Teacher-led School Reforms Working

Early Results Show CTA's Quality Education Investment Act Drives Gains in Hundreds of Schools

Burlingame - The California Teachers Association announced today that early results show the teacher-led reforms implemented in CTA’s Quality Education Investment Act (QEIA) are making measurable improvements for California’s most at-risk students. The analysis of performance benchmarks for schools participating in QEIA shows that the program is contributing to significant student progress when compared to similar schools not participating in the program. For the 2009-2010 year, QEIA schools made 50 percent higher gains on California’s Academic Performance Index (API) than did their non-QEIA counterparts, outpacing significant gains they had also made the prior year.

“There is a lot of talk and speculation about education reform these days,” said CTA President David A. Sanchez. “With QEIA we have a working model for teacher-led reform with proven results.”

The QEIA program was the result of the 2006 settlement of a CTA funding lawsuit against Governor  Schwarzenegger, and of CTA-sponsored legislation authored by state Assembly Member and former teacher Tom Torlakson. The program is infusing nearly $3 billion over seven years into 488 schools scoring in the bottom two deciles of the API. The additional funding is targeted toward proven reforms like reducing class sizes, ensuring qualified teachers in all core subjects, increasing the number of high school counselors, quality teacher and principal training, time for collaboration, and promoting parental involvement.

In addition to backing the legislation that made QEIA a reality, CTA has been deeply involved in working with participating schools, offering group and individual training to participating school staff, and assisting with actual program implementation and monitoring.

QEIA is helping close the Achievement Gap. The program serves 500,000 students, the majority of whom are Latino/Hispanic, with 42 percent English Learners and 85 percent qualifying for free or reduced lunch.

“Test scores are improving but it goes far beyond that,” said Amy Lee Duprey, who teaches at QEIA participant Washington Elementary School in Compton. “We’re seeing kids make real progress in all areas. The time for collaboration and additional resources QEIA provides are really paying off.”

Here are some of the results from last year alone (QEIA One-year Report Results Attached):  

  393 schools had positive growth on their API scores

  2 schools had growth of 100 points or more

  9 schools had growth of 75 points or more

  40 schools had growth of 50 points or more

  164 schools had growth of 25 points or more 

Twenty-six schools have exited their status as Program Improvement Schools, a designation given to persistently struggling schools facing state intervention and potential sanctions. 

“These results show that student achievement is directly tied to resources, and having those resources targeted to the right things,” said Eric Heins, the CTA board member who chairs the organization’s QEIA workgroup. “It’s clear that QEIA is making a difference for students, teachers and all staff at schools participating in the program.”

 QEIA 2010 Accomplishments

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The 325,000-member CTA is affiliated with the 3.2 million-member National Education Association