Learning Focused Reform Model / Overview

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Learning Focused Reform Model

The US Department of Education reported that implementing a Balanced Achievement Model leads to the greatest increases in student performance and closes the achievement gap faster and more long-term than stand-alone solutions.

The LEARNING-FOCUSED Strategies Model realizes the importance of clearly focusing on and collaboratively planning for learning. School and district leaders play a critical role in planning for learning; therefore, leadership which provides high support with high accountability is pivotal in increasing student performance and achievement. A clear focus on planning for learning requires leaders to understand the characteristics of a quality plan, know how to get started, and what planning for learning is and is not.

LEARNING-FOCUSED provides the most comprehensive model for reaching Balanced Achievement using a research-based framework and support solutions focused on increasing student achievement through lesson planning.

LEARNING-FOCUSED helps teachers develop and deliver Exemplary Lessons for your school’s success!

• Standards Driven Lessons
• Activating Thinking Lessons
• Accelerating Learning Lessons
• Scaffolding Learning Lessons
• Acquiring New Knowledge Lessons
• Extending Thinking to Higher Level Lessons
• Vocabulary Development Lessons
• Reading in the Content Area Lessons
• Learning to Read Lessons
• Math Lessons
• Differentiated Assignments Lessons
• Writing in the Content Area Lessons
• Learning to Write Lessons
• Planning Units for Learning

There have been many independent analyses conducted to provide evidence of the effectiveness of the LEARNING-FOCUSED Model. These meet the criteria set by the US DOE for “evidence-based blind studies.” A few of the analyses have looked at individual schools, while others have examined data across many schools, and another one examined the data by individual teachers.

As evidenced by a small sampling of data below, a diverse range of schools implementing LEARNING-FOCUSED achieve high rates of growth:

Harrisburg City Schools in Pennsylvania is an inner city school district that increased their math scores 18.4% and their reading scores 14.5% within two years of implementing LEARNING-FOCUSED. Most notably,Harrisburg has also seen an increase in high school graduation of 171% and an astounding 419% increase in college acceptances.

Sumter County Schools in Florida increased math and reading scores by at least 10% each year of LEARNING-FOCUSED implementation across all schools.

In a study of 57 schools implementing LEARNING-FOCUSED across three states, the average growth over two years was over 18% in reading and over 23% in math.

In a study of 43 schools implementing LEARNING-FOCUSED across the state of Georgia (approximately 50% inner city, 50% rural) the average growth after one year of implementation was between 20% and 30% for all four core subject areas, with no school having growth less than 14%.

An Atlanta area elementary school serving inner city students where 97% of the students are minority, 92% receive free/reduced meals and 75% of the students are not native English speakers implemented LEARNING-FOCUSED consistently and pervasively. With an extremely high mobility rate of 50+%, only 15% of the students who start first grade enter fifth grade. For the first time, the year after implementing LEARNING-FOCUSED,this school met AYP. Students with disabilities increased test scores 30% in Reading in 3 years and 45% in Math in 3 years. LEP students increased test scores 31% in reading in 3 years and 44% in Math in 3 years. All other subgroups increased at least 15%. For the four years since implementing LEARNING-FOCUSED, the school has met AYP in all sub-groups.