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What is ELS?
See Our Results |
American Institutes for Research
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The guide was commissioned by the American Association of School Administrators, the American Federation of Teachers, the National Education Association, the National Association of Elementary School Principals, and the National Association of Secondary School Principals, to critically examine the most widely available schoolwide reform approaches. The study, which is perhaps the most authoritative summary to date of the growing body of research on comprehensive school reform, compared the twenty-four approaches and rated them on the following indicators in Table 1. |
Evidence of positive effects on student achievement |
 Promising |
Support developer provides schools |
 Strong |
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Year introduced in schools |
1992 |
First-Year Costs |
$81 |
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Number of Schools |
65 |
First-Year Costs with current staff reassigned |
No change |
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Marginal
WeakPromising effects on student achievement
The evaluators determined that Expeditionary Learning Outward Bound was one of only eight schoolwide reforms with a current research base showing positive effects on student achievement. Only three of the twenty-four approaches received a higher rating than Expeditionary Learning, and these three approaches had been working in schools for an average of fifteen years, compared to the five years Expeditionary Learning had been in existence. In fact, according to the criteria for the review, designs that have been working with schools for less than ten years could not receive a higher rating than that assigned to Expeditionary Learning. The report notes, "Despite the fact that this is a relatively new approach, Expeditionary Learning has already amassed a promising research base on student achievement effects." (p. 68) The authors went on to say:
The research results indicate that Expeditionary Learning can help to improve student achievement. Students tend to perform well compared to state and district averages on standardized tests such as the Iowa Test of Basic Skills and the Georgia Curriculum-based Assessment Test. Positive results have been found across subjects (e.g., reading, writing, math, science, and social studies). (p.68)
Strong support provided by developer
In reporting on the level of support provided by the developers for schools implementing one of the twenty-four approaches, the evaluators rated Expeditionary Learning Outward Bound as providing "strong support," and noted that the professional development provided by Expeditionary Learning was a particular strength.
Research on implementation of Expeditionary Learning has found that schools using this approach share several implementation strengths. The training, from introduction to the approach to training all staff, is a strength; teachers felt confident and comfortable with the instructional strategies. Teachers worked well together in some schools, and parents became more involved. (p. 70)
The review noted that "some components of Expeditionary Learning were more difficult to implement than others", and that "full implementation (of Expeditionary Learning) is possible after several years."
Complete Report in Online (HTML) Format
