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Skip to: Impact on Students | Impact on Clients’ Work
Impact on Students
Student graduation, achievement, and attendance improve with IRRE supports for educators and their leaders.
Graduation rates show dramatic increases across four high schools in an economically disadvantaged community
With fewer than half of its students graduating in four years, an urban district adopted our framework for strengthening student commitment and academic performance. Their dramatic results reflect this district’s focus on making high school students’ learning experience more personalized and meaningful — smaller groups of teachers worked with students and their families in thematic small learning communities over multiple years.
Trends in High School Graduation Rates
Graduation rates show dramatic increases across four high schools in an economically disadvantaged community
Trends in High School Graduation Rates
With less than half of its students graduating in four years, this urban district adopted IRRE’s framework for strengthening student commitment and academic performance. Their dramatic results reflect this district’s focus on making high school students’ learning experience more personalized and meaningful — smaller groups of teachers worked with students and their families in thematic small learning communities over multiple years.
Reading and math achievement increase dramatically in twenty urban elementary and middle schools working with IRRE
IRRE and this urban school district formed a longstanding partnership committed to district-wide change in literacy and math instruction. Classroom, school and district cultures were permanently transformed as the ratio of achieving to underachieving students changed profoundly across all elementary and middle schools.
Trends in High School Math Proficiency
Five urban high schools show striking improvement in math achievement
Trends in High School Math Proficiency
For many low income high school students of color, underachievement in math presents a major impediment to their post-secondary success. IRRE and our school and district partners have removed this impediment for thousands of students by implementing our Curriculum and Instructional Benchmarking process.
Rigorous national research confirms IRRE’s impact on low income high school students’ math achievement
School randomized trials (SRTs) provide the most rigorous and compelling evidence available on whether educational interventions with schools make a difference.
In 2009, the US Department of Education awarded $6M to a distinguished group of university researchers to use SRTs to study IRRE’s approach to improving math achievement. In their 2016 article, they report significant impacts of our Curriculum and Instructional Benchmarking process on math achievement for predominantly low income 9th and 10th grade students in five school district districts across four states.
Based on this national study of over 8,000 students, the Evidence for ESSA research group gave IRRE’s approach a “Strong” rating for evidence of effectiveness.
Rigorous national research confirms IRRE’s impact on low income high school students’ math achievement
School randomized trials (SRTs) provide the most rigorous and compelling evidence available on whether educational interventions with schools make a difference.
In 2009, the US Department of Education awarded $6M to a distinguished group of university researchers to use SRTs to study IRRE’s approach to improving math achievement. In their 2016 article, they report significant impacts of our Curriculum and Instructional Benchmarking process on math achievement for predominantly low income 9th and 10th grade students in five school district districts across four states.
Based on this national study of over 8,000 students, the Evidence for ESSA research group gave IRRE’s approach a “Strong” rating for evidence of effectiveness.
Reading Achievement Trends in Three Demographic Groups
Intensive focus on literacy helps close achievement gaps in reading
IRRE and our partner district made a commitment that all students would benefit from our district-wide work to improve literacy instruction. Once this work was implemented, we saw all boats rise and achievement gaps close between children of color (African-American and Hispanic) and Caucasian students.
Intensive focus on literacy helps close achievement gaps in reading
Reading Achievement Trends in Three Demographic Groups
IRRE and our partner district made a commitment that all students would benefit from our district-wide work to improve literacy instruction. Once this work was implemented, we saw all boats rise and achievement gaps close between children of color (African-American and Hispanic) and Caucasian students.
Impact on Clients’ Work
Nationally recognized organizations and distinguished scholars describe how IRRE’s supports change the way school systems and investors do their work.
A small urban public school system goes from state sanctions to national recognition with IRRE’s support
Dr. Norman Fruchter, currently Senior Advisor at Brown University’s Annenberg Institute for School Reform and member of New York City’s Panel for Educational Policy, studied and reported on IRRE’s work with Kansas City Kansas in his 2007 book Urban Schools: Public Will. He noted the transformative and often counter intuitive strategies used by IRRE and the district to achieve systemic and sustained impacts on student success.
According to Dr. Fruchter’s review of the evidence: “… attendance, and reading and math scores on state testing, improved significantly in elementary and secondary schools and … IRRE’s supports are … help[ing] to close both race – and class – based achievement gaps in Kansas City, Kansas.”
A small urban public school system goes from state sanctions to national recognition with IRRE’s support
Dr. Norman Fruchter, currently Senior Advisor at Brown University’s Annenberg Institute for School Reform and member of New York City’s Panel for Educational Policy, studied and reported on IRRE’s work with Kansas City Kansas in his 2007 book Urban Schools: Public Will. He noted the transformative and often counter intuitive strategies used by IRRE and the district to achieve systemic and sustained impacts on student success.
According to Dr. Fruchter’s review of the evidence: “… attendance, and reading and math scores on state testing, improved significantly in elementary and secondary schools and … IRRE’s supports are … help[ing] to close both race – and class – based achievement gaps in Kansas City, Kansas.”
An urban community foundation finds more clarity, accountability, and impact with IRRE’s support
In 2011, this Detroit-based Foundation was in the fifth year of a ten-year, $100M commitment to improve outcomes for Detroit’s children and youth. IRRE was asked to conduct an analytic review of the Foundation’s investments in education up to that point.
IRRE continues to strengthen the Foundation’s capacity to use education data to generate insights and inform their initiatives for improving children’s outcomes.
An urban community foundation finds more clarity, accountability, and impact with IRRE’s support
In 2011, this Detroit-based Foundation was in the fifth year of a ten-year, $100M commitment to improve outcomes for Detroit’s children and youth. IRRE was asked to conduct an analytic review of the Foundation’s investments in education up to that point.
IRRE continues to strengthen the Foundation’s and its community partners’ capacity to engage productively with education data and generate insights from results to inform their investments in improving young people’s outcomes.
Education investors get the most return for each dollar spent on IRRE’s approach
Dr. Henry Levin, an internationally recognized educational economist and expert on education reform, found that IRRE’s approach to strengthening personalization and instruction in high schools was the most cost effective of all the evidence-proven programs his team reviewed.
Net Return on $1 Invested in Five Proven Approaches to Improving Graduation Rates
Education investors get the most return for each dollar spent on IRRE’s approach
Net Return on $1 Invested in Five Proven Approaches to Improving Graduation Rates
Dr. Henry Levin, an internationally recognized educational economist and expert on education reform, found that IRRE’s approach to strengthening personalization and instruction in high schools was the most cost effective of all the evidence-proven programs his team reviewed.
Rural school districts deepen their insights into their students’ and teachers’ accomplishments and challenges
Rural students, schools and districts in America are understudied and underserved. A partnership between IRRE, eight rural school districts in Oregon and a local foundation provides educators in these districts with a critical new resource. These districts now have a “data-infrastructure” that allows them to:
- Take a fresh look at students’ accomplishments and challenges and drill down to what individual students need to achieve success
- See their schools and school systems through the eyes of students and teachers
- See their classroom instruction through outside eyes of experienced educators
Now in the second year of the partnership, education leaders and teachers alike praise the credibility, timeliness and usefulness of results they are getting. These districts use the information first to prioritize, then focus, then monitor district improvement efforts.
Rural school districts deepen their insights into their students’ and teachers’ accomplishments and challenges
Rural students, schools and districts in America are understudied and underserved. A partnership between IRRE, eight rural school districts in Oregon and a local foundation provides educators in these districts with a critical new resource. These districts now have a “data-infrastructure” that allows them to:
- Take a fresh look at students’ accomplishments and challenges and drill down to what individual students need to achieve success
- See their schools and school systems through the eyes of students and teachers
- See their classroom instruction through outside eyes of experienced educators
Now in the second year of the partnership, education leaders and teachers alike praise the credibility, timeliness and usefulness of results they are getting. These districts use the information first to prioritize, then focus, then monitor district improvement efforts.
See how measuring what matters turns into doing what matters.