Knox County Magnet Schools Evaluation
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Final Summative Evaluation Report

Evaluation Design

As previously mentioned, nine research questions constituted the foundation for the study:

• To what extent has the magnet program met its objective(s) under OCR?

• How has the magnet school program impacted student achievement?

• What gains in student achievement have been accomplished over the past 10 years?

• How does achievement differ for out-of-zone and in-zone students in the magnet schools?

• How do academic achievement patterns in the magnet schools compare with those in other comparable schools in Knox County?

• How have the magnet school concept and programs changed/evolved since the program’s inception?

• What factors, if any, have contributed to the success, or lack thereof, of the magnet schools?

• How do stakeholders (students, parents, teachers, administrators, Board members, community leaders) perceive the magnet schools?

• How are current programs in the magnet schools similar to/different from programs in other Knox County schools?  Are the current magnet school programs best serving student participants?

• How do Knox County magnet schools compare to/contrast with other selected magnets across the country in design and program offerings?

• How do operational costs of the magnet schools compare with those of other Knox County schools?

• What is Knox County Schools’ vision for the magnet schools over the next 5 years?

These nine questions were framed by the evaluation team from information supplied by the Knox County Schools administrators about what they wanted or needed to know.  After framing the questions, the team sent them to the Knox County administrators for their review and approval.  Upon approval of the questions to be answered, the evaluation team identified data sources that could supply valid, reliable and creditable information pertinent to each question.  Ultimately, the team collected data from 14 different sources:

• interviews with board members (those expressing interest in being interviewed).
• interviews with key current and retired school system personnel.
• interviews with a few knowledgeable community leaders.
• entry and exit interviews with magnet school principals and facilitators (entry interviews conducted jointly; exit interviews conducted with each individual).
• telephone interviews with directors of magnet school programs outside Knox County (Chattanooga, Tennessee; Charlotte-Mecklenburg, North Carolina; Miami-Dade, Florida; and Savannah, Georgia).
• focus groups of magnet and non-magnet parents at each magnet school site.
• focus groups of magnet and non-magnet students at each magnet school site.
• surveys of teachers at each magnet school site.
• analysis of magnet program related documents.
• analyses of five-years of student achievement data for each of the five schools housing magnet programs: composite data, data for in-zone and out-of-zone students.
• analyses of five-years of student achievement data for students in five comparison Knox County schools.
• review of program offerings in other (non-magnet) Knox County schools.
• review of documents/information about Knox County magnet school programs and magnet programs outside Knox County (Chattanooga; Nashville; Charlotte-Mecklenburg; North Carolina; Savannah, Georgia).
• Calls from parents (magnet, non-magnet) and others on an established “hotline”.

The data collection processes used provided data and information from each source pertinent, in most cases, to multiple research questions.  Therefore, data and information from several instruments and procedures were triangulated, where appropriate, to develop answers to the research questions.

Context

Three contextual facts are worth noting before moving to findings and conclusions of the investigation.

1. The magnet programs currently in existence in five Knox County schools were developed in 1993 (phased implementation) in response to a lawsuit filed with OCR.  They were the solution offered by the Knox County Schools, a means of desegregating the curriculum.  At the time, the focus of the magnet initiative was meeting OCR requirements, not enhancing student achievement in the schools selected.
2. All five schools housing magnet programs are also Project Grad schools.  Several knowledgeable interviewees have suggested that the implementation of the magnet programs addressed federal requirements, and Project Grad is now addressing the need to enhance student achievement.
3. The magnet concept/philosophy employed in Knox County has been school-within-a-school (i.e., magnet programs existing within the neighborhood schools which continue to provide “traditional” programs to non-magnet students zoned to those schools); whereas, many other magnet initiatives employ a full school magnet design.