From Blueprint to Reality: San Diego’s Education Reforms

Short sections of text, not to exceed three paragraphs, may be quoted without written permission provided that full attribution is given to the source and the above copyright notice is included. PPIC does not take or support positions on any ballot measure or on any local, state, or federal legislation, nor does it endorse, support, or oppose any political parties or candidates for public office. iii Foreword In 2000, the Public Policy of Institute of California entered into an agreement with the San Diego Unified School District to provide the research and financial support to collect, format, and analyze student, teacher, and classroom data needed to create an accurate portrait of what affects student achievement in San Diego. King is the second in a series stemming from that agreement. Most important, it is a report that throws new light on the school district's program of reform known as the Blueprint for Student Success. The report was made possible by grants from The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and The Atlantic Philanthropies. The Blueprint was both visionary and controversial. It was visionary because it focused on improving reading skills while encompassing virtually all of the district's students and teachers, and controversial because its implementation drew both severe criticism from professional staff, parents, and community organizations but also support from other parent groups and the business community. Education specialists and nonprofit organizations throughout the country have watched the San Diego Blueprint with great interest—some even providing substantial financial support to implement comprehensive teacher training programs. As a result, serious assessments of student performance during the years of the reform effort will be reviewed with great interest. Given the quality of their data, this report by Betts, Zau, and King is worthy of special attention. The authors conclude that the effort to improve reading skills was successful and that the evidence for the program's overall success is so definitive that San Diego's efforts are well worth a look by other school districts in California and the nation. A significant percentage of elementary and middle school students who took part in reform-driven activities—such as double-and triple-length English classes, extended iv school days, and summer school reading programs—showed marked improvement on standardized reading tests. High school students did not experience the same test improvements and various reasons for this result are discussed. Nevertheless, to show such consistent gains in reading performance across the elementary and …