The document analyzes factors that influence the academic performance of 400 elementary schools in California. It finds that English language learners (ELL), student mobility rates, smaller average class sizes in grades 4-6, and higher rates of parent graduation have a significant impact on performance. The document provides recommendations to support ELL students, reduce mobility, increase parent involvement, improve teacher credentials, and lower class sizes.

2.  The Data set contains:
 Performance of 400 elementary schools from the California Department of Education
 Factors like class-size, parent education, student performance, etc.
 Objectives:
 To find the factors having major influence on the academic performance
 To predict academic performance of an school using those factors

3. Factors
Impact
English language learners(ELL)
Negative
Percentage first year in school (Mobility)
Negative
Parent grad school (grad_sch)
Positive
Percentage full credential (Full)
Positive
Average Class size 4-6 (ACS_46)
Positive
Note: Factors have been chosen based on statistical significance
Detailed SAS Code: http://bit.ly/1c08pGE

5.  ELLs are one of the fastest growing populations in the public schools
 Number of ELLs in CA is healthy due to the geographic location & economic significance
 ELL students come from different backgrounds &face multiple challenges
 But, the main challenge continues to be the problem in communication
Recommendations:
 Provide special coaching to ELLs to ensure that they master English
 Special coaching should be done before they get tested in English in core content areas
 Ensure that all ELL students receive the full range of services
 Improve teacher training opportunities so teachers can understand the needs of ELLs

6.  Students making non-promotional school changes is known as mobility
 California students, like students in the rest of the U.S., are highly mobile
 Mobility happens due to following reasons:
 Families changing residences
 School changes initiated by students especially in California
 School changes initiated by schools especially in California

7. Recommendations:
Families should:
 Attempt to resolve problems at school before initiating transfer
 Make changes between semesters or at the end of the school year
Schools should:
 Counsel students to remain in the school if at all possible
 Prepare in advance for incoming transfers
 Assess the past enrollment history of incoming students
 Assess the number of previous school changes
 Facilitate the transition of new students as soon as they arrive

8.  Research shows US students spend less than 15% of their time in school
 Therefore parent involvement is as important as the time spend in school
 Checking homework, attending school meetings, influences student performance
 Educated parents finds it easier to get involved than the others
Recommendations:
 Look to ensure that parents with school graduation lie between 65-70%
 Conduct parent interview during the admission of the students
 Also take initiatives to increase parent engagements
 But schools shouldn’t limit a parent’s involvement based on socio-economic status

9.  Experienced teachers are more effective at raising student
 Experienced teachers are also more likely to be fully credentialed also
 Hence teacher retention could be instrumental in performance improvement
 Shortage of fully credential teachers is a prime reason for low performance & mobility
 Many assume that financial incentive is the silver bullet; but that is only partially true
Recommendations:
 Financial incentives can make schools more attractive to more qualified teachers
 Money is Necessary, But Clearly Not Sufficient
 Teachers often leave due to poor working conditions, and lack of administrative support
 Schools should recruit & develop administrators who can draw on the expertise of teachers

10.  Improvement in avg. class size in 4-6 grade((ACS_46) tends to improve performance
 ACS_46 can be improved when:
 Mobility is low
 Promotion of student’s from one grade to another is high
 So, it can be said that ACS_46 is an indicator of the overall academic performance
Recommendation:
 Focus should be on all the recommendations mentioned previously to improve ACS_46