This document provides additional analysis of student achievement data from a project implementing the Observing for Evidence of Learning (OEL) professional development model in middle schools from 2006 to 2010. It shows that: 1) Grade 8 students in schools using the OEL model outperformed students in comparison schools on science achievement tests, with the gap widening after project implementation. 2) Low-income students in OEL schools nearly closed the achievement gap with statewide averages by 2011, compared to remaining far below before the project. 3) Achievement gains in OEL schools were sustained even after project funding ended, suggesting the professional development model was effective long-term.

1. Fall 2011 Addendum to report
Increasing the Effectiveness of School-Based Professional Development.
Funding to the Institute for Systems Biology (ISB) from the National Science Foundation (NSF) in
support of research on the professional Development model, Observing for Evidence of Learning
(OEL) extended from 2005 through 2011. Implementation of the OEL professional development
model in Puget Sound region middle schools took place over 4 years – 2006 through 2010.
Initial data from the project reported changes in student science achievement through 2010.
RMC Research, the project’s research partner has recently continued analysis of student science
achievement – to now include Grade 8 students who achieved science standard on Washington’s
Measurement of Student Progress (MSP) in 2011. Although the project-lead implementation of
OEL had completed in 2010, project staff analyzed these data as they were interested in knowing
whether the OEL model had sustained in OEL Schools.
Exhibit 1 shows the average percentage of students who met the Grade 8 MSP science standard
in OEL schools [color], comparison schools [color], and the subset of OEL school in Seattle
Public Schools [color]. Prior to the project, the achievement of students in the OEL schools was
sporadic relative to the comparison schools. Once the OEL project began, the OEL schools
demonstrated steady improvement in student science achievement at a rate that exceeded that of
the comparison schools. By the end of the project in 2010, Grade 8 students in OEL schools
were significantly outperforming their counterparts in the comparison schools. One year after
completion of project-lead implementation of OEL – 2011 – OEL Schools, specifically Seattle
Public Schools’ OEL Schools continue to make gains and outperform comparison schools.
Exhibit 1
Demographic Comparison of OEL
and Comparison Schools
Comparison
Category OEL Schools Schools
N 21 21
Enrollment 15,268 14,315
PercentAsian 24.30% 17.10%
PercentIndian 1.50% 1.70%
PercentBlack 13.20% 12.60%
PercentHispanic 13.70% 11.50%
PercentELL 7.90% 4.90%
PercentFRL 36.20% 37.20%
To analyze the results with respect to socioeconomic status (SES), RMC Research used the
percentage of students who qualified for Free-and-Reduced Lunch (FRL) as a proxy for the SES
of the community served by each OEL school. To explore this relationship, RMC Research
divided the OEL schools into 2 groups according to the average percentage of students who
qualified for FRL between 2004 and 2011. If less than 40% of the students qualified for FRL, the
school was classified as a high-SES school; and if more than 40% of the students qualified for
FRL, the school was classified as low-SES.

2. Exhibit 2 illustrates the comparison of low-SES OEL schools [color], low-SES comparison schools
[color], low-SES Seattle schools [color] and the state average [color]. Prior to the project, Grade
8 students in the low-SES OEL schools scored well below their counterparts in the low-SES
comparison schools, and both groups scored well below the state average. At the beginning of
the OEL project, the participating schools began to close the gap. By 2009 Grade 8 students in
OEL schools outperformed their comparison school counterparts and the gap continued to widen
in 2010. By 2011, Grade 8 students in low-SES OEL schools come within 2 percentage points of
closing the science achievement gap to the state average; and, Grade 8 students in low-SES
OEL schools in Seattle surpass the state average by 7.5 percentage points.
Exhibit 2
OEL Schools Compared to a Matched Set of Nonparticipating Schools
OEL Schools Comparison Schools Seattle OEL Schools
75
73.37
70 69.35
65
62.09 63.58
Percent Meeting Standard
60
55.75 60.95
55 51.64 54.95
54.99
52.47
50 47.59
50.26
45.74
47.12 48.32
45 41.40
38.81 45.21
42.78
40
40.97 Cohort 2
37.59
37.18
35
36.75 34.32
30
Cohort 1 Begins
25
2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
Note.OEL Schools: n = 21, Comparison Schools: n = 21, Seattle OEL Schools: n = 11
The information included in this addendum is important because it suggests that the OEL
professional development model has been sustained in OEL schools beyond the allocation of
funding provided by the NSF.