Worksheet1: Defining the Academic Problem

1. In one or two sentences, state the nature of the academic problem.

Some students are entering below grade level due to no exposure to city/state standardized testing or formal assessment in earlier grades.

2. What is the specific community location of the social problem? Your answer should include both the governmental authority (e.g. school-board, city council) and the particular geographic location.

The specific community location of the academic problem is within central Harlem where our school is located.

3. List three undesirable social conditions that result from this problem:

1.	Spending an inordinate amount of time assessing students prior to appropriate placement.
2.	Reading lack resources to address the needs of entering students and the acquisition of proficient staff to address the needs of students.
3.	Resulting in excessive amount of Promotion in Doubt (PID) students.

Worksheet2: Gathering evidence of the problem

Present evidence that a problem exists. Be as specific as possible and cite at least one source of data:

Our school enrollment is 540, of which 82.6% is economically disadvantaged and low-income students (eligible for free lunch). This info can be found on the school’s report card.

Worksheet3: Identifying the causes of the problem

Briefly list several underlying factors that contribute to the problem that you have identified (support these factors with evidence):

Students lack the stimuli from home as well as earlier formal experiences in school to prepare them for success in school.

Worksheet4: Evaluating existing public policies

1. State one of the major existing policies that attempts to deal with the social problem:

We use the AIS to address the needs of underachievers after assessment.

2. What are the advantages of this policy (consider effectiveness, costs, enforcement, public acceptance):

Children work in small groups of 5 to focus on the needs of the children. These staff members are specialists in the field (reading/math).

3. What are the disadvantages of this policy? Consider effectiveness, costs, enforcement, public acceptance):

The services can be more consistent and scaffolded in order to be more effective.

4. Based on your evaluation of the advantages and disadvantages, should the current policy be totally replaced, strengthened, or improved? What advantages, if any, from the current policy should be retained? What disadvantages, if any, should be eliminated?

Should be strengthened. The structure of 5 to 1 should be retained. Inconsistency in service is a disadvantage, and should be eradicated.

Worksheet5: Developing public policy solutions

1. Propose at least three new/original public policy alternatives. Be sure that all of your public policy alternatives are at the same geopolitical level as your social problem. Each alternative must specify the actual government or agency that will carry out the proposed action.

1.	Extend the academic services.
2.	Regular ongoing assessment for children involved.
3.	Foster and strengthen an ongoing dialogue between the AIS staff members and the classroom teachers.

Worksheet6: Selecting the best public policy solution

1. List the three public policy alternatives from Worksheet 5. Create a short word or abbreviation to summarize each policy and write it at the end of each policy.

1.	Extend the academic services (EA)
2.	Regular ongoing assessment (OA)
3.	Foster and strengthen + dialogue (FSD)

2. Use the format in the example to complete the matrix below:

EFFECTIVENESS	FEASIBILITY
		HIGH	MEDIUM	LOW
	HIGH		FSD AO EA
	MEDIUM
	LOW

3. Discuss the reasons for your decisions in the matrix.

There are some costs associated with extending the AIS services, but the effectiveness is high because students greatly benefit from small group instruction. Ongoing assessment is time-consuming, but is also highly effective because it prevents students from “falling through the cracks.” Fostering dialogue is free, but time consuming, and creates the same improvements as the other two.

4. Discuss why your group prefers one alternative over the other two.

Fostering dialogue is free, but effectively improves the quality of instruction on both ends, and by creating a climate of collective assessment, also prevents students from “falling through the cracks.”