DOCUMENT RESUME

ED 390 906 TM 024 234

AUTHOR Newmann, Fred M. And OthersTITLE Authentic Pedagogy: Standards That Boost Student

Performance.INSTITUTION Center on Organization and Restructuring of Schools,

Madison, WI.; Wisconsin Center for EducationResearch, Madison.

SPONS AGENCY Office of Educational Research and Improvement (ED),Washington, DC.

PUB DATE 95

CONTRACT R117Q00005-95NOTE 17p.

AVAILABLE FROM Center on Organization and Restructuring of Schools,University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1025 West JohnsonStreet, Madison, WI 53706;Internet:llynn@macc.wisc.edu (free).

PUB TYPE Reports Evaluative/Feasibility (142) CollectedWorks Serials (022)

JOURNAL CIT Issues in Restructuring Schools; n8 Spr 1995

EDRS PRICE MF01/PC01 Plus Postage.DESCRIPTORS *Academic Achievement; Criteria; *Educational

Assessment; Educational Change; Elementary SecondaryEducation; *Instructional Effectiveness; Mathematics;*School Restructliring; Social Studies; *Standards;*Teaching Methods

IDENTIFIERS *Authentic Assessment

ABSTRACT

This report presents general criteria for authenticpedagogy, instructional activities rooted in a primary concern forhigh standards of intellectual quality, as well as more specificstandards that can be used to judge the quality of assessment tasks,classroom lessons, and student performance. Examples are given oftasks, lessons, and student performance that score well on thesestandards. Evidence is also presented, based on a study of 24restructured schools, that authentic pedagogy can result in improvedstudent performance regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, or

socioeconomic status. Three mathematics and social studies classes ateach school, in grades 4 and 5, 7 and 8, and 9 and 10 were studied,and each teacher was asked to submit at least 2 assessment tasks withinformation on how the task was given to students. At least twosamples of student work were received from 457. of students in theclasses studied. Although all of these schools had made significantprogress in structural reorganization, the quality of auLhenticpedagogy varied widely, as did student performance. It was apparentthat some teachers have barely begun the journey toward higherquality instruction and assessment in spite of the demonstratedpositive effects of authentic pedagogy and assessment on studentachievement. Examples of tasks, lessons, and student performance areincluded. (Contains 3 tables and 1 figure.) (SLD)

.°

in restructuring schools

SF

gr

4111.F1,441% 7.7.°°Th

4111E__

U S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATIONOffice al EdUCAIIVIIII Research and Imphmremeni

EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATIONCENTER (ERIC)

reL document has peen reproduced asreceived Iron, the person Or Organizationonpinating

O Mmor changes have been made to improvereDrOduCtrOn Chrahty

Pornts 01 vie* or opinions stated rn this docu-ment do nOt necesSerrly reptesent ottcalOERI posrtiOn Or pOhcy

-PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE THISMATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY

F. Aje r-t /9 AJ

TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCESINFORMATION CENTER (ERIC)...

ISSUE REPORT NO. 8SPRING 1995

AutherThc Pedagogy: StandardsThat Boost Student PerformanceBy Fred M. Newmann, [idea M. Marks and Adam Gamoran

Authentic Pedagogy:The Vision

CriteriaConnections to ConstructivismAuthentic Pedagogy

1

Authentic Pedagogy:Results of the Study 5

Study Sample and MethodsVariables and Scoring ProceduresFindingsLinks to Student PerformanceWho Gets Authentic Pedagogy?Conclusions

Eximples of AssessmentTasks, Lessons andStudent Performance

TasksLessonsStudent PerformanceHigh and Low Pedagogy:Contrasting Examples

9

common theme runs through many of the current school-reform proposals: Studentsshould become "active learners," capable of solving complex problems and construct-ing meaning that is grounded in real-world experience.

In this issue report, we offer a conception of instruction and assessment thatremains consistent with active learning, but which also offers another critical element:It emphasizes that all instructional activities must be rooted in a primary concern forhigh standards of intellectual quality. We refer to this conception as authentic pedagogy.'

-This report includes general criteria for authentic pedagogy, as well as more specificstandards that can he used to judge the quality of assessments tasks, classroom lessonsand student performance. We offer examples of tasks, lessons and student performancethat sco..e well on these standards.

We also offer new evidence, based on our study of 24 restructured schools, thatauthentic pedagogy pays off in improved student performance, and can improve studentperformance regardless of gender, race, ethnicity or socioeconomic status. The resultswere consistent across different grades and subjects in schools across the United States.

Until now, arguments in support of "authentic" teaching have often been made onphilosophical grounds. We believe this study offers some of the strongest empirical jus-tification to date for pursuing such a course.2

We hope this issue report advances thinking about the meaning of authentic peda-gogy, supports its practice and suggests directions for further research to benefit schoolrestructuring.

AUTHENTIC PEDAGOGY: THE VISIONEducators and reformers often worry that today's students spend too much of theirtime simply absorbingand then reproducinginformation transmitted to them.

They fear that students aren't learning how to make sense of what they are told. Also,reformers often see little connection between activities in the classroom and the worldbeyond school. Students can earn credits, good grades and high test scores, they saydemonstrating a kind of mastery that frequently seems trivial, contrived or meaningl h

outside the school.The reformers call instead for "authentic" achievement, representing accomplishments

that are significant, worthwhile and meaningful.

2'REST COPY AVAILABLE

CENTER ON ORGANIZATION A N D RESTRUCTURING OF SCHOOLS

Table 1: Standards for Authentic Pedagogy and Student Academic Performance

Authentic PedagogyA. Assessment TasksStandard I: Organization of Information: The task asksstudents to organize, synthesize, interpret, explain, orevaluate complex information in addressing a concept,problem, or issue.

Standard 2: Consideration of Alternatives: The task asksstudents to consider alternative solutions, strategies.perspectives, or points of view as they address a concept,problem, or issue.

Standard 3: Disciplinary Content: The task asks studentsto show understanding and/or use of ideas, theories, orperspectives considered central to an academic orprofessional discipline.

Standard 4: Disciplinary Process: The task asks studentsto use merhods of inquiry, research, or communicationcharacteristic of an academic or professional discipline.

Standard 5: Elaborated Written Communication: Thetask asks students to elaborate their understanding,explanations, or conclusions through extended writing.

B. Classroom InstructionStandard I : Higher Order Thinking: Instruction involvesstudents in manipulating information and ideas bysynthesizing, generalizing, explaining, hypothesizing,or arriving at conclusions that produce new meaningsand understandings for them.

Standard 2: Substantive Conversation: Students engage inextended conversational exchanges with the teacherand/or with their peers about subject matter in a waythat builds an improved and shared understanding ofideas or topics.

Standard 3: Deep Knowledge: Instruction addressescentral ideas of a topic or discipline with enoughthoroughness to explore connections and relationshipsand to produce relatively complex understandings.

Standard 4: Connections to the World Beyond theClassroom: Students make connections betweensubstantwe knowledge and either public problemsor personal experiences.

Standard 6: Problem Connected to the \X'orld: The taskasks students to address a concept, problem, or issue thatis similar to one that they have encountered, or are likelyto encounter, in life beyond the classroom.

Standard 7: Audience BeNond the School: The task asksstudents to communicate their knowledge, present aproduct or performance, or take some action for an audi-ence beyond the teacher, (Ails room, and school building.

Authentic Academic PerformanceStandard 1. AnalysisMathematical Analysis: Student performance demonstratesand explains their thinking with mathematical contentby organizing, synthesizing, interpreting, hypothesizing,describing patterns, making models or simulations, con-structing mathematical arguments, or inventing procedures.

Social Studies Analysis: Student performance demon-strates higher order thinking with social studies contentby organizing, synthesizing, interpreting, evaluating,and hypothesizing to produce comparisons/contrasts,arguments, application of information to new contexts,and consideration of different ideas or points of view.

Standard 2. Disciplinary ConceptsMathematics: Student performance demonstrates anunderstanding of important mathematical ideas thatgoes beyond application of algorithms by elaboratingdefinitions, making connections to other mathematicalconcepts, or making connections to other disciplines.

Social Studies: Student performance demonstrates anunderstanding of ideas, concepts, theories, and princi-ples flora the sociai disciplines and civic: life by usingthem to interpret and explain specific, concreteinformation or events.

Standard 3. Elaborated Written CommunicationMathematics: Student performance demonstrates a

concise, logical, and well articulated explanationor argument that justifies mathematical work.

Social Studies: Student performance demonstrati s anelaborated account that is clear, coherent, a:at providesi;cliness in details, qualifications and argument,

32

1

To confront this pmblem, schools are ;idopting a widevariety of active-learning techniques. In many classroomswhere lectures once prevailed, students now take part insmall-group discussions and cooperative learning exerci,es.They conduct independent studies, or make greater iNe ofcomputers, video recording systems and other hig,h-techequipment. Their assignments take them out of the class-room to conduct community-based projects, such as oralhistories, surveys or service learning programs.

Students exposed to such techniques otlen displaygreater enthusiasm and engagement. This heightened par-ticipation can lead some observers to conclude that higher-quality learning must be taking place.

But active learning alone ()tiers no guarantee of high-quality student achievement. If a small group's task is tosolve routine math problems, for example, and one studentproduces the answers for others to copy, little or no seriousacademic work is accomplished. Or if students survey com-munity residents by simply asking short-answer questionswritten by a teacher and recording the answers, withoutreflecting on them, the opportunity to construct deepermeaning is lost.

Educators must ensure that new approaches to learningare aimed toward high intellectual standards. Otherwise,students' work, however "active," can remain shallow andintellectually weak.

CriteriaConsider the types of mastery demonstrated by success-ful adults, such as scientists, musicians, business

entrepreneurs, novelists, nurses and designers. What keycharacteristics of their work justify calling their accomplish-ments authentic! And how do these accomplishments differfrom the work that students complete in school?

We believe the answer lies in three criteria:1 Construction of Knowledge. The people mentionedi above face the challenge of constructing or producingmeaning or knowledge, instead of merely reproducing mean-ing or knowledge created hy others. Depending on their par-ticular field, they may express this knowledge in differentways. For example, they may use words or symbols to writeor speak about their findings. Or they might make things,such as furniture or a movie, or take part in performances foraudiences, such as dance recitals or athletic contests

Students taught within a conventional curriculum, on theother hand, are usually asked merely to iclentify the work thatothet s have produced. They may be drilled on the differencesbetween nouns and verbs, for example, or called upon tomatch authors with their works.

2Disciplined Inquiry. For achievement to be authentic, itmust be grounded in a field of knowledge, which usually

includes facts, a specific vocabulary and a set of conceptsand theories. Authentic performance in that field reflectsan in-depth understanding of a particular problem or issue.That understanding is expressed through elaborate forms ofcommunication that make use if written, visual and/or sym-bolic language to express ideas, nuances and details.

The conventional sdi ,o1 curriculum, on the other hand,is more likely to require students to memorize isolated factsabout a wide array of topics, and then use those fictscomplete short-answer tests, which don't require deepunderstanding or elaborate communication.

IValueBeyond School. Authentic at.hievement has

aesthetic, utilitarian or personal value beyond merelydocumenting the competence of the learner. Successfuladults engage in a wide variety of act i; it ies aimed at mtlu-encing an audience, producing a product or communicatingideas, from writing letters to developing blueprints tt,speaking a foreign language.

Achievements of this sort have special value that ismissing from tasks, such as spelling quizzes or typical finalexams, which are contrived only for the purpose of assessingknowledge. The oft-heard cry for "relevant" or "st udent-centered" curriculum is, in many cases, a less-precise expres-sion if this desire that student accomplishments shouldhave value beyond measuring success in school.

According to our conception, the most authenticachievements must meet all three of these criteria. Studentsmight, for example, tackle a calculus problem that requiresconstruction of knowledge and disciplined inquiry; but if thesolution has no value except to prove that the students cansolve calculus equations, its authenticity is diminished.

Likewise, a student who writes a letter to the local news-paper editor commenting on welfare reform may be con-structing knowledge to produce discourse with value beyondschool. But if the student's analysis is shallow or based onsignificant errors, it doesn't qual4 as disciplined inquiry.

While our concept if authentic academic achievementdemands that all three of these standards be met, thisdoesn't mean ItAat all instruction and assessment activitiesmust always fulfill all three standards. In some cases, repeti-tive practice or memory drills might help students huildthe knowledge and skills that can later serve as the basisfor authentic performance. The point is not to abandon alltraditional schoolwork, but to keep authentic achievementclearly in view as the ultimate goal.

Connections to ConstructivismAvision of learning as an active process jibes in manyways with the "constructivist" perspective now gain-

ing favor among many educators. Our criteria for authenticachievement reflect both similarities to, and differencesfrom, constructivist ideas.

Constructivism includes different points of view, buttnost share certain assumptions: Learning takes place asstudents process, interpret and negotiate the meaning ofnew information. This is heavily influenced by the student'sprior knowledge, and by the values:expectations, rewardsand sanctions that shape the learning environment.Students' assimilation of new information depends he;ivilyon whether that information helps them explain, or nwan-ingfully extend, their past experience. Even an apparentlysimple task, such as learning the spelling of a word, involv,sthis complex mental process.

43

Under constructivism, teachers are called upon to nurturethis process by leading students to engage in higher-orderthinking, not just rote learning of superficial information.This means, in part, that teachers should ofkr studentsopportunities to process information through written andoral expression, as well as other avenues such as drawing,building or dancing. Without expression, students' effortsto make and negotiate meaning will he stifled.

Constructivism also calls for teachers to abandon theprimary role of "dispenser of iplormation and truth."Instead, a teacher should strive to be a coach, guide andmentor who inspires students to take on the work of learn-ing. Teachers should engage students in a "cognitiveapprenticeship," to be ,:arried out in an atmosphere ofmutual trust, collaboration and high expectations.

Our "construction of knowledge" criterion is consi cotwith the constructivist view of the student as a meaning-making person who continuously weighs new informationagainst prior experience. But our vision goes further.Authentic performance occurs when thc student reachesbeyond imitation or reproduction of information, andanalyzes or interprets that information to solve a poiblemthat can't be solved by information retrieval alone.

We also add the criterion of disciplined inquiry, whichrequires a student to demonstrate in-depth understandingusing substantial knowledge from an authoritative field.Constructivism, on the other hand, doesn't necessarilyrequire that a student's construction of knowledge conformto knowledge considered authoritative by others.

Table 2

This doesn't mean that disciplined inquiry creates afoolproof path to "truth.'' But disciplined inquiry does offerstandards that help establish some ideas as intellectuallymore worthy than others. -

The constructivist perspective is clearly consistent withour "value beyond school" criterion. We certainly agreethat learning is more powerful when students can drawmeaningful connections between their school work andtheir own experiences and situations.

Authentic PedagogyWe define pedagogy as the combination of assessmentand daily teaching practices used by a teacher. If

teachers were to aim for authentic student performanceaccoiding to the criteria we have described, then theywould presumably create assessment tasks that called uponstudents to construct knowledge, through disciplinedinquiry, which addressed problems that had some meaningbeyond showing success in school. Teachers also wouldcreate lessons that helped students to develop proficiencyin these kinds of tasks.

In our studies of authentic pedagogy in restructuredschools, we developed a more specific set of standards forascertaining the extent to which teachers actually usedauthentic assessment tasks and taught authentic lessons..In the section that follows, we see how the standards wereused to evaluate lessons, tasks and student performancecollected from restructured schools across theUnited States. 4'

: AUTHENTICACHIEVEMENT

AUTHENTICASSESSMENT TASKS

AUTHENTICINSTRUCTION

AUTHENTICSTUDENT PERFORMANCE

Organization of Higher Order Analysis; CONSTRUCTION OF Information Thinking: KNOWLEDGE

Consideration ofAlternatives

Content

DISCIPLINED Process Deep Knowledge DisciplinaryINQUIRY Concepts

Elaborated Written Substantive Elaborated WrittenCommunication Conversation Communicat ion

Problem Connections to theVALUE BEYOND World Beyond theSCHOOL Classroom

Audience

This table shows how the 14 standards for authentic pedagogy and student academic pet tormance, detailed in Table 1 onpage 2, are linked across the three criteria described above.

4

AUTHENTIC PEDAGOGY: RESULTS OF THE STUDY

In studying the levels of authentic pedagogy, and its connection to studentperformance in restructured schools, we addressed three central questions:

1. QUALITY AND VARIABILITYHow much authentic pedagogy, as definedby our standards, is taking place in these schools? How much variation in thedelivery of authentic pedagogy is there between teachers, schools, grade levelsand subjects?

2. LINKS TO STUDENT ACHIEVEMENTTo what extent does authenticpedagogy contribute to authentic student performance?

3. EQU1TYTo what extent are students from certain social and academic back-grounds more likely to receive authentic pedagogy? To what extent does authen-tic pedagogy have different benefits to students from different backgrounds?How much effect do differences in background have on authentic academicperformance by students?

Samples and Methods

We collected data from 24 schools takingpart in the School Restructuring Study

conducted by the Center ow aganization andRestructuring of School,: Doe to incompletedata from one middle school, however, thisreport an authentic pedagogy includes datafrom only 23 schools.

Center staff studied each school intensivelyfor a year, with the goal of learning howschools organizat ional features can contributeto authentic pedagogy and authentic academicperformance, as well as to five other valuedoutconies.1

The 24 schoolseight elementary, eightmiddle and eight high sch()olswere chosenafter a nationwide search for schools that hadmade substantial departures from typical schoolorganizational structures. Many of these schoolshad adopted such reforms as school-based rover-nance councils, teacher teams with commonplanning time, heterogenous ability groupingof students, extensive use of small groups ininstruction; and special programs to addressthe social and emotional needs of students. Theschools were located in 22 districts in 16 states.

Limited resources prevented Centerresearchers from looking at every class and

subject. Instead, we studied math and socialstudies classes at each schoolin grades 4 and 5for elementary schools, 7 and 8 for middleschools and 9 and 10 for high schools.

At each grade level, researchers consultingwith each school selected three classes in eachsubject. At least one selected class was taughtby a teacher who was clearly involved in theschool's reform process. The classes also werechosen to reflect the range of student achieve-ment within the entire grade.

Center researchers made two week-longvisits to each School and observed each of theselected classes four times during the schoolyear. This study of authentic pedagogyincludes data from 504 observed lessons.

We asked each observed teacher to submitat least two assessment tasks. We asked fortasks that would provide valid and importantindicators of students' proficiency and under-standing of the subject matter.

We -',so asked the teachers to complete aslur L questionnaire describing the conditions

Ader which the task was given to students.This study examined 234 assessment tasks;65 percent of the teachers provided at leasttwo tasks.

We also asked for a complete set of st Iuuentwork completed in response to the assessmenttasks each teacher submitted. Each studentalso was asked to complete a short question-naire describing his or her perceptions aboutthe task and the work.

We received at least two samples of workfrom 45 percent of the students in our study.All together, this study includes data collected

Fred M . Newmann is director of

the Center on Organization andRestructuring of Schools and aprofessor of curriculum andinstruction at the University ofWisconsin-Madison.

Helen Marks , an associateresearcher at the Center, studies

the relationship of school and

classroom organization to the

engagement, academic achieve-ment, social attitudes and behaviorof students.

Adam Gamoran is a professor ofsociology and educational policystudies at the University ofWisconsin-Madison. His researchfocuses on tracking and inequalityin school systems. In a current

project with the Center, he is

examining the ways highly restruc-

tured schools have changed their

ability grouping practices.

5

from 2,128 students and 3,128 samples ofSt udent work.

Variables and Scoring Proceduresu;ing the specific standards listed in Table1 on page 2, we devised scales for mea-

suring authentic pedagogy and authenticstudent performance.4

Center researchers gave each observed classa score on each of the four standards forinstruction. The scale for each item rangedfrom I to 5, so scores could range from 4 to 20.

Each assessment task was scored by aCenter researcher and a specially trainedteacher currently teaching the same subject.The tasks were scored on each of the seven

standards, some on a scale of 1. to 3, othersfrom 1 to 4. If the researcher and teacherarrived at different scores, they discussedthe task and read:lee. a consensus.

The scores awarded for each of the twotasks submitted by each teacher were aver-aged, resulting in a final score that couldrange irom 7 to 23.

To create a score for authentic pcdag)Igy,we combined the scores for instruct in m andassessment, creating a range of possible scoresfrom 11 to 43.

To judge student performance, we used asimilar scale based on the three standards list-ed in Table 1 on page 2. Teachers trained lwC,enter researchers gave each sample of

Table 3: Levels of Authentic Pedagogy and Student Authentic Academic Performance by Grade and Subject

ELEMENTARY MIDDLE HIGH TOTAL

Pedagogyi Performance2 Pedago!'y Performance Pedagogy Performance Pedagogy Performance

MATH MeanScore 22.5 6.0 20.7 20.3 6.0 21.2 6.1

Number ofStudents or 22 437 21 385 294 64 1116

Teachers

SOCIAL MeanSTUDIES Score 22.0 1 22.2 7.3 22.4 6.9 22.2 6.7

Number ofStudents or 24 531 20 403 23 348 67 1282

Teachers

TOTAL MeanScore 22.2 6.1 21.4 6.7 21.4 6.5 21.7 6.4

Number ofStudents or 46 968 41 788 44 642 131 2398

Teachers

ALL SCHOOLS

3Pedagogy Performance4

MeanScore

Highest andLowest Scores

Number ofSchools

16.7,

21.4

27.3

23

4.5,

6.3

8.0

23

I Class sctires. 2 Student scores. Class scores averaged for each schu»)1, math and st tcial studies «cmbined.

4 Student scores averaged ft)r each school, math and social studies combined.

67

student work a score ranging from I to 4 ineach of the standards, creating 3 range oi pos-sible scores of 1 to L.

The scores for the samples from cad) sru-dent were averaged to determine the student'sfinal score. For some aspects of our analysis,we averaged individual student scores togetherto create mean scores for the whole class!'

Since a student's background can affectachievement, we also used measures of studentacademic and social background. The academicmeasure was based on testsof basic knowledgein math, and of reading and writing i.or socialstudieswhich we asked students to completein the fall of the observation year. These testswere made up of items from the NationalAssessment of Educational Progress (NAEP)for the appropriate grade level. About 85percent of the students completed the tests.

The measure of social background wasbased on surveys in which students reportedtheir gender and race, whether they were ofHispanic background, and their householdsocioeconomic resources. Secondary studentsalso reported their parents' levels of education.

To examine the link between authenticpedagogy and student performance. we used astatistical technique known as HierarchicalLinear Modeling (HLM). This allowed us toestimate the contribution authentic pedagogymade to differences in student performanceacross the sample. The HLM estimatedescribes the effect of authentic pedagogybeyond the influence of students' social andacademic background, and beyond the unique.unmeasured influences of each school.

FINDINGSll of the schools in this study had madeclear progress in organizational restruc-

turing. Nevertheless, the quality of authenticpedagogy in these schools varied widely. Ourresearchers found some schools with manyexamples of high-quality work, and otherswith very few.

Table 3 on page 6 indicates the overalllevels of authentic pedagogy, and authenticstudent performane, we observed. Thesenumbers show that even the most successfulteachers and schools scored far below thehighest level of our proposed standards.

Likewise, we found significant variation instudent performance. In some grades andsubjects, the most successful student scoredfour times as many points as the least success-

ful student. Also, as with teachers and schools,even the most successful students scored wellbelow the tipper end of m r scale.

We think these numbers suggest both goodand bad news. The gixid news is that someteachers and schools have been at least reason-ably successful at delivering authentic pedagogy.But the bad news IS that overall levels ofimthentic pedagogy remain hiw, even in highlyrestructured schools. Clearly, some teachers andschools have barely begun the journey towardhigher quality instruction and assessment.

Links to Student PerformanceWhen we studied the factors related toauthentic student performance, we

found that authentic pedagogy appears toboost student performance in all three gradelevels and in both math and science.

We also computed the impact of differentlevels of pedagogy on different types of students:for example, a white male of average socio-economic status whose score on the NAEP testwas at the mean. In a class with average peda-gogy, such a student would score 6.1 on ourscale of 3 to 12. By comparison, that "average"student would score 5.4 in a class with lowpedagogy, and the same student would havescored 6.8 in a class with high pedagogy.

These may seem like small improvements,but they translate to substantial improvementsin students' rankings compared to their peers.Regardless of race or gender, an averagestudent would move from the 30111 to the 61y"percentile if he or she received high authenticpedagogy instead of low authentic pedagogy.

Figure 1 on page 8 shows similar resultsfor "average" students of different gender andethnicity in classes with low, average and highpedagogy. This illustrates the major contribu-tion that authentic pedagogy can make tostudents' academic performance.

This point is illustrated further by theexamples of student work on page 12 of thisissue report.

Who Gets Authentic Pedagogy?In our view, schools should promote authentilstudent achievement among all students.

There should be no discrimination againststudents from disadvantaged backgrounds. Thismeans providing the same access to authenticpedagogy for richer students and poorer studentsalike. And all students should gain, not justthose who already achieve at high levels.

When we studied

the factors related

to authentic student

performance, tee

found that authentic

pedagogy appears

to boost student

performance in all

three grade levels

and in both math

and science.

7

Figure 1:

Authentic Academic Performance for "Average" StudentsReceiving Low, Average or High Authentic Pedagogy

12

0cna)0ca

E

a)

7

6

5

4

3WhiteMale

WhiteFemale

Overall, we found that students from different social back-grounds did have equal access to authentic pedagoff.However, students who started out with higher achievement,as measured by our N.AEP-based tests, were slightly more like-ly to receive authentic pedagoa. Because authentic pedagogybuilds on what students know and can do, there may be sometendency for teachers to use it more with higher-performingstudents. Also, while the restructured schools in the study hadsubstantially reduced the use of ability grouping, most hadn'teliminated it, which also may have influenced these results.

As to the effects of authentic pedagogy on students withdifierent backgrounds: We found that authentic pedagogyhelps all students substantially. However, it provides an extraboost for students already performing at higher levels. Inother words, if a low-achieving student moved from a classlow in authentic pedagogy to a class high in authentic peda-gogy, that student's performance would be enhanced signifi-cantly. But a high-performing student making the same movewould improve even more.

We did find gaps in authentic performance betweenstudents of different backgrounds: African Americans postedlower scores than whites, and girls scored significantly higherthan boys. But we found that these inequalities were nogreater, and could possibly be less, than those already evidentin traditional assessment techniques, such as the NAEP.Thus, while inequalities have not been eliminated, the useof authentic measures of student performance doesn't appearto worsen this problem. At least in this sample of restructur-ing schools, the use of these performance standards did notwiden any gaps attributed to social background.

8

am High Authentic Pedagogyr

j Average Authentic Pedagogy

1111 Low Authentic Pedagogy

African-American

Male

Conclusions

African-American

Female

previous research has demonstrated the difficulty ofmaking U.S. schools more academically rigorous, and

our study paints a similar picture. The overall level ofauthentic r)edagogy we observed, even in a sample of highlyinnovative schools, fell well below the upper reaches of thescoring standards we have proposed. There is good news,however: Some teachers and students have made consider-able progress toward meeting such standards.

This study provides strong evidence that authentic peda.gogy pays off in improved academic achievement. The limitsin the design of this study may cast some doubts on whetherwe have established a clear cause-and-effect relationship.And we have not shown that reforms that set out to emulatethese standards will boost student performance. But therobust relationship between aut hentic pedagogy and studentperformance suggests that students would benefit if allschools worked toward these standards.

It's uncertain whether all sell, iols can distribute authenticpedagogy as equitably as the restructured schools in our studyhave managed to do. But the study shows that significantprogress toward equity can be accomplished.

Neither gender, race, ethnicity or socioeconomic statussignificantly affected the impact of authentic pedagogy onstudents. While disparities between different groups remain,using the standards to evaluate the quality of pedagogy andstudent performance creates no additional roadblocks to theimportant work of closing those performance gaps.

9

EXAMPLES OF ASSESSMENT TASKS,LESSONS AND STUDENT PERFORMANCE

As :,,art of the study of 24 restruc-tured schiuds, staff of the Center

on Organization and Restructuring ofSchools translated the three criteriafor authentic pedagogy into morespecific standards for assessment tasks,instruction and student performance.A complete list of these standards isfound in Table I on page 2.

These standards can provide morespecific guidance on classroom prac-tice, by helping educators to assessthe level of authentic academic workfound in assessment tasks, dailylessons and students' responses tothose tasks.

Here we present examples oftasks, lessons and student work thatreceived high scores on a few illustra-tive standards. We have includedexamples in math and social studies,the curricular subjects our studyaddressed.

The examples are drawn from "AGuide to Authentic Instruction andAssessment: Visions, Standards aridScoring," by Newmann. Secada andWehlage, which is to be publishedby the Center in June. The Guideincludes many more examples, as wellas additional information on howeducators might pursue authenticassessment and instruction.

Copies of the Guide may be orderedusing the mail-in form that followspage 12.

TASKSMathematics Example for Standard IOrganization of Information:

Students in 4th and 5th grade weregiven the following task involvingmeasurement, fractions, and fractioncomputation:

Wc are making a bookcase tohold our new stereo. We needto have 3 shelves. The top shelfmust contain 3 compartments;the second shelf, 2 compart-ments; and the bottom shelf, I

compartment. We also ha :eboards that are 60" long, 2.5'wide, and I" thick. Draw a dia.gram of what the shelf will looklike when finished. Using frac-tions, show how you will cut theboards to make compartments.

This task scored high on"Organization of Information"because it could not be completedsuccessfully unless students organizedand interpreted the information pre-sented into a new form. They had totake information on the number ofshelves and compartments needed,the number of boards available withspecific dimensions, and put thistogether in a design that would workmathematically (for example. thedimensions indicated in their book-shelf could not exceed the length ofboards that were given). The teach-er's grading and comments on studentwork showed that she expected stu-dents not only to label the differentparts of the shelves, but to show thatthe measurements and fractionalparts added up correctly.

Social Studies Example forStandard 4, Disciplinary Process:

A 4th/5th grade social studies classwas involved in a year-long study oftheir community that included aunit on urban geography. Workingin small groups, students weregiven the following task:

First, select one of the neigh-borhoods marked on the citymap. Second, identify itscurrent features by doing aninventory of its buildings,businesses, housing, andpublic facilities. Also, identifycurrent transportation pat-terns and traffic flow. Fromthe information made avail-able, identify any specialproblems this neighborhood

' 0

has such as dilapidated hous-ing, traffic congest ion, or ahigh crime rate.

Third, as a group considervarious plans for changingand improving your neighbor-hood. If there is a specialproblem, how will you addressit? What kinds of businesses,if any, do you want to attract?What kind of housing do youwant? Will there be parks andother recreation facilities?What transportation patternsdo you want? Do you want tomake the block attractive todifferent groups of peoplesuch as senior citizens andyoung people?

After deciding on a plan, drawand label it on the overlayprovided with your map. Basedon what you know about urbangeography, indicate in yournarrative One possible planthat you rejected, and say why itwas rejected. Indicate how yourplan will promote the neighbor-hood features you want.

The above task scored high on"Disciplinary Process" because itrequired students to think in some ofthe same ways as urban planners andgeographers. This involved collectingdata systematically through observa-tion and recording and using this dataas a basis for making generalizationsabout patterns in human I ,ehaviorand the specialized uses and functionsof space within a community.

LESSONSMathematics Example for Standard 4,Connections to the World Beyondthe Classroom

In a 4th grade math class, studentswere to figure the costs of running

9

h,,uschold on a 111011(11k bu.biet, ti

The teacher gave students a II-It typical categ,,nes fr expensesinduding rent. gr,,ceries electrkty ind telephone servicy Studentswere t,. determine actual Lams Iss

,kino through a real estate guidet, a- rent, choi,sing gr, icenes from

st, ire.- price list, etc. The,.constructed budgets by examiningthe materials and discussing thepossibilities with One another.

There was evidence thatstudents derived pers,1nal meaningfrom this 1zsson. For example, inlihiking at rental guides, two h,,v,expressed surprise to find that -011iebuildings did not allow pets. "Hossab,,ut the bus line?" one asked."Bus line? We don't need a busline, we have cars," said the other.

In another group, a girl ch,,secheaper apartment without a dish-washer because she did not minddoing dishes by hand. In a thirdgroup, two other girls, after decid-ing 0, rent a S740 apartment,changed their minds becausethe% felt it was too expensive.

This lesson scored high on"C..nnections to the World Bes,a1.1the Classroom." Students had 0,

sik at real costs and make prkintvch, aces in creating their budgets.

Fr instance, they could lowerrent by finding cheaper apartments,sharing with more people, or givingup luxuries. The activities linkedmathematical content to decasi,,nsthat students would need to makein life beyond school.

Social Studies Example forStandard , Higher OrderThinking

In an Fith grade social qudies les-son, students were asked by theteacher to consider the impact ona community when workers werelaid off from work. (This issue wasraised in light of recent layoffsfrom an airplane manufacturer, amajor business in the community.)

The teacher began by helping

10

the suidents to define .Iseries ,terIll, related to issue. These

injuded "layoff," "s "fringebenefits," "unempl,,yment rate,""unempl,a mentand 'many.- The teacherpi, .vided the class with int;irmati, a ,als,,ut the local ey,,n,,my of theircommunity (city/county). TheteaLher alsi, provided data f,,r tw,aller communities if similar size.

Ina which had s,)111eshat differenttype, if businesses and employment.

The teacher asked the student-t , break into small gr,aips ti i exam-ine the informan, m they had beengiven and to answer the questi,m,"What generalizations can you stateelk iut each of the l taI economies?"

After twin,' the soidents a fessminutes to examine the data, theteacher asked each gr,,up to reporttheir generalizations. Several notedthat their own community hadmany more kinds of employmentthan the other communities. OneWA' characterized as a "two indus-try" cityshipping and tourism.One was characterized as a "oneindustry city" based largely onthe military, hut with a growingunemployment prof-lea',

The teacher asked studentsspeculate about what was happen-ing in that community as a result, if cutbaLks in military spending bythe federal government. The classagreed that generally a communitywas better off if it wa. 0, a toodependent on any one area fc.rbusiness and employment.

After some discussion, thestudents developed the followinggeneralization: Layoffs mean theItiss of salaries and that means lessspending in a community. Onestudent said, "People who are buy-ing cars and houses might not beable to make their payments eventhough they are getting unemploy-ment compensation. Car dealersmight go out of business becausepeople would not have the moneyto buy new cars."

The class also discussed the fact

that n, 'ink sv.uldans. the salaries of laid-

se .rkers, but the ,f fringebenents such as health insuransevaild have a Map ,r impact. Onestudent said. "\Vhen pc, ,ple don'thiS e health instil-am e they

r, and then their health,ets SC.

This les-, m sc, .red high ,"I 11,,her Order Thinking" becausealmost all of the students I, s k partin :mak zing inf,,rmation to develophyp, 'these-. generalizations andLi Impart ins aiming the threelocal e,..m,)1111c2-.

STUDENT PERFORMANCEMath example for Standard 2,Disciplinary ConceptsThis pr..hlem u as posed to a class

of isth t7aders

The Tortoise and the Hare.The hare challenged the tor-t, use to the best two out ofthree races. In each case, therace was t,. he 100 meters.

Race I: The uirtoice left thestartu,g line and "sprinted.'at the rate of 4 meters permmute. Twenty-five min-utes later, the Flare left thestartm,' line. How fast didthe I tire have to run intirder t., overtake the tor-toise? Wh,) won the race.'

One student responded,"The tortoise won because he hadcrossed the finish line as the harewas just leaving the starting gate.No way for the hare to catch him."The student had sketched adistance-time graph showing thatat 25 minutes, the tortoise hadalready gone IN meters. Thehare's graph was a vertical line,and was labeled "Impossible."

Race 2: The F are left t2.

minutes after the tortoise.The hare ran at 1' ,e rate of20 meters per minute. Thetortiase still "sprinted" at 4

meters per minute. Draw agraph that shows the progressof the race. Use the same gridfor both the tortoise and thehare. The horizontal axi..should show the time; thevertical axis should showthe distance. Who wonthe second race?

The same student responded:"The hare." On the clinched page,the student drew a graph plottingtwo straight lines with appropriateslopes. She labeled each line, andhighlighted the 100-meter markon the y-axis. Since the tortoise'sline crossed through the 100-metermark before the hare's line, sheconcluded that the hare won.

Race 3: The hare left 5 min-utes after the tortoise. Afterthe Hare ran for 3 minutes, itstopped for a 15-minute restand then resumed the race.The t Itoise still "sprinted" at4 met, rs per minute and thehare ran at 20 meters perminute. Make another graphto show the progress of each.Who won the race?

The same student responded,"They get there at the same time,it's a tie." Once again, she haddrawn a graph, clearly labelingthe lines corresponding to thetortoise and the hare. By showinghow both lines crossed the 100-meter mark at the same time, shewas able to show that both animalscrossed the finish line together.

This student's work scored highon "Disciplinary Concepts" becauseher explanations of why the tortoiseor hare won (or tied), and herlabeling of graphs that representedthe progress of the race in each story,demonstrated exemplary mathemazi-cal understanding of the relation-ships of the concepts of distance,time and rate, and of how graphs canbe used t o represent these problems.

Social Studies Example forStandard 3, Elaborated WrittenCommunication

lis task called on 12th graders todevelop a "position paper" on a con-troversial issue. The followingexcerpts are from one student's some-what longer paper justifying U.S.intervention in the Persian Gulf.

There have been numerousinstances when the world haswitnessed what happens whenaggressors are not stopped. Letus look back to 1935 whenMussolini decided to invadeand annex Ethiopia.Ell iiopia's emperor appealed-.0 the League of Nations, butnothing was done.

Soon afterwards, in 1936,Adolf Hitler re-occupied theRhineland, thereby violatingthe Treaty of Versailles.Again, the world ignoredthese blatant displays of hostil-ity and power....

When Emperor Hirohito ofJapan attacked Manchuria in1931, and then China in1937, he was simply scoldedby the League of Nations....

In 1938, Hitler united Austriaand Germany. The worldprotested, but then gave in toHitler who said he only want-ed to unite the German peo-ple. Then, Hitler took theSudentenland fromCzechoslovakia. As before,concessions were made toappease the aggressor....

In all the examples ofunchecked aggression, themoral is the same. The schoolbully who demands lunchmoney from other childrenwill not stop until someonestands up to him. lf the bullyis allowed to harass, intimi-date, and steal from otherchildren, it is giving him

1 2

silent permission to use poweragainst the weak....

Those who complain aboutthe United States acting as a"police nation" would do wellto remember that DesertStorm has been a UnitedNations effort, not solely aU.S. effort. The U.N. SecurityCouncil condemned Iraq'sinvasion and annexation ofKuwait, as did the ArabLeague. The U.N. imposedmandatory sanctions, forbiu-ding all member states fromdoing business with Iraq. TheEuropean Community, theU.S. and Japan froze Kuwaitiassets. The U.S., Britain,Fn-nce, Canada, Australia,West Germany, theNetherlands, and Belgiumpositioned naval vessels toenforce a blockade.... Clearly,the United States acted inaccordance with the UnitedNations and with the supportof its many members.

There is a time for peace and atime for war. War is a horriblesituation, but it is imperativethat countries learn to recog-nize when it is necessary.Perhaps some day the worldwill be able to solve its prob-lems without violence. Inthe meantime, we wouldendanger international securi-ty to allow people like SaddamHussein and his terrorist goonsto threaten and overpowerindependent countries suchas Kuwait....

The paper scored high on"Elaborated Written Commun-ication" because two main pointswere argued and supported in somedetail: Aggression should be stoppedsoon or it will lead to a chain ofabuses; and the U.S. acted withinternational support in thePersian Gulf war.

HIGH AND LOW PEDA60G: CONTRASTING EXAMPLES

0.(1,

\4.err4 zocourofp3 3:1242.42aLL.

--&-hirrpiflainr;Tnen----1-117- seacat,A-MAS WICIS CASS ,

_CS)Mer _columbcts.Et

e_. war.e min yJciiipoe

-14T. rr-tcoc.The A z...4ec and Torn r wil;ra-fions

_cdtXt dethayedly.x..11.tige.s..c.c

4> .14___Inarand_le*Ccor' =Ater_ 469-__EirAeas

_644er_Colorilcu6 tEurtwanns tkaritd_torniv6 4e clftericas 4r.i k ca. in

r\ c

Ei4tcear12 I.Jho LAO e }no mow:DI-6tte_marff.k.t,

(D_Seplerets secariad-CortorAhwes+-

Exaniple B High" Authntic;Pediluogy

The sea turtles are killed for meat and leather, their eggs aretaken for food Their nesting sites are destroyed by man, so theycan develop buildings and other places to visit. On some of thebeaches they offer boat rides. The boats are located on the sandwhen they are not being used. The owners are not aware that theboats are resting on top of the sea turtle eggs and killing them.

The sea turtles are classified under two families. TheLeatherback and the Pegular Sea turtles. The Leatherback SeaTurtles are the Iargt't of the two.

There are alot of unanswered questions today relating to the seaturtles. Despite the explosion of sea turtle research, scientist arefrustrated. One of the scientist was quoted saying "I don't know anybranch of science where we have applied so much effort and learnedso little". "We don't know where each species grows to maturity,or how long it takes them to grow up, or what the survival ratesare".

Some of the answers can now be researched because the U.S. and115 other countries have banned import or export of sea turtleproducts. By spreading the word and joining support groups, wecan also slow dqwn the process.

We can al! help by keeping the beaches free of trash andpollut.on. We can make suggestions to the beach control unit tokeep pleasure boating down and only allow it in certain areas wherehatching does not take place. Sea turtles have a one percent chanceof living to maturity, unlike you and I. We have a greater chance ofliving a very long life.

These examples of student work, collected during thestudy of restructured schools conducted by the Center

on Organization and Restructuring of Schools, demonstratethe impact that different levels of authentic pedagogy canhave on student achievement.

The two examples of student work reproduced here werecreated by students with identical scores on our NAEP-basedtest of previous academic success.

Example A: A class of 5th graders was assigned to copy aset of questions about famous explorers from a work sheet,and to add the correct short-answer responses in the appro-priate spots. The class spent a total of 30 minutes on thisexercise, which the teacher described as "very consistent"with what is typically emphasized in the class.

Even though the student whose work is shown herereceived a near-perfect 99 on this assignment, little authen-tic student achievement is evident. The student is simplyreproducing specific bits of information that previously weresupplied by the teacher. There is no analysis or interpreta-tion of these facts, nor any elaborated communication.

This task scored a 7 on our scale of authentic assessment,which ranges from a low of 7 to a high of 23. The student'swork scored 3.5 on our scale of authentic student achieve-ment, which ranges from a low of 3 to a high of 12.

Example B: A class of 5th and 6th graders was assignedto research and write a paper:on ecology. This assignmentoccupied 40 hours of class time during the 12-week gradingperiod. Each student produced several drafts of the paper,and met individually with the teacher several times to dis-cuss the drafts. Students also received 11 pages of writtendirections on how to research, organize and write the paper,including a step-by-step checklist for completing the assign-ment, a sample outline and sample bibliography entries.The paper counted for 75 percent of the student's grade forthe 12-week period.

The student whose work is excerpted here submittedseven pages of text, including an introduction to the topicshe chosesea turtlesan overview of issues to he discussedin the paper, detailed information on sea turtle biologydrawn from several sources, and information on hazardsfaced by sea turtles in Costa Rica. Another section entitled"What you can do to help" included a phone number to callfor more information, and advice on how to write the U.S.government to push for more protection of turtles.

This task scored a 19 on our scale of 7 to 23. Thestudent's work scored a 10 on our scale of 3 to 12. 4

13 '44-9T COPY AVAILABLE12

A GUIDE TO AUTHENTIC INSTRUCTIONAND ASSESSMENT:

VISION, STANDARDS D SCORINGFred M Newmann, Walter G. Secada, Gag G. Wehlage

Since 1990, the Center on Organization and

Restructuring of Schools has studied how school

restructuring can promote authentic instruction

and student performance. Using material from 130

teachers and 3,000 students in mathematics and social

studies from 24 "rescuctured" elementary, middle and

high schools nationwide, the Guide presents:

A rationale for the importance ofstudents constructing knowledge, through

disciplined inquiry, to produce discourse

and performance that has value and

meaning beyond school.

A set of integrated standards for

analyzing teaching, assessment practice

and student performance according to

this rationale.

Examples of teachers' lessons, tgachers'

assessment tasks and student

performance which succeed on the

standards.

Specific rubrics and scoring rules for

applying the standards in elementary,

middle and high schools.

This guide is intended to stimulate teacher reflec-

tion on standards for authentic intellectual quality,

with the ultimate goal of helping teachers develop

more authentic instruction, assessment and student

performance. It includes scenarios and general

guidelines for adapting the standards to the needs of

particular schools, grade levels and subjects.

Available June, 1995. Price: $900 in the U.S. and

Canada. For ordel) to oiher countries, please call.

WCER Document Service1025 W. Johnson Street, Room 242Madison, WI 53706Telephone: (608) 263-4214

Please send copies of "A GUIDE TO AUTHENTICINSTRUCTION AND ASSESSMENT: VISION, STANDARDS

AND SCORING" at $900 ea.

Total amount enclosed-

Ship toName

Affiliation

Address

City, State, Zip

Phone

OTHER PUBLICATIONS

The Center on Organization and Restructuring of Schools isoffering back issues of its briefs and issue reports on criticaltopics in school restructuring. Single copies are free.Photocopies may be substituted for some publications thatare no longer in stock.

ISSUE REPORTS

O No. 1-A Framework for School Restructuring-Fall 1991

O No. 2-Making Small Groups Productive-Spring 1992

O No. 3-Restructuring School Governance: The ChicagoExperience-Fall 1992

0 No. 4-Standards of Authentic Instruction-Spring 1993

O No. 5-Social Capital: The Foundation for Education-Fall 1993

O No. 6-School-Wide Professional Community-Spring 1994

O No. 7-High School Restructuring and Student Achievement-Fall 1994

BRIEFS

O No. 1-Introduction to School Restructuring Issues-Fall 1991

No. 2-Collaborative Planning Time for Teachers-Winter 1992

O No. 3-When School Restructuring Meets Systemic CurriculumReform-Summer 1992

Li No. 4-Estimating the Extent of School Restiucturing-Fall 1992

O No. 5-Collegial Process versus Curricular Focus-Spring 1993

Li No. 6-School Community Collaboration: Comparing ThreeInitiatives-Fall 1993

n No. 7-Opportunity to Learn-Fall 1993

Ci No. 8-Building Parent Involvement-Winter 1994

Li No. 9-School-Based Management-The View from "DownUnder"-Surnmer 1994

0 No. 10-New Directions for Principals-Winter 1994

Information Packet-A 12-page guide to the Center's missionand ongoing research.

O 1995 Bibliography on School Restructuring

Name

Title

Affiliation

Street Address

City

State, Zip

Phone

Li Please add me to your mailing list so I will receive futureCenter publications.

Center on Organization and Restructuring of SchoolsUniversity of Wisconsity-Madison

1025 West Johnson StreetMadison. WI 53706

-

Issues in Restructuring Schoolsis prepared by Leon Lynn at the Center onOrganization and Restructuring of Schools, Universityof WisconsinMadison This publication is supportedby the U S Department of Edu anon, Office ofEducational Research and Impr..vement (Grant NoRI I7Q00005-95), and by the VA isconsm Center for

Education Research, School of Education, Universityof WisconsinMadison The opinions expiessed here-in are those of the authors and do not necessarilyreflect the views of the supporting agencies Thispublication is free on request

Director: Fred M. NewmannAssociate Director: Gary G. WehlagcDissemination Coordinator:Leon Lynn

Administrative Assistant:Diane Randall

Graphic Designer: Rhonda Dix

IrE.51( COPY AVAILABLk

AL

16

EndnotesThe concepts of authentic achievement and standards for pedagogy

are explained in greater detail, and illustrated with examples, inNewmann, F. M., Secada, W. G., & Wehlage, G. G. (1995). A guideto authentic instruction and assessment: Vision, standards, and scoring.Madison, WI: Wisconsin Center for Education Research. This guidemay be ordered with the order blank that follows page 12 in thisissue report.

2 The empirical findings from this study are presented in greater detailin Newmann, F. M., Marks, H. M., & Gamoran, A. (1995). Authenticpedagogy and student performance. Madison, WI: Wisconsin Center forEducation Research. Copies of this paper are available through theWCER Document Service, 1025 W. Johnson Street, Room 242,Madison, WI 53706. Price is $6 per copy, including postage andhandling, for orders shipped to the United States and Canada. Fororders to other countries, please call the Document Service at(608) 263-4214.

3 The other five outcomes we studied were equity for students; empow-erment of teachers, parents and school administrators; sense of com-munity among staff and students; reflective professional dialogue; andaccountability. Results from the full study will be available from theCenter in early 1996.

4 For a detailed explanation of the scoring scales and standards, seeNewmann, Secada, & Wehlage (1995).

5 We are grateful to ! 47 teachers from school districts in andaround Madison, Wisconsin who took part in scoring tasks andstudent work for this study.

6 Afvut 25 percent of the rated lessons also were observed by a secondCenter researcher who Independently rated them. The overall levelof agreement between the two raters is estimated as a correlation of.78. About 37 percent of the student work samples were scored asecond time by another teacher. The two scores were the same54 percent of the time, and 91 percent were within one point.

CENTER MISSION

The Center on Organization and Restructuring of Schools studieshow organizational features of schools can be changed to increase the

intellectual and social competence of students. The five-year program ofresearch focuses on restructuring in four areas: the experiences of studentsin school; the professional life of teachers; the governance, managementand leadership of schools; and the coordination of community resourcesto better serve educationally disadvantaged students:

Through syntheses of previous research, analyses of existing dataand new empirical studies of education reform, the Center focuses on sixcritical issues for elementary, middle and high schools: How can schoolingnurture authentic forms of student achievement? How can schoolingenhance educational equity? How can decentralization and local empow-crment be constructively developed? How can schools be transformedinto communities of learning? How can change be approached throughthoughtful dialogue and support rather than coercion and regulation? Howcan the focus on student outcomes be shaped to serve these principles?

CENTER PUBLICATIONSIn the fall and spring of each year, the Center publishes an issue reportoffering in-depth analysis of critical issues in school restructuring,

which is distributed free to everyone on the mailing list. In addition, threebriefs targeted to special audiences are offered yearly. Our bibliography isupdated each year and is distributed free on request. Occasional papersreporting results of Center research are available at cost. To be placed onthe mailing list and receive Issues in Restructuring Schools, please contactLeon Lynn, Dissemination Coordinator, Center on Organization andRestructuring of Schools, University of WisconsinMadison, 1025 W.Johnson Street, Madison, WI 53706. Telephone: (608) 263-7575.lntemet: llynn@macc.wisc.edu

Issue Report No. 8 Spring 1995

'Authentic Pedagogy. Standards That Boost-Student Performance

CENTER ON ORGANIZATION ANDRESTRUCTURING OF SCHOOLSSchool of EducationWisconsin Center for Education ResearchUniversity of WisconsinMadison1025 W. Johnson StreetMadison, WI 53706

MARCIA WHITTERERIC ON EDUCATION MANAGEMENT1787 AGATE STEUGENE DR 97403 1923

Nonprofit Organization

US Postage

PAIDMadison, Wisconsin

Permit No. 1622

17 itS1 k;uPY AWULASLi