Finding #5: A series of findings regarding classroom activities across virtually all of the programs was, in one sense, distressing. Extensive observations of class periods and students whole school days provided a picture of instruction driven by management issues, of very uneven access to subjects beyond reading/language arts and mathematics, and of reforms often stifled by seemingly straight forward issues, such as scheduling.
Over the three years of Special Strategies, we conducted nearly 1,000 hours of detailed classroom observations, and gathered nearly 200 detailed descriptions from observations of students whole school days. These observations provided a particularly valuable window through which to view programs and their impacts. They are described in detail in the Special Strategies First Year, Second Year, and Final Reports, and a brief overview can do little justice to those rich data. However, a few generalizations can be presented in this overview:
Elementary students had widespread access to reading/language arts and mathematics, but access to curricula in science, social studies, computers and writing was very uneven. This replicates a series of earlier, similar findings (e.g., Brown, 1991; Means, Chelemer, & Knapp, 1991; for review, see Brophy & Good, 1986). The good news was that virtually all students were receiving daily instruction in a few core subjects. However, on many days many students simply received no instruction in the sciences or in writing. Further, it was unclear where most teachers were to find the necessary planning time for diverse subjects, given five hours per day of teaching time, a press to focus on reading and math, and limited support or accountability for science and writing.
Special Strategies elementary schools used a wide variety of approaches to literacy instruction; however, the predominant modes observed were teacher-led and discrete skills instruction. Few of the observed sites consistently provided instruction emphasizing student inquiry across the three years. Few of the whole school day observations recorded sustained periods of student reading or applying what they were learning.
At the high school level, recurring, multi-year scheduling problems particularly, but not exclusively, in mathematics and the sciences often hindered implementation. Limited faculty understanding of and commitment to CES principles, and a scarcity of time reserved for teachers to work together, were also obstacles.
