THE SCHOOL BOARD OF BROWARD COUNTY, FLORIDA
OFFICE OF THE SUPERINTENDENT
DR. FRANK TILL
SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS
Telephone: (754) 321-2600
Facsimile: (754) 321-2701
Approved memorandum with signatures is on file.
August 18, 2004
REVISED 08/19/04
TO:
School Board Members
FROM:
Katherine Blasik, Ph.D., Associate Superintendent
Research, Evaluation, Assessment & Boundaries
VIA:
Frank Till
Superintendent of Schools
SUBJECT:
AN ANALYSIS OF THE ADVANCEMENT VIA INDIVIDUAL
DETERMINATION (AVID) PROGRAM
The Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) program was designed to provide
underachieving students academic support and encouragement to enroll in rigorous courses. The
program was implemented in Broward County Public Schools (BCPS) during the 2002-03 school
year at Hallandale High, McNicol Middle, Fort Lauderdale High, and Sunrise Middle Northeast
High, and Rickards Middle schools. In the 2003-04 school year, Northeast High and Rickards
Middle schools implemented the AVID program. The analyses reported herein explored whether
the AVID students enrolled in rigorous courses at a greater rate than did their non-AVID peers.
Analyses were also conducted to explore whether AVID participation impacted standardized
tests scores as measured by the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT).
Findings revealed that tenth grade AVID students enrolled in Honors and Level III courses in
2003-04 at a higher rate than did tenth grade students overall. Analysis of FCAT scores revealed
that there were no differences that coincided with AVID participation. These findings must be
considered preliminary because small numbers of students were identified as AVID participants.
No analyses could be conducted at the middle school level because too few middle school
participants were identified. The likely cause for the small numbers of identified participants
was improper coding of course numbers in the database. Advanced Academics will work with
school and district staff to ensure that identification of AVID participants will be accurate for the
2004-05 school year. The efficacy of the AVID program will be reassessed in June 2005. If you
have any questions or comments regarding this Evaluation Brief, please contact me at
(754) 321-2470 or Dr. Cary Sutton, Director, Research Services at (754) 321-2500.
FT/KAB/COS:ddr
Attachment
cc:
Senior Management
Area Directors
Principals
The School Board of Broward County, Florida
Evaluation Brief
©2004, The School Board of Broward County, Florida
R epo rt f rom the Off ice of the Superint endent
Number 87
Aug ust 2004
An Analysis of the Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) Program
In 1980, Mary Catherine Swanson founded the Advancement Via Individual Determination
(AVID) program in San Diego, California, under the assumption that disadvantaged students
were falling behind because they were not given the support they needed to succeed. AVID is
not designed solely for the lowest-performing students, but rather for the average student from a
disadvantaged background who was nevertheless “avid” to learn (Galeschools.com, 2004).
These perennially underachieving students in the AVID program enrolled in rigorous curriculum
while concurrently taking the AVID elective class, where they received academic support such
as tutoring and social skills training (AVID Online, 2004). The AVID program was
implemented during the regular school day hours and included an elective class, trained tutors, a
specific AVID teacher, and a site team of teachers (The School Board of Broward County,
Florida, 2004).
In Broward County Public Schools (BCPS), AVID was instituted in 2002-03 with the goal of
ensuring that students who might not otherwise enroll in advanced academic courses would
enroll in these more rigorous courses and eventually succeed in college. The AVID program was
offered in three BCPS high schools and their feeder schools in the 2003-04 school year:
Hallandale High, McNicol Middle, Fort Lauderdale High, Sunrise Middle, Northeast High, and
Rickards Middle, all high-poverty schools. Two additional sites will be offering AVID courses
in the 2004-05 school year, McArthur High and Millennium Middle.
The analyses contained herein were conducted to examine the Florida Comprehensive
Assessment Test (FCAT) scores of students participating in the AVID program in Broward
County schools that have implemented the program. Students who participated in AVID in
2003-04 were compared with 2003-04 non-AVID students by measuring their performance on
the FCAT-Norm Referenced Test (FCAT-NRT). In addition, course enrollment patterns were
examined for the tenth grade students during the 2003-04 school year.
Method
Students enrolled in the AVID program were identified using course numbers supplied by the
district’s Department of Advanced Academics. The number of AVID students identified for
these analyses was small, possibly due to incorrect course number coding at each school that
resulted in the under-identification of AVID students. However, two student cohorts were
identified. The first cohort was comprised of 2003-04 ninth grade AVID students (n=50) who
only completed one year in the AVID program. Given the inconsistencies in middle school
AVID course number coding, whether these students participated in the program during eighth
Research, Evaluation, Assessment & Boundaries
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grade in 2002-03 is unknown. The second cohort consisted of 2003-04 tenth grade and 2002-03
ninth grade AVID students (n=24). Therefore, students in this cohort are two-year completers of
the AVID program. Test score data for both AVID and non-AVID students were extracted from
the district’s data warehouse on June 9, 2004. Academic histories for tenth grade students were
also obtained from the data warehouse for examination. Attempts were made to construct a
middle school cohort for analysis; however, use of the supplied course numbers identified too
few students for viable samples.
Results
How did AVID students perform on the FCAT-NRT when compared to non-AVID students
districtwide? Changes in FCAT-NRT scores were compared in two separate analyses. In the
first set of analyses, 2002-03 and 2003-04 FCAT-NRT normal curve equivalent (NCE) scores
were compared for 2003-04 ninth grade AVID students with a comparison group comprised of
ninth grade students districtwide. Table 1 displays the 2002-03 and 2003-04 mean NCE scores
for ninth grade AVID and comparison group students. Similar comparisons were performed for
2003-04 tenth grade students. Table 2 shows the data for tenth grade students.
Table 1
NCE Score District Comparison for Grade 9 Students
Mathematics
AVID Participants
Non-AVID Comparison Group
2002-03
M
n
50
56.0
16,720
61.2
AVID Participants
Non-AVID Comparison Group
2002-03
M
n
50
49.8
16,720
56.4
SD
8.9
19.8
Reading
SD
9.1
19.8
9th grade in 2003-04
n
M
SD
50
57.7
12.2
16,720
63.2
20.5
9th grade in 2003-04
n
M
SD
50
43.4
10.0
16,720
48.4
17.2
Note. Students in the AVID group were enrolled in the program in 2003-04.
Table 2
NCE Score District Comparison for Grade 10 Students
AVID Participants
Non-AVID Comparison Group
2001-02
M
SD
n
24 54.3
8.2
12,336 63.7 19.3
AVID Participants
Non-AVID Comparison Group
2001-02
n
M
SD
24 52.7
9.6
12,354 59.5 19.2
Mathematics
2002-03
n
M
SD
24 54.5
9.7
12,336 65.2
20.0
Reading
2002-03
n
M
SD
24 41.2
6.4
12,354 51.0
16.6
10th grade in 2003-04
n
M
SD
24 54.5
9.1
12,336 62.2 19.7
10th grade in 2003-04
n
M
SD
24 40.0
7.5
12,354 49.7 17.5
Note. Students in the AVID group were enrolled in the program in 2002-03 and 2003-04.
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Two-factor analyses of variance (ANOVAs) were then conducted to determine whether students’
NCE Mathematics or Reading scores changed across time as a result of enrollment in the AVID
program. The ANOVAs revealed no evidence of this interaction as test scores did not change
differently for AVID and non-AVID students across the school years examined (Fs<1).
How did AVID students perform on the FCAT-NRT when compared to non-AVID students
enrolled at the same schools? To control for differences in student populations across schools,
the second set of analyses compared NCE scores for 2003-04 AVID students with more narrow
comparison groups comprised only of same grade-level students enrolled at the same schools.
Table 3 shows the mean NCE scores for ninth grade AVID and comparison group students.
Table 4 displays these data for tenth grade students.
Table 3
NCE Score School Comparison for Grade 9 Students
Mathematics
AVID Participants
Non-AVID Comparison Group
AVID Participants
Non-AVID Comparison Group
n
50
606
2002-03
M
56.0
57.5
n
50
606
2002-03
M
49.8
51.9
SD
8.9
18.8
Reading
SD
9.1
20.0
9th grade in 2003-04
n
M
SD
50
57.7
12.2
606
58.9
20.6
9th grade in 2003-04
n
M
SD
50
43.4
10.0
606
44.3
17.2
Note. Students in the AVID group were enrolled in the program in 2003-04.
Table 4
NCE Score School Comparison for Grade 10 Students
AVID Participants
Non-AVID Comparison Group
2001-02
M
SD
n
24 54.3
8.2
488 56.3 18.0
AVID Participants
Non-AVID Comparison Group
2001-02
n
M
SD
24 52.7
9.6
485 54.0 19.0
Mathematics
2002-03
n
M
SD
24 54.5
9.7
488 58.8
17.9
Reading
2002-03
n
M
SD
24 41.2
6.4
485 45.4
15.5
10th grade in 2003-04
n
M
SD
24 54.5
9.1
488 55.1 18.4
10th grade in 2003-04
n
M
SD
24 40.0
7.5
485 44.2 16.9
Note. Students in the AVID group were enrolled in the program in 2002-03 and 2003-04.
ANOVAs conducted to compare the AVID and non-AVID students attending the same schools
revealed similar results as comparisons with students districtwide. Interactions were nonsignificant for NCE Mathematics and Reading scores for both ninth grade and tenth grade
students (Fs<1.26, ps>0.05).
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The primary goal of the AVID program is to encourage and enable participants to enroll in
challenging, higher-level courses. As a preliminary investigation of this goal, the courses in
which the 24 tenth grade AVID participants enrolled during the 2003-04 school year were
examined. Of the 24 students, 19 (79.1%) enrolled in an Honors or other Level III course,
compared with 53.1% of tenth grade students overall. This preliminary course enrollment
finding is suggestive of the AVID program’s efficacy, but the small number of participants does
not allow for definitive conclusions.
Summary
The findings from this report are summarized below:
•
•
Analyses of standardized test performance across school years revealed no changes in
FCAT-NRT Mathematics and Reading scores in conjunction with AVID participation.
Tenth grade AVID participants were more likely than tenth grade students overall to enroll in
Honors or Level III courses during the 2003-04 school year.
Next Steps
The AVID program’s goal is to help students who might not consider enrollment in upper-level
courses by providing the proper assistance so that they participate in these courses and ultimately
enter and graduate from college. The present study focused primarily on FCAT-NRT scores
along with a preliminary analysis of course enrollments. However, the small number of
identified two-year AVID participants precluded generalized conclusions about the efficacy of
this program. Future analyses will examine 2004-05 course enrollment data for 2003-04 AVID
students to identify whether these students enroll in upper-level courses at an increasing rate.
These additional analyses will be available in June 2005.
Analyses involving middle school AVID students were not possible due to the impossibility of
identification. Any future analyses are dependent upon complete and accurate identification of
AVID participants. Consequently, Advanced Academics will cooperate with appropriate school
and district staff to ensure the proper coding of students in district databases. Advanced
Academics will examine the data during the fall of the 2004-05 school year to ensure that proper
coding is implemented.
Research, Evaluation, Assessment & Boundaries
Research Services Department
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References
AVID Online (2004). Media. Available at
http://www.avidonline.org/info/?ID=568
Galeschools.com (2004). Mary Catherine Swanson. Available at
http://www.galeschools.com/womens_history/bio/swanson_m.htm
The School Board of Broward County, FL (2004). Highlights of the 05/04/04 School Board
Meetings, "Schools and Staff in Action" Available at
http://www.browardschools.com/schoolboard/boardaction/050404.htm
Prepared by
Diego De Rose, Database Researcher II, Research Services
Russell Clement, Ph.D., Lead Specialist, Research Services
The School Board of Broward County, Florida
Carole L. Andrews, Chair
Stephanie Arma Kraft, Esq., Vice Chair
Judie S. Budnick
Darla L. Carter
Beverly A. Gallagher
Dr. Robert D. Parks
Marty Rubinstein
Lois Wexler
Benjamin J. Williams
Dr. Frank Till, Superintendent of Schools
The School Board of Broward County, Florida prohibits any policy or procedure that results in discrimination on the basis of age,
color, disability, gender, national origin, marital status, race, religion, or sexual orientation.
Research, Evaluation, Assessment & Boundaries
Research Services Department
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