Results

Efforts to replicate the RISC Approach to Schooling confirm that the replication process has resulted in noteworthy improvements in the adopting systems. Among the results realized are the following:

  • Significant, sustained increases in student achievement
  • Increases in the number of students applying to, attending, and remaining in college
  • Decreases in staff turnover
  • Significantly higher percentages of students passing high-stakes state assessments

NEW: A 2010 report by Marzano Research Laboratory found that the RISC framework significantly impacts student achievement. Researchers compared 7 RISC districts and 8 Non-RISC districts in 3 states. Study findings:

  • The odds of a student in a RISC School scoring proficient or above on state tests are 2.3 times greater for reading, 2.5 times greater for writing, and 2.4 times greater for mathematics than the odds of a student scoring proficient or above on state tests at a Non-RISC School.
  • Compared to students in Non-RISC Schools, students in RISC Schools are 37% more likely to score proficient or above on state tests for reading, 54% more likely to score proficient or above on state tests for writing, and 55% more likely to score proficient or above on state tests for mathematics.
  • In addition, the degree of RISC model implementation was found to relate to the number of students scoring proficient or above on state tests in reading and writing. The odds of a student in a High-RISC School scoring proficient or above in reading and writing were found to be about two times larger than the odds of a student in a Medium-RISC School scoring proficient or above.

In addition, two key evaluation were conducted in 2005. For more details, see Delivering on the Promise, pages 151-155.

The first study examined the relationship between student achievement and perceptions of respondents in 16 Alaska RISC districts regarding their level of implementation of the RISC framework. Researchers found strong, positive correlations between respondents’ perceptions of the districts’ implementation of the model and the percentage of students who passed Alaska’s state-level exams in reading, writing, and mathematics (.57, .33, and .54, respectively).

Higher achievement was found in districts in which respondents reported higher levels of implementation; lower achievement was found where lower levels of implementation were reported. In addition, the higher the level of RISC implementation, the higher the level of student achievement.

A second, related 2005 study compared achievement data in 5 Alaska school districts implementing the RISC Framework and 5 similar districts in Alaska not implementing the model. Student achievement data for 2000–2004 were aggregated to the district level and then across all 5 RISC sites (and the 5 non-RISC sites), resulting in proficiency percentages for grades 3, 6, 8, and 10 in reading, writing, and mathematics. Over the 4-year period, the percentage of students who scored at the proficient or advanced level grew an average of 17.51% in RISC districts compared to 3.25% in non-RISC districts.