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CLASS PROJECT STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT RESULTS

An effective teacher has the single greatest influence within the classroom on how well a student learns. The CLASS (Creative Leadership Achieves Student Success) Project is fundamentally an initiative that puts that research-demonstrated statement into practice. Begun in 2006 by the Chalkboard Project, CLASS currently works with 14 innovative Oregon school districts to create locally designed frameworks that integrate :

  • expanded career paths
  • relevant professional development
  • effective performance evaluations
  • new compensation models

This framework is designed to empower educators and give them the time and tools to constantly strive for excellence for themselves and their students and be recognized and rewarded for doing so. Each district’s CLASS Project design looks different because each district has different student and staff needs, but every design strives to strengthen effective teaching and raise student achievement.

Three years after implementing the CLASS Project, improvements in student achievement across Forest Grove, Sherwood, and Tillamook exceeded gains observed in demographically similar comparator districts and statewide. Increases in the share of students at least meeting benchmark surpassed growth across the comparator districts by large margins in certain subjects for one or more of the three CLASS districts.

Noteworthy gains include:

  • Across the three districts, increases in the share of students meeting or exceeding the state OAKS benchmarks was at least twice the improvement for the comparator districts in math and science. In reading and writing, the CLASS districts' improvement was about 1.5 times the improvement for comparator districts.
  • In math, improvements in each of the three districts also exceeded statewide gains. Two out of three districts demonstrated improvements greater than the state as a whole in the other subjects.
  • The increase meet/exceed rates for Tillamook students was at least three times that for comparator districts for reading, science, and writing. Improvement in math was nearly 2.5 times the comparators' improvement.
  • The improvement in science meet/exceed rates for Sherwood students was more than twice the increase for comparator districts, and more than 1.5 times the comparators' improvement in math and writing.
  • Improvement among Forest Grove students also exceeded those of the district's comparators, with improvements in math meet/exceed more than double the comparators' improvement.

For more information on the CLASS Project, visit: educators4reform.org.

Achievement Changes

2008/09 - 2010/11 Compared to 2005/06 - 2007/08

The charts below show the change in the share of students meeting or exceeding proficiency on Oregon state level assessments. The charts contrast the performance of the three CLASS districts with all Oregon state averages and with "comparison districts" that share similar student demographics characteristics.

  • Teaching and Learning: Teachers in my school have more conversations about teaching and learning.
  • Professional Practices: Teachers in my school are actively changing and improving their professional practices.
  • Student Achievement Focus: The culture of my school is now more focused on student achievement.
  • Student Learning Increase: The CLASS Project would be considered successful if student learning is increased.