Evaluation of a Multi-School Pilot Project Designed to Close Achievement Gaps

The purpose of this project was to study instructional practices useful in improving the academic achievement of all students, particularly African American students. AEL staff believed that the approach of working closely with school and district personnel to provide professional development and exemplary culturally responsive instructional materials in selected Kanawha County schools would yield differentiated teacher and student classroom behaviors. Further, AEL believed that this approach would build the schools capacity to continue improvement efforts aimed at raising the academic achievement of African American and other students. Thus, the research aimed to examine the impact of different levels of the intervention on teacher and student behaviors. (Contains 22 tables and 2 figures.) [This document was produced by the Appalachia Educational Laboratory at Edvantia, formerly the Appalachian Educational Laboratory (AEL, Inc.). It was presented at the 2005 National Evaluation Institute July 7-9, 2005, Memphis, TN.]