Melissa Pineda is put on the spot in Sandra Schieldge's class at Bennett-Kew Elementary in Inglewood.
In and of themselves, high expectations are not the magic bullet needed to close the achievement gap between the haves and have-nots.
But raising expectations can make a difference, especially when the effort is accompanied by rigorous and relevant curriculum, adequate materials and supplies, up-to-date textbooks, effective teaching strategies, workable classroom management techniques, tutoring and intervention programs, uncrowded classrooms, well-kept facilities, interested and involved parents ... the list goes on and on.
All teachers have high hopes for their students. However, some may be better than others at communicating their expectations to their students. Others may unconsciously expect less of students who show little interest in learning or who have more barriers to overcome.
Sometimes teachers may show sympathy for students who face many disadvantages or they may make excuses for what others consider lack of progress.
But by holding all students to high standards, teachers believe they can help them achieve their full potential.
Sandra Schieldge at Bennett-Kew Elementary elicits helpful hints from classmates during Sayeh Khan's turn at the board.
"I hate to say it, but making excuses for some of the kids was a natural thing to do," acknowledges one teacher at a low-performing school in Tulare County. "But the staff decided to work together and change that. We decided to embrace the belief that every child can learn, and that our job is to have that expectation. It was a big philosophical change."
The change in attitude paid off with higher test scores and increased learning.
Many experts agree that a fundamental change in philosophy may be necessary to close the achievement gap between the haves and have-nots.
Higher expectations have a powerful impact on student performance, according to numerous studies. Teacher expectations for students tend to be self-fulfilling prophecies.
Bobby Adams does classwork during recess at Bennett-Kew Elementary.
While expectations should not be set so high that they frustrate students even when they do their best, realistic expectations can motivate students to meet them if they try hard.
Studies show:
- Students tend to internalize the beliefs teachers have about their ability. Generally, they "rise or fall to the level of expectation of their teachers."
- When students are viewed as lacking in ability and not expected to make significant progress, they tend to adopt a defeatist outlook. Some students may believe their teachers consider them incapable of handling demanding work.
- Teachers must see themselves as responsible for finding ways to raise student performance, regardless of the students' circumstances.
Students want teachers who challenge them. Surveys show that students claim to be happy without demands, but deep down they yearn for order, structure and moral authority.
In a survey of students from disadvantaged backgrounds who succeeded against the odds, the most often cited reason given for their success was that they tried harder because someone (usually a teacher) believed in them.The teachers who were rated the highest were those who demanded that students do their best work - and let students know they had faith in them.
Following are some of the most successful ways for schools to convey high expectations for students, according to researchers:
- Establishing policies that emphasize the importance of academic achievement. For example, notifying parents if students are not meeting academic expectations or setting minimally acceptable levels of achievement for students to participate in sports or extracurricular activities.
- Using slogans that communicate high expectations such as "academics plus" or "pride in learning."
- Protecting instructional time and discouraging tardiness, absenteeism and interruptions.
- Providing "insistent coaching" to students who are experiencing difficulty with learning.
Cindy Ratzlaff helps Darrylynn Majied with a keyboarding exercise.
Teachers' good intentions can backfire if they are not demanding the best from all students.
Researchers say excusing children from trying hard because it is unfair or hopeless to expect more, or trying to protect children from failure by expecting less of them does not help students learn. Not only does it keep children from developing necessary academic skills, but it can also lower their self-esteem and motivation.
Students may perceive that they are less capable through subtle messages adults send out, sometimes unconsciously. For example, if adults express sympathy when students fail, praise them for simple accomplishments and offer help when it is not asked for, students may pick up the idea that they are less capable than their classmates.
"Students receive external cues about their own ability," many of them transmitted unknowingly and unintentionally, note UCLA researchers Sandra Graham and Bernard Weiner. Much of how students perceive themselves scholastically has to do with how they define both ability and effort.
Ability is seen as beyond one's control, while effort is something that is changeable and controllable. If a student believes that his or her failure occurs because of low ability, he or she may feel shameful and hopeless about the future. If a student attributes failure to a lack of effort, he or she may feel guilty - but can hope to do better in the future by working harder.
Graham and Weiner describe how two students who fail the same test might respond in different ways, based on cues from teachers. Jane, whose teacher admonishes her for lack of effort and preparation, vows to study harder and do better. Susan, on the other hand, attributes her failure to a lack of ability when her teacher offers sympathy rather than criticism. She continues a downward spiral.
Researchers concur that differential treatment is a problem among a minority of teachers. According to a report by the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory, a small percentage of teachers may "form initial expectations based on appropriate data, but then hold to these expectations so rigidly that changes in student skill or motivations are not noted or addressed."
In cases where teachers are aware that they are practicing differential treatment, they may see it as appropriate to their students' different ability levels and "fail to perceive its harmful effects."
"You can't hide things from children. They can tell when a teacher expects some children to succeed and others not to," says Rhona S. Weinstein, professor of psychology at UC Berkeley. She has studied extensively the dynamics of teacher expectations and self-fulfilling prophecies in elementary school classrooms from the child's point of view.
Differential treatment can be subtle - as in the amount of wait time students get to answer a teacher's questions or how likely the teacher is to smile, nod, lean forward or make eye contact with students.
One student told Weinstein that her teacher "gets that look that says, 'I'm very disappointed in you.' I hate it when she does that. It makes me feel like I'm stupid."
The emphasis on testing is misguided too, says Weinstein. Tests are indicators of past achievement, not predictors of future success.
"You see a child's test and say, 'The proof is in the pudding; that's how she performed; she can't do algebra.' But tests are only things we construct that are a single measure of one point in time. A test doesn't say anything about someone's potential or capacity to do algebra. But we see the test score and the score becomes the person."
It can be a problem if teachers see "a struggling learner and don't expect the learner to get over the struggle."
In mainstream school culture, as in life, students are constantly compared with each other, says Weinstein, author of
Reaching Higher: The Power of Expectations in Schooling , which will be published in December.
"When that happens, the focus becomes 'How am I doing?' rather than the learning process itself.
"When we are really motivated in life - running a race or writing a story - we are lost in the learning of the task. That's where the best learning happens. When we're worried about how we're doing, we don't perform as well.
"We need to get students engaged in the challenges of the task so they don't think about how they're doing - so they can focus on the progress they're making."
Feedback about a child's performance and how he or she can improve should be provided in a confidential way, says Weinstein. "Public feedback that is negative and broadcasts how a child is doing is harmful."
Students, she says, are sometimes grouped according to expectations. "The most talented are picked out for higher and more challenging work, while those perceived to be less talented are given remedial work, which cuts their access to an engaging and challenging learning environment."
"Teachers should attempt to challenge all children, regardless of ability," says Weinstein. "Even if children are having trouble with math facts, it doesn't mean they shouldn't be thinking about problem solving in math. Even though their skills in decoding and reading aren't at a high enough level, it doesn't mean they shouldn't be read to, asked about the logic of the story and asked to interpret its meaning."
Locking children into groups may actually slow their progress. "When children are put in rigid, ability-based reading groups for long periods of time, research has shown that it puts a ceiling on learning for children in the lower groups because they are not exposed to challenging curriculum."
Teachers should use a range of strategies that appeal to various learning styles, says Weinstein. "High expectations without strategies to help children learn won't necessarily help them reach their potential."
She would like to see schools get rid of the "selection culture classroom" where the so-called best students are selected for scarce opportunities. The way it is now, students who finish their work first may be rewarded with leadership opportunities, and only a few high school students may be selected for honors classes.
"We have to create a climate or community of learners that values the individuality of all students, where everyone is part of one learning community," says Weinstein.
"The key question for educators," she says, "is how can they help children catch up."
"The answer is to open the door for opportunities, excite children about the opportunities that exist and provide the help to make it happen.
"That's how I think expectations work - not only by believing in children, but through actions that make that belief become a reality."
