Draper Elementary: Low-Income Students

Test scores surpass district proficiency percentage

When Michelle Rhee was named Chancellor of the District of Columbia Public Schools in June 2007, she followed six former top executives who lasted a combined 10 years. Rhee, then 37, had her work cut out for her to do what others before her could not: turn around one of the most underachieving urban school districts in the country.

Rhee, who embraced new ideas and innovation to spur student achievement, supported a K12 initiate in February 2008 to improve science test scores at the city’s Draper Elementary School.  Draper, located in the poverty-stricken Anacostia neighborhood, consisted of over 95-percent black students, 90+ percent of who classified as low-income and all of who qualified for free- or reduced-price lunch.

Rhee’s thinking was to initiate something positive and innovative for the school that would boost student achievement.

The K¹² team was charged with improving fifth-grade science test scores. A local company donated electronic whiteboards and K12 provided an onsite teaching and learning coach, as well as learning materials, and its online tools and science course.  Working with school administrators and teachers, the company focused on improved instruction and measurable student achievement gains.

Accountability was important to demonstrate student achievement in science compared to other district schools.

In just three months, Draper students achieved impressive results on the DC CAS fifth-grade science test—100 percent of students scored at proficient or above proficient. That’s compared to just 30 percent of District-wide students. Impressive by any measurement.

Instructors soon found that students performed better in other subjects as well.  “Teachers would tell us that students’ reading levels and vocabulary improved and the note-taking skills they learned from the science class helped improve their grasp of the materials in other classes,” said Susan Furick. K12’s senior director of classroom activities.

Teachers also discovered that the curriculum and interactive whiteboard demonstrating   real-world applications engaged the students who were no strangers to technology, regardless of economic status.  Further, students realized—many for the first time—how science applied to their world.

“Students displayed a new-found interest and enthusiasm for science,’ said Furick “The kids really became interested in how science applied to their world. For example, they really got into electricity and circuit boards,” added Furick.