Scientific Research Based Results of aha! Process Reports of studies assessing the impact of the Payne School Model on student achievement and other related studies North Little Rock School District, Arkansas (2005-06) North Little Rock School District, located in North Little Rock, Arkansas, serves approximately 9,000 students, kindergarten through 12th grade. There are 22 schools in the district. Five of the schools in the district were involved with aha! Process, Inc. throughout the 2005–06 school year. Of the five schools, two are elementary schools serving kindergarten through fifth-grade students, one is a middle school serving sixth-grade students, and two are middle schools serving seventh- and eighth-grade students. These five schools serve 2,102 students. Analyses of covariance (ANCOVA)—using the 2005–06 Arkansas standardized tests in Mathematics and Literacy as dependent variables for Grades 6–8 and prior standardized test scores in the same domains as the covariates—were used with two groups (students served by teachers demonstrating high model fidelity and students served by other teachers) to determine the impact of the Payne School Model on student achievement. The two statistically significant results (one each in Mathematics and Literacy) favored the High Model Fidelity group. For the two non-statistically significant results, one favored the High Model Fidelity group (Literacy), and one favored the Other group (Mathematics). Both of the results for the seventh and eighth grades in Literacy favored the High Model Fidelity Group. These results, combined with the results from 2003–04 and 2004–05, demonstrate that the implementation of the Payne School Model in a high-fidelity manner before and during the middle school years tend to significantly positively increase student achievement in both Mathematics and Literacy compared with traditional approaches. View More USD 308 – Hutchinson Public Schools, Kansas (2005-06) Hutchinson Public Schools in Hutchinson, Kansas, serves 4,772 students throughout the district: eight elementary schools, one middle school with two campuses, and one high school. The elementary schools serve 2,552 students, while the middle schools and high school serve 2,220 students. Each elementary site serves preschool–Grade 6; one middle school serves seventh grade, and one serves eighth grade; and the high school serves Grades 9–12. All of the schools in the district have worked with aha! Process, Inc. to implement the strategies and concepts taught in its training. Using the 2005–06 Kansas Mathematics and Reading Assessments in Grades 3–6 as dependent variables, two analytical approaches were used to determine the impact of the Payne School Model on student achievement using a post-test-only design with two groups—students served by teachers demonstrating a High Model Fidelity (HMF) and students served by teachers not demonstrating a high level of model fidelity (Other) and a graphing procedure focused on levels of proficiency. Two of the three analyses of covariance (ANCOVA) were statistically significant—Grade 6 Mathematics and Grade 6 Reading. Both results favored the HMF group. Two of the five analyses of variance (ANOVA) were statistically significant—the Grade 5 Reading favored the HMF group, and the Grade 3 Mathematics favored the Other group. A third approach was used with 2002–06 Kansas Mathematics and Reading Assessments for Grades 6–11 as performance variables. The data were graphed and demonstrated increases in the percentages of students from poverty who achieved at or above the Proficient level in Reading and Mathematics. Officials in the school district strongly believe that the implementation of the Payne School Model contributed very significantly to these increases in student performance. View More Ridgeroad Middle Charter School, Arkansas (2004-05) Ridgeroad Middle Charter School, located in North Little Rock, Arkansas, serves 554 seventh- and eighth-grade students. Ridgeroad has been involved with aha! Process, Inc. since the 2003–04 school year. Analyses of Covariance (ANCOVA)—using the Arkansas Department of Education Statewide standardized tests for Mathematics and Literacy in 2004–05 as dependent variables and using standardized test data for the same students in prior years (i.e., 2003–04 and 2002–03) as covariates—were conducted for two sets of students. For Grade 7, the students in the High Fidelity group outperformed the students in the other group, and the ANCOVA-adjusted means were statistically significantly different at the p < .029 level. For Grade 8, the students at the Comparison School outperformed the students at Ridgeroad, based on ANCOVA-adjusted means for Mathematics; however, these results were not statistically significant. For Literacy, the students at Ridgeroad outperformed the students at the Comparison School, and the results were statistically significant. These results support the expectation that the Payne School Model, when implemented in a High Fidelity manner, can positively impact student achievement in middle school grades.” View More Bowler School District, Wisconsin (2004-05) Bowler School District, located in Bowler, Wisconsin, serves 462 students from pre-kindergarten to 12th grade. Both schools in the district were involved with aha! Process, Inc. throughout the 2004–05 school year and continuing in the 2005–06 school year. A post-test-only comparison design for two groups [experimental group—a district implementing the Payne School Model (Bowler School District); comparison group—a district implementing a traditional approach (comparison school district)], using the analysis of covariance to adjust for initial differences between the two groups, was utilized to determine the statistical impact of the implementation of the Payne School Model on student achievement. All eight of the comparisons of ANCOVA-adjusted means were in favor of the Bowler Schools. Three of the four ANCOVA-adjusted mean comparisons for Mathematics (Grades 6, 8, and 10) were statistically significant in favor of the Bowler Schools. Two of the four ANCOVA-adjusted means comparisons for Reading (Grades 5 and 8) were statistically significant in favor of the Bowler Schools. These results provide strong and convincing evidence that the Payne School Model increases student achievement across multiple grades and multiple disaggregations. View More Cannon County Schools, Tennessee (2004-05) Cannon County Public Schools, located in Woodbury, Tennessee, serves 2,104 students from kindergarten to 12th grade. All seven schools in the district were involved with aha! Process, Inc. throughout the 2004–05 school year. A post-test-only comparison design for two groups—High Model Fidelity (50% or higher score on the Instructional Framework Scale—Observation) vs. Other (49% or less on the Instructional Framework Scale—Observation or not observed)—using the analyses of covariance to adjust for initial differences between two groups was employed to determine the statistical impact of the implementation of the Payne School Model on student achievement. The results strongly support the positive impact High Model Fidelity implementation of the Payne School Model on increasing student achievement in elementary and middle schools in Mathematics and Reading. View More Windsor Middle School, New York (2004-05) The Payne School Model was implemented in Windsor Middle School, located in Windsor, New York, in 2004-05. The dependent variables were the Eighth-Grade English/Language Arts Scaled Scores and the Eighth-Grade Mathematics Scaled Scores—standardized tests used by the New York Department of Education for assessing student performance in literacy and mathematics, respectively, in 2004-05. Using the analysis of covariance, the adjusted mean differences were not statistically significant at the p < .05 level. However, the students in the classes with teachers with higher levels of implementation in both English/language arts and mathematics had higher adjusted mean scale scores than those students in classes with teachers with lower levels of implementation. View More Ridgeroad Middle Charter School, Arkansas (2003-04) Ridgeroad Middle Charter School, located in North Little Rock, Arkansas, served 511 seventh- and eighth-grade students, 79% of whom received free or reduced-price lunches. Ridgeroad administrators and faculty have been involved with aha! Process since the 2003-04 school year in implementing the Payne School Model. A post-test-only comparison design for two groups (experimental group—a school implementing the Payne School model; comparison group—a school implementing a traditional approach) utilizing the analysis of covariance to adjust for initial differences between two groups was used to determine the statistical impact of the implementation of the model on student achievement. The results suggest that the Payne School Model had a significant impact in increasing student achievement in literacy for the eighth-graders at Ridgeroad, as compared with Comparison Middle. View More East Allen County School Corporation, Indiana (2000-03) The purpose of this study was to analyze the impact of the Payne School Model on student achievement in the East Allen County Schools in northeastern Indiana. The ISTEP+ provided two sets of dependent variables (one norm-referenced and one criterion-referenced) to assess student achievement. Both of the results comparing the distribution of the observed and expected difference scores within and across seven cohorts across six years of pre-treatment and implementation data were statistically significant (the norm referenced at the p<.01 and the criterion-referenced at the p<.001 levels level). Considering the sizes of the differences on the two sets of variables, the results were also practically significant. View More Declines in Discipline Referrals reported by Certified “Framework” Trainers Every teacher and administrator wants to help kids learn more. That is why we are in the business of education. However, time spent on inappropriate student behavior and subsequent discipline referrals takes us away from our educational pursuits. View More The Effect of Understanding Poverty Training on Teacher Sense of Efficacy Licensed primary teachers (N = 48) in two schools completed surveys of their self-efficacy beliefs and level of implementation of the Framework Training before and after participating in two levels of in-service training in A Framework for Understanding Poverty Workshop. The primary research question was whether the Framework training would significantly affect teacher sense of efficacy. Teacher sense of efficacy is a motivational construct that refers to the belief that one can influence how well students learn, even those who may be considered difficult or unmotivated. Treatment One included the Framework Workshop, an all day workshop. Treatment Two included the Framework Workshop plus follow-up activities with the school faculty. The positive results of implementing the Framework Workshop are shown in this report. View More Dissertations Vicki Johnston, University of Houston The purpose of this study was to analyze teacher attitudes about working with children and adults from poverty. The study also assessed the knowledge, skills, confidences, and actual practices of teachers after having the opportunity to interact with students by absorbing the information, experiencing the culture, and using the information gleaned from the initial training session. A historical descriptive study using archival surveys collected at two points in time was utilized. Survey data results indicated that the majority of the participants in this study had applied and would continue to use seven of the nine application/information items gleaned from the training session, and that future training was needed in areas they considered as important but in which they lacked the knowledge and understanding to apply these practices. Teachers indicated that the elements of this professional development training would be effective sources for improving their abilities to work with students who are economically disadvantaged. View More Elizabeth King-Weaver, Nova Southeastern University The purpose for this study was to determine whether increasing teachers’ cultural fluency through staff development would increase the student’s sense of belonging in an alternative school. The study was conducted at a drop-out prevention program that serves middle and high school students. The intervention selected for this study was the Ruby Payne staff development program that addressed both socioeconomic and cultural diversity issues. A pre-comparison and post-comparison were made to determine the success of the intervention. The results of the post-survey revealed that there was a positive increase in both items. View More Donna Magee, University of Wyoming The purpose of this study was to assess the use of the Payne School Model for professional development in a Midwestern elementary school more than one year after a three-year intensive professional development initiative had ended. In addition, change in teachers' knowledge, skills, and beliefs as a result of the training was also assessed. Data were gathered through classroom observations, interviews, and teacher self-reporting through the survey. Results indicate a fairly high level of implementation—78.8%. Overall, the systemic processes and concepts taught in A Framework for Understanding Poverty were implemented at higher levels than the strategies taught in the Learning Structures training. In addition, all teachers indicated a moderate or significant change in their knowledge and skills as a result of the training. Moderate or significant change in beliefs was reported by 87.5% of the teachers. Factors contributing to the change were mostly related to the content of the trainings. View More Paul Vickers, Stephen F. Austin State University The purpose of this study was to identify principals’ perceptions of their roles and strategies used in increasing the Hispanic completion rates and how they have addressed the needs of Hispanic students. Four high school principals whose campuses had shown improvement in Hispanic completion rates were interviewed. Common themes that emerged from the interviews dealt with the changes that needed to occur to address the needs of Hispanic students at risk of dropping out of school. The principals all stressed the importance of building relationships with individual students. Also, three of the four principals noted the need to address the needs of Hispanic students in terms of the socio-economic status, through the work of Ruby Payne. View More Studies in Progress Bowler Schools, Wisconsin Menominee Indian Schools, Wisconsin North Little Rock School District, Arkansas