Profiles of Classroom Practices in U.S. Public Schools

In this research, we consider how the instructional strategies of public school teachers interact with the achievement levels of their students. Slightly more than 1,000 teachers in schools broadly representative of public schools in the USA responded to a school climate survey. Of this number, data from 426 teachers were subjected to Rasch scaling analysis, resulting in profiles of classroom instructional activities interrelated to the skill levels of students. Analyses revealed interesting "uncommonalities" in instructional emphasis, in number as well as kind. Instruction in low achieving classrooms generally was less coordinated than in classes of average achieving students. Instructional strategies and lesson focus in classes of high achieving students were linked in ways that resulted in more continuity and greater productivity.