Running head: EVALUATION OF AVID 1

Advancement via Individual Determination (AVID)

A Program Evaluation
Hayleigh Herrera
Chapman University
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Introduction

The Advancement via Individual Determination (AVID) program is designed to meet the

educational and social needs of students who fall “in the middle.” These “middle of the road”

students are defined as students who, with support, have the potential to succeed in rigorous

academic classes in high school. They are also expected to be students who eventually go on to

attend and graduate from a four-year institution of higher education. It is a college readiness

program designed with the ability to support all students by being woven into school wide

strategies. It can begin in elementary school and be embedded throughout the day. It could then

evolve to middle school and high school as a targeted elective program. In almost every year

between 1972 and 2008, the immediate college enrollment rates of students from low-income

families trailed the rates of those from high-income families by at least 20 percentage points

(NCES, 2010). AVID aims to close this achievement gap through a rigorous curriculum focused

on reading, writing and college going skills.

At this Intermediate school, AVID serves 6th, 7th & 8th grade students and takes the

place of an elective class. It targets students with grades typically ranging from B to D, but who

also have the strong desire to go to college and the willingness to work hard. These students will

typically be the first in their families to attend college and come from ethnic groups traditionally

underrepresented in higher education. Furthermore, these are students who are fully capable of

completing rigorous curriculum but are falling short of their potential for one reason or another.

The primary goal of the AVID program is to “motivate and prepare underachieving students

from underrepresented linguistic and ethnic minority groups or low-income students of any

ethnicity to perform well in high school and to seek a college education” (Mehan, Villanueva,

Hubbard, & Linitz, 1996, p. 14).

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Literature Review

The AVID program holds an evidence-based track record for systematically addressing

the achievement gap by promoting and supporting students as they take harder courses while

maintaining the goal of getting to college. Researcher Philip Bernhardt (2013) explained how

cultural capital, a social construct that is influenced by dominant cultural norms and values, is an

unequally distributed resource that can give students various social, economic, and educational

advantages. He argued that educators and communities can level out this disparity using the

AVID system to best support students, particularly those lacking in social and academic

supports. Further research found that students who participate AVID during middle school have

a greater chance of being accepted into AVID in high school and a higher chance of being

prepared for college when they graduate high school (Klar, Brewer, Whitehouse, 2013). The

AVID strategies and curriculum help to develop students’ academic skills such as reading,

writing, and critical thinking. Academic skills including organization, time management, and

goal setting, are also taught as part of the AVID System. Part of what helped to make the

program successful was that the curriculum was developed by elementary, middle, and high

school educators in collaboration with college professors. Driven by the WICOR method, and

based on rigorous standards, AVID’s curriculum supports high levels of academic achievement

for all students and aligns to state and national content standards (Klar, Brewer, Whitehouse,

2013).

AVID’s learning support structure, known as WICOR, incorporates teaching/learning

methodologies in the critical areas of Writing to Learn, Inquiry, Collaboration, Organization, and

Reading to Learn. WICOR provides a learning framework that educators can use to guide

students in understanding concepts and articulating ideas at increasingly complex levels

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(scaffolding) within developmental, general education, and discipline-based curricula (Klar,

Brewer, Whitehouse, 2013). Furthermore, the WICOR model reflects and promotes the

knowledge and attitudes that will continue to facilitate student success well past their academic

lives and into their careers (Mendiola, Watt, & Huerta, 2010). To study the longitudinal

effectiveness of the program, a qualitative study (Mendiola, Watt, & Huerta, 2010) investigated

the postsecondary progress of 42 Mexican American students who participated in AVID during

high school. The researcher’s findings indicated that the AVID program components had

“staying power” for students navigating through college and were positively related to students’

academic experiences.

Researchers agree that AVID strategies, when used effectively and with fidelity, can

positively impact the educational gap created by poverty. A two-year evaluation study of the

program found that teachers agreed that AVID prepares students for advanced coursework. The

study also found that parents experienced an increase in their students’ investment in education,

an important factor when instilling a college-going culture at a school. The study also argued that

implementation fidelity of the program is key to having a successful program outcome (Black,

Little, McCoach, Purcell, & Siegle, 2008). Researchers indicate that AVID levels the academic

playing field by identifying and supporting students in need of more social and academic

support. With the support of the program, those traditionally underrepresented students can learn

study strategies and gain peer and instructor support (Bernhardt, P., 2013; Klar, Brewer, &

Whitehouse, 2013; Peabody, J.T., 2012). However, while the achievement gap can successfully

be addressed by AVID, it is not a system that needs to be isolated. In fact, one researcher’s study

of the program (Peabody Jr., P.T., 2012) demonstrated how implementing AVID strategies

schoolwide can shift the culture of an entire campus to be one where all students can successfully
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be prepared to go to college, despite prevalent poverty and diversity issues. A case study

conducted by researchers Klar, Brewer, & Whitehouse (2013) examined the effectiveness of

implementing AVID strategies in a middle school for the goal of improving both academic

achievement and student engagement. They found that student achievement increased as a result

of successfully reforming the school’s former strategies into AVID strategies, and also by

“AVIDizing” the leadership team. The school was also able to effectively change its culture to be

one that embraced the philosophy that all students can achieve, with the right supports, which in

turn helped promote the school’s identity as a “family” (Klar, Brewer, & Whitehouse, 2013).

Methods of Inquiry

• Student perception surveys (administered to four different AVID classrooms, a total of

128 participants).

• Interviews with the AVID teachers.

• Classroom anecdotal observation of classroom environment and frequency data

recording, student engagement (measured by time on-task and raising hands to answer

questions), and teacher instructional minutes.

• College readiness RIT score as indicated on the AVID students Spring MAP test.

Results

The data collected for this program evaluation was evidence enough to support the

effectiveness of the AVID program. Despite the inability to examine the enrollment and retention

rates of the students in the AVID program and progress monitor their grades, the other data

provided support to answer my research questions.

To answer my first research question, I decided to use the inquiry method of surveys to

measure the student’s perceptions of their college awareness and their connectedness to school.
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Based on the results from the survey, 93% of the students agreed or strongly agreed that the

AVID program helped to increase their college awareness, while the remaining nine students did

not notice an increase in their college awareness or disagreed completely with the statement.

Furthermore, 95% of the students feel motivated to continue being a part of AVID after middle

school and pursue a college or career path with the goal of attaining a post-secondary education.

To address my second and third research questions, I used a mixed methods approach in

evaluating what are the most important aspects of the AVID program at this school. Based on

teacher and staff responses, the AVID program is being used with fidelity almost all the time,

with teachers relying on the WICOR (writing inquiry, collaboration, organization and reading)

method and strategies to teach and reinforce their material. AVID teachers also utilize an

engaging and supportive “family-like” environment in their classroom. Some interesting

statistics found through research included that 60% of all the teachers at this middle school have

been AVID trained and 50% of the school leadership team is also on the AVID site team.

Through frequency recording, I observed high student and high teacher engagement during a

lesson, as a total of 26 questions were asked by the teacher to the students, and on average, five

students raised their hand per question every time.

Recommendations and Conclusion

Based on the program evaluation conducted, I found the AVID program at this

intermediate school to be an overall good program. It is conducted with fidelity almost all the

time, the students agree that their awareness about college and motivation has increased due to

being a part of the program, and that students feel supported in their AVID classrooms and

consider everyone a “family.” In support of the current research found, the AVID program at this

Intermediate school is beneficial to its targeted students. It is able to successfully support

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“middle of the road” students and teach them the academic study skills necessary to succeed in

rigorous courses. The program promotes a college-going culture, encourages parent involvement,

promote positive peer relationships and create a “family” type environment for its participants.

Based on the data collected for this program evaluation, I would recommend that the AVID

program at this school design and implement a progress monitoring system that tracks the

progress of the students grades over time. The purpose of this would be to identify Tier level 2 or

3 students that may need additional supports because their needs are not being met with the

AVID program alone. Furthermore, I would suggest that the program regularly evaluate the

results of their student’s MAP (Measures of Academic Progress) test scores, specifically

focusing on the RIT (Estimated Instructional Level) score which indicates college readiness

when compared to predicted ACT (American College Testing) scores. Of the 62 students that

took the test last Spring 2017, only a total of 16 students indicated that they were at the level

recommended they be at given their current grade, and that they are indeed “college ready.”

Regular evaluation of these scores will further support the positive initiatives currently being

presented by the AVID program at this school.

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References

Bernhardt, P. (2013). “The Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) Program:

Providing Cultural Capital and College Access to Low-Income Students.” The School

Community Journal, 23(1), 203-222.

Black, A.C., Little, C.A., McCoach, D.B., Purcell, J.H., & Siegle, D. (2008). “Advancement Via

Individual Determination: Method Selection in Conclusions About Program

Effectiveness.” The Journal of Educational Research, 102(2), 111-123.

Klar, H.W., Brewer, C., Whitehouse, M.L. (2013). “AVIDizing a High-Poverty Middle School:

The Case of Magnolia Grove.” The International Journal of Research and Practice on

Student Engagement, 1(1), 9-23.

Mehan, H., Villanueva, I., Hubbard, L., & Lintz, A. (1996). Constructing school success: The

consequences of untracking low-achieving students. New York, NY: Cambridge

University Press.

National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). (2010). The condition of education 2010

(NCES 2010-028). Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education. Retrieved from

http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2010/2010028.pdf

Peabody Jr., P.T. (2012). “Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) System's Impact

on Diversity and Poverty Issues in Education.” National Teacher Education Journal,

5(4), 21-24.