WriterCoach Connection appeared to deliver a powerfully positive impact on student achievement last year at El Cerrito High School.
In 2010-11, ECHS experienced an astonishing 64% pass rate on the California High School Exit Exam (CAHSEE) among the English Language Development students we served with writer coaching. The pass rate was based on 36 10th-grade students classified as English learners who took the CAHSEE any time during the year. Of those 36 students, 23 passed the CAHSEE. Of 35 students who took the test in February, 22 passed, a rate of 63%. The average essay score was 2.1 on a four-point rubric.
By comparison, the English-learner pass rate at ECHS the previous year, before Commnity Alliance for Learning and the school launched WCC, was 35% (52 tested, 18 passed). So in the year that WCC volunteers arrived on campus to work with English Language Development students on their writing, the students' CAHSEE pass rate went up a startling 29 percentage points.
For the West Contra Costa Unified School District overall in 2010-11, the CAHSEE pass rate for English learners was only 37% (157 of 421). So English learners served by WCC at ECHS last year scored 27 percentage points higher, in terms of the CAHSEE pass rate, than the average of all students in the District, mainstream and English learners.
We would never claim sole credit for dramatic increases like this in academic achievement. There are many factors involved, including excellent teaching, solid curriculum, and strong school leadership. But ECHS administrators and teachers tell us they are confident that WCC played a significant role. And given the fact that these CAHSEE pass-rate outcomes reflect those among students we coach in Oakland, we have to agree!
Bob Menzimer
