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America’s Choice

America’s Choice School Design, developed by and now a subsidiary of the National Center on Education and the Economy (NCEE), began in 1998. It is a comprehensive K–12 education reform model intended to prepare students for college and eliminate the need for remediation at that level. The program is implemented by states and districts at the district and school level. A compilation of best practices, the model includes: performance standards, curriculum materials, assessments, literacy instruction, cross-age tutoring, mathematics instruction, student citizenship, professional community, safety nets, stronger teacher–student relationships, a leadership team, onsite technical assistance, high-quality professional development, and community/family outreach.[1]

At the high school level, America’s Choice uses small learning communities—learning environments of no more than 400 students—to encourage strong relationships and increase student engagement.[2] High schools are also divided by lower and upper divisions, and teachers stay with the same students for at least 2 years. The lower division curriculum consists of a core set of classes, and the upper level requires a research project culminating in oral or written student presentations, known as a Capstone Project.[3] America’s Choice uses NCEE and the University of Pittsburgh’s New Standards, internationally benchmarked standards in English language arts, mathematics, science, and applied learning, to determine the curriculum for each grade.

Related Research Base

The America’s Choice model has its basis in extensive national and international research of best practices related to standards and assessment; curriculum and instruction; planning, leadership and organization; and parent and community involvement, detailed in the organization’s 2002 brief, America’s Choice School Design: A Research-Based Model. This brief provides a summary of the research supporting the best practices that the model includes.

The Consortium for Policy in Research Education conducted annual evaluations of America’s Choice schools through 2003. These evaluations focused on elementary and middle schools, since fewer high schools had adopted the model. However, the results have been positive. In one study of the schools using the America’s Choice model, researchers found students did statistically significantly better than students in schools not using the America’s Choice model, even early in the 3-year implementation process.[4]

The Comprehensive School Reform Quality Center found America’s Choice to have moderate evidence of positive effects on achievement of secondary students, with a very strong link between research and the model’s design.[5] While states and districts continue to adopt America’s Choice as a method for assisting schools facing restructuring under No Child Left Behind, little current research has been released on its effectiveness at the high school level.

[1] The Consortium for Policy Research in Education and the National Center on Education and the Economy. (2002). America's Choice School Design: A Research Based Model. http://colosus.ncee.org/pdf/acsd/research/research-based_model.pdf. Retrieved April 8, 2008.

[2] National Center on Education and the Economy. (2004). U.S. Department of Education Features America's Choice School-Improvement Program. http://www.ncee.org/ncee/news/detail.jsp?setProtocol=true&id=74, Retrieved April 8, 2008.

[3] http://www.ncee.org/acsd/program/high/standards.jsp

[4]Supovitz, J. A., Poglinco, S. M., & Snyder, B. A. (2001). America's Choice Comprehensive
 School Reform Design. Philadelphia, PA: Consortium for Policy and Research in Education.

[5] Comprehensive School Reform Quality. (2006) CSRQ Center Report on Middle and High School Comprehensive School Models. Washington, DC: Comprehensive School Reform Quality Center.