History of English Language Arts Curriculum Change

 

 

The conversation about transitioning CCHS’s English Language Arts curriculum began 8 years ago, under CCUSD Superintendent Dave LaRose. In 2016, then CCUSD Director of Secondary Curriculum Lisa Michel presented demographic data on students enrolled in English Honors and Advanced Placement (AP) courses at CCHS to the faculty of the CCHS English Department and school leadership, comparing that data with the demographic data for the entire school. 

Key observations included: 

• The enrollment in AP courses did not reflect the racial, ethnic and economic diversity at CCHS, despite open enrollment policies.
• Similar patterns were seen at CCMS, where tracking into Honors and Regular English began in 6th grade.

 

CCHS attempted many different solutions to increase the diversity of students enrolled in AP English courses in 11th and 12th grades, particularly by students who hadn’t been enrolled in Honors 9 and 10. This included scheduling fairs, teacher recommendations and recruitment, individual student outreach, student representatives promoting AP courses to their peers, and summer Pre-AP boot camps. After six years of efforts, the demographic diversity in English Honors and AP courses changed very little. (See CCHS presentations linked below.)

 

 

Tracking and Labels Influenced Student Choices

 

Teachers and administrators dove deeply into the data on students enrolled in AP courses and their academic histories. They also interviewed numerous students and parents of students whose teachers described them as “smart” and “motivated,” but who hadn’t enrolled in AP courses. This combined data led district staff, school leadership, and the faculty of the CCHS English Department to determine the two most significant factors keeping students out of AP courses: tracking and the “honors” label itself.  

 

• Tracking: Tracking is a method used by some secondary schools to group students according to their perceived ability, IQ, or achievement levels. Tracking, both subtle and overt, often starts as early as elementary school. Some students of color, English-learners, students from low-income households, and students with disabilities, learning differences, and behavioral needs were being tracked into less challenging CCMS and CCHS English classes that didn’t prepare them to take AP courses and, later, to succeed in college. 

 

• Labels: Students and parents noted that many of the barriers to enrolling in honors classes were social and psychological as much as academic. Students - even students with excellent GPAs - reported that they did not see themselves as “honors students” and did not believe they could be successful in “those classes,” especially because few students in the class looked like them or had similar backgrounds to theirs. 

 

Many students reported they felt socially stratified, and perceived they were not welcome in honors spaces. They said they wouldn’t enroll in honors classes even if enrollment were open to them. Some parents reported reticence to enrolling their children in honors classes because they didn’t believe they could support the high academic and financial demands of honors classes. So the “honors” label, coveted by some students and parents, was actually a barrier to an even larger group of students.

 

  

Transition Began to College Prep for All

 

Educational best practices say that all students must be enrolled in challenging courses with a mix of other learners with different life experiences and learning styles so they can thrive in college or the career they choose. 

 

Based on copious amounts of research, analysis of both quantitative and qualitative data, as well as student, parent, and teacher input, and consultation with college admissions experts, CCUSD leadership, CCHS leadership and the faculty of the CCHS English department concluded that CCHS’s current English course structure was unable to meet the needs of all students. The district began preparing for the transition to a new model for English courses: College Prep for All. In College Prep for All, the honors-level curriculum would be taught to all students using engaging, high-level instructional strategies with extra support for students who might not be accustomed to this level of rigor.

 

In 2020, CCMS phased out the two-tiered model for English classes (“Regular” English vs. “Honors” English) offering rigorous, honors-level English classes for all students, 6th through 8th grade. The Class of 2027 (currently 8th graders) is the first cohort that was enrolled in the new model English classes for their entire term at CCMS. (See CCMS Presentations, linked below.)

In Fall 2022, CCHS started providing a college preparatory curriculum to all students in their 9th and 10th grade English classes. All students would have the opportunity to master important critical thinking and college readiness skills, and more students of all backgrounds would have the skills necessary to succeed in AP English courses in grades 11 and 12.

 

 

Teachers Planned and Prepped

 

English 9 and 10 teachers participated in intensive summer planning sessions to prepare for the shift in course structure. Many of the units and lessons previously used in the honors-level classes were embedded into the year-plan for the new College Prep classes, along with support for students who struggled and enrichment opportunities for those who wanted even greater challenges.

English 9 and 10 teachers also participated in College Board’s Pre-AP English Language Arts professional development opportunities including From Sentence to Synthesis and Texts Take Center Stage. Although some of the teachers already teach College Board Advanced Placement classes, these professional development opportunities provided grade 9 and grade 10 English teachers with higher-level lessons to embed into their courses to prepare all students for AP English classes in grade 11.

Beginning with the first College Prep English classes in 2022-2023, CCHS reduced the class sizes from an average of 35 students per class in 2021-22 to an average of 30 students per English 9 and 32 students in English 10 in order to facilitate differentiated instruction and better meet the needs of heterogeneous (mixed) groups of students.

 

 

Providing Every Student with an Enriching and Valuable Learning Experience

 

A word about differentiation from the CCHS English teachers: “Students in ALL classes (Honors, non-Honors, AP) students come with vastly different skill levels. Some students need more support, some need more independence, some need to be challenged, some need to be given extra scaffolds. Differentiation, or meeting the needs of the various learners in the classroom is our job, and we do it no matter what the class level is. We meet students where they’re at, not where they’re supposed to be, and we do our best to provide every student with an enriching and valuable learning experience.”

 

CCHS Presentations

CCHS English Department Pathways FAQ - posted on school website

CCHS English College Prep Presentation to School Board - presented at a Board meeting

Presentation to 9th and 10th grade CCHS parents 

Here is a link to a video shared at the grade 10 & 11 Parent night about what the English department did to prepare for this shift in preparing ALL CCHS students for AP English by grade 11.

 

CCMS Honors for All Presentation to School Board

 

CCMS Language Arts Town Hall