Context

I work for an independent study charter school that serves at-risk youth in grades 7-12. It is a

school that has been operating for over 20 years and was the 28 th charter school in the state of

California. The school has approximately 2,500 students with 70% of the student population meeting

the requirements for the National School Lunch Program (NSLP or low income). The school’s diverse

population includes 19% of students who receive Special Education services and 14% who are classified

as English Learners. The student body is also ethnically diverse, with 63% of students identifying as

Hispanic, 17% as White, and 8% as Black/African American. On average, students enroll in the school one

to three grade levels behind in reading and two to four grade levels behind in math.

According to Sackheim (2017) with the California Department of Education (CDE), independent

study is a way to “deliver a highly personalized education.” Sackheim further explains that, because of

the flexibility and individualization that independent study offers, it works as a way for students who are

credit deficient to have an “individualized approach to fill in gaps in their learning or make up credits.”

In an independent study program, students come to class to meet with their teacher at least twice a

week. Students are expected to work four to six hours on their curriculum, independently each day,

Monday through Friday. While only working on one subject at a time, students are able to demonstrate

success through the completion of one credit per month, or 12 credits per year—just as they would at a

traditional school—and by meeting their goals to either graduate or transition back to their resident

traditional school at grade level.

Students choose this alternative program for a variety of reasons. For many students, their

resident high school counselors tell them that they will not graduate with their peers and recommend

this school as an alternative option for credit recovery. Some students come to this school because they

do not feel safe in their resident schools. Many of these students are victims of bullying and see no

other way to stop the harassment other than to leave their resident schools. There are also students
who attend because they have social anxiety or some other anxiety disorder that prevents them from

experiencing success at a traditional school, where they are faced with the added stress of multiple

classes in a day and many different teachers. The approach at this school is one of personalized learning.

Teachers have a set roster of 40 students whom they get to know well. Teachers also have a variety of

quantitative data at their fingertips to guide instructional planning for enrolled students, including math

and reading grade level equivalents, previous standardized test scores, and previous grades. Teachers

meet with each family individually to enroll them and guide them in the new school environment that is

independent study.

The Problem

The Smarter Balanced Assessment (SBA) results from last year show that 56% of all students who

tested on the SBAC (Smarter Balance Assessment Consortium) test did not meet the achievement

standard (see Figure 1). This shows that students are not meeting the standard to show proficiency in

English Language Arts as demonstrated on the SBAC. Although we have similar results for math, math

results have been improving for the past three years. English results, however, have been slightly

declining.
 Figure 1. SBAC Results 2016-2017. This figure illustrates the SBAC results for 11 th grade students in the

2016-2017 school year.

Needs Assessment

In looking at the enrollment data for new students from the past three months, there is an

obvious gap in English Language Arts learning for students entering our program. Below is the chart that

shows the average reading level of new enrollments by grade level. Between the three months, 902

students were tested. 5% of those tested were 7 th graders, 7% were 8th graders, 22% were ninth graders,

30% were tenth graders, 18% were 11th graders, and 19% were 12th graders. As you can see from the

chart, for the past three months students enrolling in 7 th, 9th and 12th have been consistently enrolling

below grade level. The chart also shows that new students in ninth grade enroll the most grade levels

behind in English Language Arts, enrolling at two to three grade levels below.
 Figure 2: The Difference Between Grade Level and Average Reading Level at Enrollment. This figure

illustrates the each grade level’s difference between grade level tested and average reading level at

enrollment for three months.

To better understand students’ experiences and engagement at their previous schools, I asked

students to respond to seven statements on a Likert scale where 1 was an overwhelming negative

response, 3 was neutral, and 5 was an overwhelming positive response. By looking at the average of the

Likert scale responses, we can see some interesting trend data. By defining 3 as neutral, any average less

than 3 can be considered a negative response or an area of deficiency. Likewise, any average greater

than 3 would be considered a positive response or an area in which students’ needs have been met.

Figure 5 below shows the average responses by question according to the survey administered to

students upon their first week of enrollment. The statements were the following:

1. Before I came to this school, I was confident that I had the ability to learn.
2. Before I came to this school, I was confident that I had the skills to learn.
3. Before I came to this school, I was interested in school.
4. Before I came to this school, I had support from my teacher to learn.
5. Before I came to this school, I was confident that my current learning performance
would improve my future.
6. Before I came to this school, I enjoyed coming to school.
7. Before I came to this school, my education was a high priority.
 Figure 5: Average response by statement. This figure shows the average Likert ranking by

statement from the new student questionnaire.

Looking at figure 5, question 6 has the lowest average response. That question was “before I

came to this school, I enjoyed coming to school.” The next lowest response was question 4 which was

“before I came to this school, I had support from my teacher to learn.” The next lowest response, also

the last negative response by students was for question 3 which was “Before I came to this school, I was

interested in school.”

Those three responses show that our new enrolling students come to us with a negative

perception of school. They are disinterested, school is unenjoyable, and they do not feel supported by

teachers. This data is important because it tells us what we need to do as teachers to support the

students. We need to find what they are interested in and make learning relate back to themselves; it

will make learning more personal. We also need to make sure that we are available to tutor and

remediate assignments as necessary so that the students feel supported.

 With the enrollment data, student confidence results, and engagement themes that emerged

there is a need for a personalized curriculum for English Language Arts to improve student achievement

and personal engagement in learning. For that reason, I will be focusing on improving student

achievement through the use of personal connection in ELA curriculum for my school.

Research Question

What are the effects of an ELA curriculum focused on personal connections on at-risk

9th grade students' reading proficiency and engagement in school?

 References

Orr, Swafford, Hahler & Hall (2014) 2014 IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference (FIE) Proceedings

Frontiers in Education Conference (FIE), 2014 IEEE. :1-5 Oct, 2014

Sackheim, D. (2017). Independent study: CalEd Facts. Retrieved from

http://www.cde.ca.gov/sp/eo/is/cefindependentst.asp

Usta, H. (2017). Examination of the relationship between TEOG score transition, self-confidence, self-

efficacy, and motivation level. Journal of Education and Practice, 8 (6), 36.