test scores in struggling school districts,” Jennings said. “Specifically, providing intensive educational attention to these students, while arming their parents with proven techniques to continue the learning process at home, could drastically change the lives of these students and the educational footing of school districts fighting to meet minimum standards.”

Hendrix students Kristy Chambers of Little Rock, a senior Early Childhood Education major; Adrienne Dawson of North Little Rock, a sophomore Biology major; Nathan Thomas of Fayetteville, a sophomore; and Terricka Thomas of Little Rock, a sophomore International Relations major, were the student instructors for the Above the Line Project, spending time daily with the Forrest City students.

Parents targeted by project

The Above the Line Project also aims to use strategies to improve parental attitudes toward education and involvement by providing parental support skills, as measured by pre- and post-attitudinal surveys and periodic implementation surveys. All 20 parents surveyed as a part of the recent Above the Line Project at Forrest City answered “Yes” when asked “If the Above the Line Project could be offered as an after-school program at your school, would you be interested in enrolling your child?”, while only one of the parents said they would not be interested in attending a special monthly class for parents designed to provide parenting skills associated with learning at home.

Feedback from the Forrest City parents was wholly positive.

“During this project it allowed me to really evaluate myself as a parent,” one parent wrote on the anonymous survey. “I thought I was active with my child because I was present with him. But I can see that if I slack off of him any he will slack off also. So it’s my responsibility to make sure that he’s performing at a level where he needs to be by any means necessary.”

Another parent responded: “I want to say thanks for having the patience and understanding to deal with a bunch of third graders for three weeks, and the methods of teaching that the staff used – because every day my child was eager to come to school. I would like to say thank you for teaching me how important it is to know what my child is doing in school even when she (is) making good grades and how important the testing skills are.”

About the Forrest City School District

In 2005, 72 percent (in mathematics) and 77 percent (in literacy) of the African American third graders in the Forrest City School District scored “below” or “below basic” ion the Arkansas Benchmark Exam, in respective areas. All of the schools in the Forrest City School District (two elementary schools, one middle school, one junior high school and one high school) were on the Arkansas School Improvement list during the 2006-07 school year. In order to qualify for this list, a subpopulation in a school has to score “below” or “below basic” at least two consecutive years. The Forrest City School District has an eligibility rate of 99 percent for free or reduced lunch status.

“We were successful in Forrest City because the parents, teachers, principals and administrators were committed to learning more about how to improve the academic achievement of their students,” Jennings said. “We want to especially commend Dr. Alice Barnes, Forrest City’s deputy superintendent, Hazel Wallace, the principal of Stewart Elementary School, and Sharon Council, the school’s assistant principal, for their active participation in the lives of their students.”

About Hendrix’s Odyssey Program

The Hendrix Odyssey Program, established in 2004, allows Hendrix students to complete three Odyssey experiences during their undergraduate career in areas selected from six categories: Artistic creativity, global awareness, professional and leadership development, service to the world, undergraduate research and special projects. Students choose areas of interest to utilize the Odyssey opportunities. The Above the Line Project is classified as a service to the world project.

More about the Above the Line Project

Three goals/objectives are addressed as part of the project: Increasing the academic skills of students, utilizing strategies to improve parental attitudes toward education, and increasing social skills of students by implementing a social skills curriculum.
The pre- and post-test assessment instruments for reading, mathematics, and writing were provided by Joel Rush of the Hot Springs, Ark.-based Learning Institute. The Learning Institute provides the “Chunk Test” assessment instruments to the Forrest City School District.
Dr. Jennings plans to release the 16 major strategies used in the Above the Line Project at a later date. They represent the culmination of three years of research on high poverty, high performing schools in the Delta.

For more information, contact Mark Scott, Hendrix College director of media relations, at scottm@hendrix.edu.

Hendrix, founded in 1876, is a selective, residential, undergraduate liberal arts college that emphasizes experiential learning in a demanding yet supportive environment. The college has been affiliated with the United Methodist Church since 1884. For more information, visit www.hendrix.edu.