This resource researches three high school reform initiative: Career Academis, First Things First, and Talent Development. Districts interested in implementing one of these intitiatives in their high schools will find the conclusions drawn from that research helpful. The author finds that whatever path is chosen to high school reform, education leaders should consider structural changes to improve personalization and instructional improvement to be the twin pillars of high school reform, since they best address what is needed--and what has worked--across the three initiatives researched.
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Background and Context
One key approach to improving instruction for high school students is redesigning the environment and structure in which they learn. Creating smaller learning communities is one way schools are fundamentally reshaping that environment. Guided by a belief that student achievement will improve in a more personalized environment, advocates of smaller learning communities hope that smaller class sizes, increased teacher collaboration, comprehensive advisory systems, and a more relevant and rigorous curriculum will reap substantial gains in academic achievement.
