Evaluation Study Summary

Evaluation of Tribes Learning Community Schools has shown that:

• Tribes TLC has a positive impact on classroom environment
• teachers spend less time managing student behavior
• students are less likely to be referred for disciplinary problems
• the Tribes process helps teachers address academic standards
• students in well-implemented classrooms score significantly higher on standardized tests than students from comparison groups
• teachers report increased staff collegiality and planning.

WestEd conducted a 2-year evaluation of Tribes TLC that involved administering surveys in 13 schools and collecting standardized test results for 40 Tribes schools and 80 control schools. The evaluators found that:

• the Tribes TLC process was fully implemented
• Tribes was seen as a vehicle for facilitating continuous school improvement
• there was evidence of improved student inclusion, collaboration, respect for multicultural populations, sense of value, resiliency, and student engagement
• students and staff enjoyed safe and supportive classroom and school environments
• teachers and principals reported declines in student referrals and suspensions
• there was evidence of better classroom management and increased teacher collaboration and planning
• three-quarters of teachers reported that the Tribes process helped them to address academic standards and helped students master standards
• 2nd and 5th grade reading and math scores increased more in high-growth Tribes schools than in comparison schools.

The School District of Beloit in Wisconsin conducted a 3-year evaluation of the Tribes process that included more than 3,000 elementary and middle school students. Dr. Derick Kiger presented the study at the 2001 American Education Research Association Annual Meeting and earned the First Place Instructional Program Evaluation Award. Evaluators found that:

• 4th graders from Tribes classrooms where the program was well-implemented scored significantly higher on the CTBS than students from less well-implemented Tribes classrooms
• sixty percent of the teachers reported that they spent less time managing student behavior because of the Tribes process.

In Tulsa, Oklahoma, Dr. Judith Holt used a randomized design to conduct an evaluation of the impact of Tribes on discipline referrals at a middle school. The study found that:

• students based in Tribes classrooms were significantly less likely (27%) than non-Tribes students (73%) to be referred to the principal’s or counselor’s office for disciplinary problems of all types, including disruptive behavior, refusal to work or follow directions, and fighting.

The Central Oahu School District in the State of Hawaii conducted a study of 17 elementary schools that implemented the process of Tribes. The evaluators found that:

• mutual respect was the most common practice for students and faculty.

Fifty-five classroom teachers and their students in Spring Branch ISD in Texas participated in a Tribes evaluation survey, which found that in Tribes classrooms:

• teachers spent less time managing student behavior
• teachers had more time for creative teaching
• students saw new learning as “fun”
• mutual respect was evidenced through behaviors
• group behaviors changed even at bus stops as students began accepting more responsibility for their behavior.

Please contact CenterSource to receive evaluation reports for these and other research studies on Tribes Learning Communities.