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1
1

I

7 5 -1 4 ,7 8 5
MARTZ, Donald Orson, 1925A STUDY OF THE EFFECTS OF PERFORMANCE CONTRACTING
IN MICHIGAN.
Michigan S ta te U n i v e r s i t y , P h .D ., 1974
Education, sp e cial

Xerox University Microfilms t

Ann Arbor, M ichigan 48106

A STUDY OF THE EFFECTS OF PERFORMANCE
CONTRACTING IN MICHIGAN
By
Donald 0. Martz

A DISSERTATION
Submitted to
Michigan S ta te U n iv e rs ity
in p a r t i a l f u l f i l l m e n t o f the requirements
f o r the degree o f
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
Department o f Elementary and Special Education
1974

ABSTRACT

A STUDY OF THE EFFECTS OF PERFORMANCE
CONTRACTING IN MICHIGAN
By
Donald 0. Martz

The Problem
The o r ig in a l experiment by the United States O f f ic e o f Education
was designed to measure the v i a b i l i t y o f using pupil in c e n tiv e s f o r
increasing in s tr u c tio n a l e f f i c i e n c y .

Although e a r ly e v a lu a tio n was

not encouraging, resources and support from the Michigan Department o f
Education assured a co n tin u a tio n o f performance c o n tra c tin g in Michigan.
This study was conceived to attempt to i d e n t i f y the impact o f th is
performance c o n tra c tin g upon Michigan education.
Purpose o f the Study
The c e n tra l purpose o f th is study was to i d e n t i f y p ossible
e f f e c t s from school performance c o n tra c tin g p ro je c ts upon c h ild re n in
the schools involved in the experiment.
Population Sample
Included in the study were school d i s t r i c t s in the S ta te o f
Michigan t h a t were funded f o r two o r more y e a rs , and w ith an operatio nal

Donald 0 . M artz
p r o je c t f o r the 1972-73 y e a r .

Within the s ix school d i s t r i c t s q u a lif y in g

e ig h t elementary and two j u n i o r high schools were selected f o r a n a ly s is .
Procedure and Design
Through in te rv ie w s w ith p r iv a te c o n tra c tin g consultants and
p ub lic educators, p ra c tic e s and procedures common to c o n tra c t p ro je c ts
were i d e n t i f i e d .

These p ra c tic e s and procedures were used to prepare

a stru c tu red in te rv ie w instrument.
in itia l

To r e f in e the q u e s tio n n a ire the

instrument was submitted to a j u r y o f fo u r educators associated

w ith c o n tra c tin g .

P i l o t in te rv ie w s were conducted w ith the revised

instrument f o r the purpose o f f u r t h e r refinem ent.
To c o l l e c t e s s e n tia l d a ta , f o r t y minute s tru c tu re d in te rv ie w s
were conducted w ith some f i f t y educators representing s ix school
d i s t r i c t s ranging in s iz e from 2,000 to 50,000 p u p ils .

Responses were

tape recorded and tran scrib ed w ith in a tw e n ty -fo u r hour period fo llo w in g
each in te r v ie w .
To complete the a n a ly s is o f data c o n s is te n t w ith th e design o f
the study, data were c l a s s if i e d and computer programmed f o r a c c e s s i b i l i t y .
The r e s u lts presented in ta b le and n a r r a t iv e form were c o rre la te d w ith
the eleven o b je c tiv e s o f t h is study.
Conclusions
1.

Eighteen percent o f those interviewed reported students

gained one o r more grades in reading f o r a y e a r 's e f f o r t , and another
f o r t y percent recorded "some successes."
2.

The programs were e f f e c t i v e in overcoming the d etrim e n ta l

e f f e c t s o f la b e lin g and the stigma o f remediation since students

Donald 0 . M artz
p rev io u sly lab eled f a i l u r e s o r m e n ta lly handicapped made gains in reading
from one to fo u r grade le v e ls in one y e a r .
3.

A d ir e c t io n a l change occurred in teachers as revealed by

t h e i r cormitment to p o s i t i v e l y r e in fo r c e pupil behavior.
4.

Through use o f in c en tiv es teachers concluded t h a t c h ild r e n ,

regardless o f t h e i r past academic re co rd , gained "c o n tro l" as evidenced
by improved social behavior and i n i t i a t i v e to achieve.
5.

With lo c a l school educators re c e iv in g most o f th e s i g n i f i ­

cant assignments in t h e i r p r o je c t s , teachers and p r in c ip a ls in c re a s in g ly
became the innovators w ith p o te n tia l f o r s tr u c tu r in g curriculum a t the
b u ild in g l e v e l .
6.

Computers and teaching machines were not e s p e c ia lly useful

f o r teaching reading due to mechanical f a i l u r e s .

M a te ria ls and ideas

superseded hardware in p o p u la rity f o r o rg an izin g curriculum in to new
in s tr u c tio n a l and management systems.
Im p !ic atio n s
The fin d in g s o f th is study r e f l e c t im p lic a tio n s which are
presented f o r f u r t h e r d e l ib e r a t io n .
1.

Results o f t h is study gave c o n s is te n t low r a tin g s to the

use o f remedial reading programs and the remedial s p e c i a l i s t in c o n tra c t
teaching.

This focuses upon the need f o r q u a l i t y classroom in s tr u c t io n

r a t h e r than g re a te r emphasis upon remedial programs and t r a in i n g o f
reading s p e c ia lis t s .
2.

Since f o r many students c o n tra c tin g was t h e i r f i r s t "touch

o f success," t h is form o f compensatory education c l e a r l y was o f s i g n i f i ­
cant help f o r many disadvantaged p u p ils .

U n til more e f f i c i e n t models o f

Donald 0 . M artz
in s tru c tio n are discovered, compensatory education or re -e v a lu a tin g
educational p r i o r i t i e s to b e n e fit th is t a r g e t population seems more
than d efen s ib le.
3.

Several m odifications which improved co n trac tin g p rac tice s

were i n i t i a t e d by p rin c ip a ls and teachers.

Therefore educational

agencies should give the i n i t i a t i v e f o r curriculum improvement to
ind ividu al b u ild in g personnel.
4.

Since programmed m a t e r ia ls , did make a d iffe re n c e f o r " ta rg e t"

ch ild ren there is an im p lic a tio n f o r adopting more structured programs
fo r students who have serious d i f f i c u l t y w ith reading.
As a r e s u lt o f changing c o n tra c tin g from "re s u lts " to "services"
the performance incen tives concept q u ic k ly diminished in p o p u la rity ,
but the reading programs and reinforcem ent concepts used should be
evaluated f o r t h e i r worthiness in th is type o f program.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I t is w ith deep g ra titu d e t h a t I express ap p re c ia tio n to my
adviser and f r i e n d , Dr. W illia m J. Walsh, f o r guidance, p a tie n c e , and
encouragement during the w r it in g o f t h is d is s e r t a t io n .

My committee

members, Dr. Robert C. H a t f i e l d , Dr. Ruth H i l l Useem, and Dr. W illia m W.
Joyce, were most gracious, showed genuine concern, and gave e x c e lle n t
d ir e c t io n .
Ruth, my w i f e , gave much f a i t h f u l encouragement and hours o f
assistance f o r which I am exceedingly g r a t e f u l .

And to niy c h ild re n

V i c k i , Don, and 0111, thank you f o r g iv in g -u p fo r a tim e , your swimming,
h ik in g , and camping fun.

11

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS.......................................................................
LIST OF T A B L E S ...............................................................................................................

ii
v

LIST OF APPENDICES............................................................................................................. v i i
Chapter
I.

THE PROBLEM.........................................................................................................

1

Statement o f the Problem ........................................................................
3
Need f o r the S t u d y .....................................................................................
4
Description o f Funded Programs . . .
5
O b j e c t i v e s ...................................................
14
D e f in itio n o f T e r m s ...................................................................................... 15
L im ita tio n s o f the S t u d y ................................................................................19
P r o c e d u r e s ......................................................................................................... 19
II.

REVIEW OF THE L IT E R A T U R E ................................................................................. 21
H is to ric a l Development o f Performance Contracting
. . .
21
Texarkana's Dropout Prevention Program .......................................
27
Banneker School, Gary, Indiana ...........................................................
31
A C o s t-E ffe c tiv e Analysis o f Selected Reading Programs
in Grand Rapids Schools
..................................................................
33
An Experiment in Performance Contracting
.................................
36
A Demonstration o f Incentives in Education .................................
40
S u m m a r y ................................................................................................................43

III.

DESIGN OF THE S T U D Y ..............................................................................................47
Statement o f the P ro b le m ............................................................................... 48
O b j e c t i v e s ......................................................................................................... 48
L im ita tio n s o f the S t u d y .................................................................................49
Assumptions o f the S t u d y ................................................................................. 50
In s t r u m e n t a t io n ....................................................
50
P r o c e d u r e s .................................................................
55
S u m m a r y ................................................................................................................58

_f + •

in

Chapter
IV.

Page
ANALYSIS OF D A T A .................................................................

60

Demographic Inform ation
....................................................................
61
Review o f P r o je c t 's Successes ...........................................................
64
S u m m a r y ................................................................................................................. 97
V.

CONCLUSIONS, IMPLICATIONS,AND RECOMMENDATIONS

.

.

.

.

.

103

C o n c l u s i o n s ........................................................................................................ 103
Suggestions f o r Future Research
.....................................................
109
Im p lic a tio n s ...................................................................................................
Ill
A P P E N D IC E S ............................................................................................................................ 115
BIBLIOGRAPHY .......................................................................................................................

iv

132

LIST OF TABLES

Table

Page

1.

Population Sample ............................................................................................

56

2.

Population Interviewed

62

3.

Amount and Source o f Funding Expressed in Thousands
o f D o l l a r s .......................................................................................................... 63

4.

Number o f Pupils Enrolled

5.

Gains in Reading and Math Reported by Interviewees
f o r 1970-71

...............................................................................

........................................................................

63
65

6.

Success o f Contracting in Comparison to T ra d itio n a l
I n s t r u c t i o n ..........................................................................................................73

7.

E ff ic ie n c y o f Experimental Classrooms Compared to
Control Classrooms ......................................................................................

75

8.

Unique Features o f Contracting

79

9.

A tt it u d e o f In c e n tiv e Students Compared to Non-Incentive
S t u d e n t s .................................................................................................................81

...........................................................

10.

E ffectiven ess o f In c en tiv es in Modifying Behavior

11.

Appropriateness o f Incentives f o r Rewarding Behavior

12.

A b i l i t y o f Students to Attend to a Task f o r Longer
Period o f T i m e ................................................................................................... 82

13.

E ffe c t o f In cen tives in S tim u la tin g Achievement ..........................

83

14.

P a r tic ip a tin g Teachers Favoring In cen tives

83

15.

E ffe c t o f "RE" Rooms Upon Students' A t t i t u d e s ................................. 84

16.

Reported Use o f In cen tives f o r 1972-73 School Year .

17.

Total o f Responses to Statements 1 - 7 , E ffec tiv en e ss
o f R e w a r d s ..........................................................................................................85

18.

In t e n s it y o f Agreement w ith "E ffectiven ess" o f In d iv id u a liz e d
Management Components ...............................................................................
v

.

.

.
.

.

81

. .

82

................................

.

.

.

84

88

Table
19.

Page
P re fe rre d Sources o f In s e rv ic e Expressed by
I n t e r v i e w e e s ........................................................................

91

20.

E f fe c t o f "Management Support System" Upon D ecisionMaking
....................................................................................................92

21.

Involvement o f Teachers' Association in Contracting

22.

Roles o f C e r t i f ic a t e d Teachers in Contracting

23.

Contracting Role o f P r iv a te Firm 's Learning Manager

24.

Contracting Role o f P r i n c i p a l .........................................................................95

25.

Contracting Role o f Teacher A i d e .................................................................. 96

26.

Changes R esulting from Contracting

vi

.

. .

..........................
.

. .

....................................................

93
94
95

98

LIST OF APPENDICES

Appendix
A.

In te rv ie w Schedule .

B.

L e t t e r o f T ran sm ittal

C.

Student P r o f i l e Chart

CHAPTER I
THE PROBLEM

Beginning in 1969 and co ntinuing through a period o f th re e years
the United States O ffic e o f Education encouraged the development o f a
group o f p ro je c ts commonly known as performance c o n tra c tin g .

The general

design o f these programs focused upon techniques to improve the math and
reading achievement o f disadvantaged students through p r iv a t e p r o f i t oriented firm s who had been contracted by schools to se t-u p the c u r r ic u ­
lum and to ad m in ister the in s t r u c t io n a l program.

Although schools

re g u la r ly c o n tra c t f o r se rv ic e in some vocational area s, t h is experiment
was d i f f e r e n t since i t involved d i r e c t in-school management by i n d u s t r ia l
firm s .

This d i r e c t involvement by p r iv a t e firm s brought about both

support and c r i t i c i s m o f performance c o n tra c tin g as a v e h ic le f o r
improving in s tr u c t io n .
Federal government enthusiasm f o r the concept o f c o n tra c tin g
encouraged p r iv a te firm s and motivated p u b lic schools to p a r t i c ip a t e
in the program.

As a r e s u l t p r iv a t e firm s and many p ub lic educators

became ardent supporters o f performance c o n tra c tin g as a method f o r
improving in s tr u c t io n .

Then on February 6 , 1972, the O f f ic e o f Economic

Opportunity announced t h a t i t s o b je c tiv e to improve the achievement o f
disadvantaged students through performance c o n tra c tin g had f a i l e d and
th a t support was being dim inished.

This announcement pleased the

1

c r i t i c s o f the experiment but was a disappointment f o r supporters o f
co n tractin g .^
Several firm s p a r t i c ip a t i n g in the experiment voiced d is a p p o in t­
ment w ith the O f fic e o f Economic O p p o rtu n ity's announcement " . . .
wondering how so f i n a l a judgment could be pronounced so soon a f t e r
2
only one school y e a r o f actual e x p e rim e n ta tio n ."
The Rand Corporation
reported a s i g n i f i c a n t improvement in reading in the Gary, Indiana
p ro je c t as a r e s u l t o f i t s performance c o n tra c tin g program.

3

Roger

S u lliv a n , President o f Behavioral Research L ab o ra to rie s , which operated
a v a r i e t y o f programs outside o f the O f f ic e o f Economic Opportunity
experiments, said t h a t , " . . .

the achievement re s u lts a tta in e d by the

O ffic e o f Economic Opportunity c o n trac to rs in no way r e f le c t e d the
achievement re s u lts a tta in e d by o th e r performance c o n tra c to r s ."

4

Joan

Webster, Grand Rapids p ro je c t d i r e c t o r , expressed disappointment in
the f a c t t h a t p o s it iv e achievement was not e ffe c te d as a n tic ip a t e d ,
but remarked, " . . .

the program s t i l l m erited f u r t h e r study, since

i t got educators o f f dead ce n te r and made them e n th u s ia s t ic ."

Webster

f u r t h e r s t a te d , "The students did b e t t e r , and they were more enthused
and d is c i p li n a r y problems f e l l

o ff d ra s tic a lly ."

V r e d Hechinger, "Contracts:
Negative V e rd ic t on a Teaching
Program," The New York Times (February 6 , 1972), Sec. 4 , p. 9.
o
I b i d . , Sec. 4 , p . 9.
3

C r o ft Educational S ervices, I n c . , "Education Summary," New
London (October, 19 72 ), p. 3.
4
c

Hechinger, p. 9.

Robert Lewis, "Contract Classrooms, No Gain f o r P u p ils ," The
Grand Rapids Press (February 1 , 1972), p. 1-A.

John P o rte r , Superintendent o f the Michigan Department o f Edu­
c a tio n , promoted performance c o n tra c tin g and, " . . .

termed M ichigan's

experience w ith performance c o n tra c tin g over th e past two years as
impressive in c o n tra s t to some n atio n al repo rts which have been negag

tiv e ."

P o rte r e x p la in e d ,

. . on a very la rg e s c a le , the Michigan

S tate Board o f Education committed I t s e l f to a 'performance c o n tra c t'
to bring about a statew ide plan to e f f e c t educational improvement."^
This f ir m p o s itio n by the Michigan S ta te Board o f Education fa v o rin g
performance c o n tra c tin g as a v e h ic le f o r producing c e r t a in forms o f
acceptable standards, assured continued c o n tra c tin g a c t i v i t y in
Michigan and u n d e rlie s the need f o r researching t h is a c t i v i t y .
Thus although the O f fic e o f Economic Opportunity re p o rt i n d i ­
cated th a t the experiment f a i l e d to produce the e f f e c t s a n t i c i p a t e d ,
many p r iv a te firm s and p ub lic school a d m in is tra to rs remained e n th u s i­
a s tic toward the concept o f performance c o n tra c tin g .

Although the time

span f o r the experiment was b r i e f the impact to improve in s tr u c tio n
through c o n tra c tin g is a major one and i t s im p lic a tio n s a re s t i l l
professional educators.

before

Of g r e a te r importance is the fundamental basis

fo r the funding, the s t r ik i n g p u b li c it y and the r e s u lts obtained from
i t , as w ell as the j u s t i f i c a t i o n f o r te rm in a tio n o f the program.
Statement o f the Problem
This study th e re fo r e is an endeavor to examine (a ) the impact
o f performance c o n tra c tin g upon the p u p ils , te a c h e rs , a d m in is tra to r s ,
®John P o rte r , "The Educational R epo rt," S ta te Board o f Education.
Vol. V I , No. 30 (A p r il 3, 19 72 ), p. 60.
^ I b i d . , p. 60.

and in s tru c tio n a l programs in p a r t ic ip a t in g schools, (b) the type o f
re la tio n s h ip s th a t have been established between the d i s t r i c t and the
learning systems c o n tra c to r,

(c) the e ffe c tiv e n e s s and q u a li t y fe a tu re s

of co n tracto rs' le a rn in g systems, (d) the reason f o r the Federal
government's o r ig in a l in te rv e n tio n and term ination o f the experiment,
and (e) the im p lic atio n s t h a t co n tracting may have f o r teacher edu­
cation .

The cen tral purpose o f th is study is to i d e n t i f y e f f e c ts from

school performance c o n trac tin g p ro jects upon p up ils in the schools
involved in the experiment.
Need f o r the Study
I t would seem obvious t h a t the o r ig in a l funding and term in a tio n
o f contracting in such a short time have im p lic a tio n s f o r fu tu r e oper­
atio n s .

Although l i t t l e research in support o f c o n trac tin g has been

reported, the concept continued to f lo u r is h f o r a time as evidenced
by the zealous p a r t ic ip a t io n o f p r iv a te companies and public school
ad m in istrators.

This p e rs is te n t acceptance o f co n tracting as a v e h ic le

fo r e ffe c tin g educational change from outside the school w ith ou t strong
research support i s the m otivation f o r t h is study.
Another need f o r th is study is to i d e n t i f y various featu res
which are common to funded programs and which i l l u s t r a t e problems th a t
contracting has presented.

As an i l l u s t r a t i o n , when co n tracting schools

share a u th o r ity to develop in s tru c tio n a l changes w ith outside agencies,
they t a c i t l y recognize t h e i r i n a b i l i t y to adequately deal w ith the
in s tru c tio n a l needs o f c h ild re n .

Performance co n tra c t o perational

patterns are re p le te w ith such examples which i l l u s t r a t e how schools
may be je o p a rd izin g t h e i r own decision-making power as w ell as questioning

the capacity o f classroom teachers and o ther educators to resolve edu­
cational needs.
A f u r t h e r need f o r th is study is to look a t such fe a tu re s as
in d iv id u a liz e d in s tru c tio n a l management systems and teacher t r a in in g
programs th a t should be given f u r t h e r con sideratio n .
To support the need f o r t h is study some i d e n t i f i a b l e featu res
o f the processes o f co n tracting are discussed in the fo llo w in g se ctio n .
Description o f Funded Programs
Following are co n trac t features common to funded programs which
i l l u s t r a t e several p o s itiv e innovations as well as c o n f lic t in g p hiloso ­
phies th a t have developed through fed eral and s ta t e encouragement.
Management support system.

This is an arrangement through

which a p riv a te f ir m , acting as the Government's agent, engineers the
w ritin g and implementation o f performance contracts in cooperation
with local schools.

Education Turnkey Systems was contracted by the

O ffic e o f Economic Opportunity to provide management support to the
O ffic e o f Economic Opportunity and p a r t ic ip a t in g schools in the
"Performance Incentives in Education P ro je c ts ."

The purposes fo r the

contract were (a ) to provide support and assistance necessary to
es ta b lis h the experimental program, (b) to develop the system fo r
monitoring o n -s ite progress re p o rtin g and operating procedures, and
(c ) to provide assistance to the school d i s t r i c t s in implementing
the program.8
p
Charles Blaschke, "Performance Incen tive Remedial Education
Experiment, Final Report to the O ffic e o f Economic Opportunity"
(Washington, D.C.: Education Turnkey Systems, I n c . , 1971), p. 787.

6
The goal o f th e O f f ic e o f Economic O pportunity f o r e s ta b lis h in g
and purchasing support was:
. . . to demonstrate a high le v e l o f " e f f ic ie n c y " by bringing
about close-co op eration between the O f fic e o f Economic O pp ortun ity,
school a d m in is tra to rs and subcontractors. A purpose o f the O f f ic e
o f Economic O pportunity was to demonstrate t h a t the achievement
o f disadvantaged students could be guaranteed through a c o n tra c t
arrangement and a t an " e f f i c i e n t " cost f o r resources. As to the
goal o f measuring costs. . . . How may the g re a te s t re tu rn ( e f f e c ­
tive n e ss ) be r e a liz e d f o r a given amount o f resources ( c o s t ) .
The
measure o f c o s t-e ffe c tiv e n e s s is the cost per u n i t o f achievement
. . .
in the form o f d o lla r s per grade le v e l increase (o r any
o th e r card inal u n i t , such as number o f behavioral o b je c tiv e s
m a ste re d ).9
The O f fic e o f Economic O pportunity a n tic ip a te d achieving
s ig n i f i c a n t e f f i c i e n c y and f l e x i b i l i t y through t h is management support
system.
Procurement o f In s t r u c tio n a l m a te r ia ls and school management
services through subcontracting was a r e l a t i v e l y new o p e ra tio n , a
function w ith which schools and p r iv a t e educational firm s had lim it e d
experience.

Thus a major purpose f o r a school to purchase management

support was to enjoy a system o f q u a l i t y control through a p r iv a t e
firm w ith the e x p e rtis e necessary to s u c c e s s fu lly co ordinate the
m u ltip le elements so e s s e n tia l to the experim ent's success.

This

unusual arrangement was designed to achieve " e f f ic ie n c y " but by i t s
very nature provided an avenue f o r the Federal government to in flu e n c e
local educational operations and p o l i c i e s .

As an i l l u s t r a t i o n o f t h i s ,

Educational Turnkey Systems was accused o f meddling when they ".

. .

sent a telegram to a p a r t i c ip a t i n g school whose teachers were on s t r i k e
suggesting t h a t the d i s t r i c t might not be ab le to p a r t i c i p a t e because
9 I b i d . , p. 105.

o f " lo s t time" s t ip u la t io n s in the c o n tra c t unless the school, and
hence the p r o je c t , became o p e ra tio n a l in the near f u t u r e . " 10
The Federal government involvement in lo c al operations i n ­
creases the need f o r examining th e im p lic a tio n s o f non-community
c e n tr a liz e d control o f a c t i v i t y as r e la te d to te a c h e rs , teacher edu­
c a tio n , a d m in is tra to rs and lo c a l d eterm in ation o f school p o lic ie s .
Since the a c t i v i t i e s o f each o f these groups are a f f e c t in g local
school programs, th e re is need to more e x p l i c i t l y d e fin e the e x te n t to
which each is to be involved in lo c a l school development.
Decision Making.

In p r a c tic e a p r iv a te fir m may enjoy f u l l

or p a r t i a l a u t h o r it y f o r making decisions regarding both the curriculum
and the a d m in is tra tio n o f the in s t r u c t io n a l program.

I t is apparent

th a t the Federal government, the S ta te Department o f Education and
local boards o f education have given a degree o f decision-making
a u th o r ity f o r classroom in s t r u c tio n to p r iv a te firm s .

In te re s tin g ly ,

the Federal government and the Michigan Department o f Education did
not involve teachers in the general o r s p e c if ic developments o f p er­
formance in c e n tiv e c o n t r a c t i n g . 11

Charles Blaschke does acknowledge

th a t teachers should be more involved in fu tu r e p ro je c t planning.

12

As a r e s u l t o f such governmental procedures, the p a tte rn o f excluding
teachers from the decision-making process has caused concern among
teacher groups.
10I b i d . , p. 198.
11 I b i d . , p. 198; also P a tr ic k Dolan, Professional Development
Consultant, Michigan Education A ssociation ( i n an in te r v ie w , December 13,
1971).
^ B la s c h k e , p. 199.

The Michigan Education A s so c ia tio n , although c a u tio u s ly sup­
porting c o n tra c t ex p erim en tatio n , was disappointed w ith the non-involvement
o f teachers in s e t t in g up performance c o n tra c t programs in Michigan
schools.

13

of p itfa lls

Further the National Education Association " . . .

warned

in c o n tra c tin g and urged teacher groups to take the i n i t i ­

a t iv e to develop le a rn in g o b je c tiv e s through community and professional
involvement which would then be the basis to request f o r c o n tra c t b i d s . " ^
Target p o p u la tio n , disadvantaged s tu d e n ts .

Most programs had

as t h e i r t a r g e t population disadvantaged students who were two o r more
years below the n a tio n a l average norms in reading and math.

This is

the population f o r which "compensatory education" was designed to over­
come le a rn in g d e f ic ie n c ie s .

Lansing and Grand Rapids schools were w ell

aware o f the in e ffe c tiv e n e s s o f r e s u lts obtained from the t r a d i t i o n a l
"compensatory education" programs in terms o f equipment, m a t e r ia ls ,
p a ra -p ro fe s s io n a ls , and f a c i l i t i e s .

Y e t, although Grand Rapids and

Lansing school o f f i c i a l s p o in t out t h a t these outcomes are g e n e ra lly
p re d ic ta b le and d is a p p o in tin g — th a t what they have done w ith "compensato ry education" has not made a s i g n i f i c a n t d iffe r e n c e in achievement.

1R

These fin d in g s are in agreement w ith the re p o rt o f Coleman in
which he found t h a t the inp ut side o f ed u catio n , t h a t i s , a d d itio n a l
expenditures o f money f o r improved p u p il-te a c h e r r a t i o s , b u ild in g s , and

^D olan.
^ B la s c h k e , p. 209.
15
Richard H a li k , D ir e c to r o f Federal Programs (from an in te r v ie w ,
December 14, 1 9 7 1 ), Lansing Public Schools; als o Elmer Vruggink, "A
Study o f the C o n trib u tio n o f Compensatory Programs in a Large Urban
School System" (1 9 7 0 ), from the A b s tra c t.

9
equipment may not make any s u b s ta n tia l d if f e r e n c e in the ac tu a l amount
o f lea rn in g t h a t takes place in school.^8
In support o f Coleman's p o s itio n , research financed by the
Federal government and by lo c al schools c l e a r l y in d ic a te s t h a t resources
do not in themselves account f o r the d if fe r e n c e in achievement.

17

Yet

in commercial performance in c e n tiv e p r o je c t s , ‘p r i o r i t y was given to
purchasing m a te ria ls and equipment, to employing a d d itio n a l paraprofessional s, and to improving f a c i l i t i e s .

Since the Federal govern­

ment and lo c al schools supported performance c o n tr a c tin g , th e re was
the p o s s i b i l i t y t h a t these agencies may have a n t ic ip a te d an e f f e c t
from the performance in c e n tiv e experiment not p re v io u s ly o peratin g
or i d e n t i f i e d in past compensatory programs.

An an a ly s is o f t h is

p o s s i b i l i t y w i l l be pursued in t h is study.
Monetary in c e n tiv e s .

In c en tiv es f o r achievement gains were

given to p r iv a t e f ir m s , stu d en ts, and to tea ch ers.

The design o f t h is

experiment placed a heavy burden upon the concept o f in c e n tiv e s f o r
producing e f f i c i e n c y and q u a li t y c o n t r o l.

As an i l l u s t r a t i o n :

. . . concern was expressed during the i n i t i a l program development
stages o f the p ro je c t regarding the w illin g n e s s o f the lo c a l
school d i s t r i c t s to ad m in ister the subcontract w ith th e per­
formance c o n tra c tin g f ir m in the most e f f i c i e n t manner. While
in c e n tiv e s f o r e f f i c i e n c y were b u i l t in to the su b co ntract, none
were provided in the c o n tra c t between the O f f ic e o f Economic
Opportunity and the school d i s t r i c t . 18

D .C .:

^James Coleman, " E q u a lity o f Educational O pportunity" (Washington,
U.S. Government P rin tin g O f f ic e , 19 66 ), p. 312.
17

James Coleman; Grand Rapids Schools; Lansing Schools; see also
Edward M c D ill, Edmund Meyers, J r . , and Leo Rigsby, "Source o f Educational
Climates in High School, Fin al Report, P ro je c t No. 1999," U.S. O f f ic e
o f Education, Baltim ore Department o f Human R e la tio n s , John Hopkins
U n iv e rs ity (1 9 6 6 ).
^8Blaschke, p. 196.

10
O p e ra tio n a lly the r o le o f in c en tiv es as applied to p r iv a te
firms is i l l u s t r a t e d by Norman Weinheimer:
. . . performance c o n tra c tin g companies, whether they a re o u ts id e
companies, o r a consortium o f a lo c a l school d i s t r i c t s t a f f f o r
an "in house" c o n tra c tin g company, have a p e r fe c t stage on which
to step forward w ith a plan which guarantees a c e r t a in amount o f
le a rn in g f o r a s e t amount o f money. The c o n tra c t is based on the
p r in c ip le th a t i f performance o r p r o d u c t iv it y does not reach a
predetermined g o a l, the company d o e s n 't re c e iv e any compensation.
I f the c h ild does reach the g o a l, the company re ce ives the pay,
and i f the c h ild passes h is goal the company gets a bonus.
It
is as simple as t h a t . ' 9
A c o n tra c t system known as contingency management fe a tu re d
schools using tokens, " s k in s ," green stamps, reward rooms and o th e r
items as e x t r i n s i c rewards f o r whatever was accepted by th e a d u lts as
c o n s titu tin g a p o s it iv e behavior response from stu d en ts.

In some

p ro je c ts , rewards ranged from f r e e tim e to money w ith which kids could
buy refreshm ents, in s tr u c tio n a l aides or o th e r merchandise.

20

Teacher o rg an iza tio n s questioned the in c e n tiv e fe a tu r e o f
c o n tra c tin g .

The American Federation o f Teachers voiced t h e i r strong

opposition by s t a t in g ,

".

. . Performance c o n tra c tin g incorporates

such dubious educational p ra c tic e s as m e rit pay in c e n tiv e s to teachers
and such doubtful in c en tiv es as green stamps and t r a n s i s t o r radios to
c h i ld r e n ." 21
Use o f e x t r i n s i c rewards is not new.

However the high emphasis

upon rewards as a sound method o f m o tiva tio n ra is e s p h ilo s o p h ic a l, i f
19

Norman P. Weinheimer, "Performance C o n tra c tin g ," paper
presented to American Association f o r the Advancement o f Science,
Conrad H ilto n H o te l, Chicago (December 28, 1 9 7 0 ), pp. 3 -5 .
20Blaschke, pp. 219-231.
21 I b i d . , p. 211.

*

n
not, psychological questions.

This study w i l l attempt to s o l i c i t teachers'

reactions to th is p a r t ic u la r type o f m o tiv a tio n .

Of p a r t i c u l a r in t e r e s t

w i l l be a proposed analysis o f the impact o f in c e n tiv e s upon e f f ic ie n c y
and achievement as defined by the O ff ic e o f Economic O pportunity.
In d iv id u a liz e d in s tru c tio n and d i f f e r e n t i a t e d s t a f f i n g .

A

v a r ie ty o f m a te r ia ls , most o f which were a v a ila b le on the open market,
and teaching machines ranging from a simple feedback system to e le c tr o n ic
devices synchronized w ith a pacing system, provided the basic m a te ria l
and hardware elements f o r o p e ra tio n a liz in g in d iv id u a liz e d in s t r u c t io n .
The goal to be achieved was in s tru c tio n a l e f f i c i e n c y w ith g re a te r
re lia n c e upon m a te ria ls and in s tru c tio n a l devices than dependence upon
teachers as the main source o f p r o d u c tiv ity .
Firms re ly in g h e a v ily upon automated in s tr u c tio n a l systems w e re #
p a r t i c u l a r l y anxious to replace teachers w ith p ara -p ro fe ss io n als in an
e f f o r t to escape the expense o f employing c e r t i f i e d teachers.

" . . .

one firm would have p refe rred to use p ara -p ro fe ss io n als to the t o ta l
exclusion o f the p ro fe s s io n a ls ."

22

This d e s ire was g e n e ra lly re s tra in e d

by provisions o f the common teacher c o n tra c t.
P riv a te firms had a n tic ip a te d th a t d i f f e r e n t i a t e d s t a f f i n g
would provide o p p o rtu n itie s f o r the p r iv a te firm s and school s t a f f s
to develop innovative ways f o r u t i l i z i n g s t a f f s and in d iv id u a liz e d
In s tr u c tio n a l techniques.

23

That th is was not e n t i r e l y achieved in the

experiment does not preclude the need to study areas which may have
p o s s i b i l i t i e s fo r increasing the e ffe c tiv e n e s s o f s t a f f i n g .
22I b i d . , p. 215.
231bid. , p. 214.

12
In d iv id u a liz e d in s tru c tio n has held the c u r io s it y o f educators
f o r sometime.

I t is e s p e c ia lly important to determine those features

o f performance contracting which worked well and the a p p lic a tio n th a t
could be made fo r disadvantaged students, students w ith in normal ranges,
and f o r migrant student populations.
P riv a te firms staked t h e i r hopes f o r making an impact w ith a
mix o f managers, teachers, aid es , m a te r ia ls , and hardware organized
so as to increase achievement through the technique o f in d iv id u a liz e d
in s tru c tio n .

A v a ila b le re s u lts would in d ic a te th a t t h is combination

has had l i t t l e e f f e c t upon achievement.

Nevertheless, these management

techniques i n v it e f u r t h e r analysis to d e lin e a te those management
features th a t have improved in d iv id u a liz e d in s tr u c tio n .
Humanizing the classroom.

Designers o f the contract experiment

looked upon contracting as a way
both the teachers and the students."

. .to
24

humanize the classroom fo r

Although no s ig n if ic a n t data

have been produced through the experiment to d e fin e what was meant by
"humanizing," some changes were reported which made i t possible f o r
teachers to decorate t h e i r rooms fr e e from r e s t r a in t s o f school administ r a t io n .

25

There was consistent e f f o r t by teachers and schools to

remove the stigma o f rem ediation, y e t i t was common p ra c tic e to place
pupils in to groups, fre q u e n tly by a b i l i t y .

Thus ch ild ren were segre­

gated by t h e i r a b i l i t y or lack o f a b i l i t y .

In the court case o f

Hobson versus Hanson and School Board o f D i s t r i c t o f Columbia, Judge
Wright ruled th a t a l l forms o f a b i l i t y grouping were u n c o n s titu tio n a l,
24 I b l d . , p. 202.
25I b i d . , p. 202.

13
and th a t such p rac tice s were another form o f segregation.

26

As a

r e s u lt o f th is r u lin g and s i m il a r j u d i c i a l opinions, Federal guide­
lin e s have encouraged heterogeneous groupings.

Understandably school

o f f i c i a l s and parents did complain about what they understood to be
resegregation through grouping p ra c tic e s .

27

On the basis o f present

findings i t is doubtful t h a t performance co n tracting a c t i v i t y has made
s i g n if ic a n t c o n trib u tio n s to humanizing and removing the stigma o f
remediation.

Nevertheless a search should be made f o r humanizing e ffe c ts

th a t may have been operating in experimental classrooms.
In s e rv ic e t r a i n i n g .

In s ervice t r a in in g o ffe re d by ALPHA

Learning Systems has met w ith a fav o rab le response from the Michigan
Education A sso ciatio n, the Lansing Public Schools, and the Grand
Rapids Public Schools.

ALPHA, i t s e l f , gives evidence o f being q u ite

pleased w ith t h e i r in s e rv ic e t r a in i n g .

28

In working f o r teachers ALPHA

emphasizes the fo llo w in g :
We t r y to get to the roots o f each tea ch er's assumption about
him self as well as about le a rn in g , c h ild r e n , and c u ltu r e .
For t r a in i n g , we look a t the l o g i s t i c s , the m a te r ia ls , the
record-keeping and the in s tr u c tio n a l s tra te g ie s prescribed, a l l
in a classroom s it u a t i o n . M a te ria ls are organized f o r the teacher
in
the same way they are organized f o r the student.
Eachteacher
is
provided a flow c h a rt f o r tasks and progress checks.29
26

J. S k e lly W right, Federal D i s t r i c t Court Judge, "Hobson versus
Hansen and School Board o f D i s t r i c t o f Columbia," Congressional Record,
Washington, D.C. (June 21, 1967), pp. 16763-16764.
^ B la s c h k e , p. 200.
28

P a tric k Dolan, Michigan Education Association; Martha Gladen,
Manager, ALPHA Learning Systems; Richard H a lik , Lansing Public Schools;
and Joan Webster, Grand Rapids Public Schools.
29ALPHA Learning Systems, "What i t is and How i t Operates With
Special Emphasis on Performance Contracting" (Albuquerque: ALPHA
Learning Systems, 1971), pp. 19-20.

14
Educators re p o rtin g s a t i s f a c t i o n w ith these in s e r v ic e t r a in i n g
programs are g e n e r a lly those somewhat removed from d i r e c t classroom
teaching.

I t is not c l e a r whether classroom teachers fe e l t h a t the

kind o f in s e r v ic e t r a in i n g presented by p r iv a t e firm s adequately meets
t h e i r needs.

This study proposes to provide teachers w ith the oppor­

t u n i t y to express preferences f o r the s p e c if ic kinds o f in s e r v ic e teach er
education they p r e f e r .
O b jectives
The o b je c tiv e s o f t h is study a re:
A.

To i d e n t i f y e f f e c t s o f the performance in c e n tiv e experiment
upon p a r t i c ip a t i n g students.

B.

To analyze the impact o f in c e n tiv e s upon " e f f ic ie n c y " and
"achievem ent."

C.

To I d e n t i f y humanizing e f f e c t s o p e ra tin g in experimental
classrooms.

D.

To i d e n t i f y fe a tu re s unique only to c o n tra c tin g p r a c tic e s .

E.

To seek the cause f o r the OEO's sudden diminishment o f
support f o r c o n tra c tin g .

F.

To s o l i c i t te a c h e rs ' re a c tio n s to the e x t r i n s i c reward
system used in c o n tra c tin g f o r m o tiv a tin g students.

G.

To i d e n t i f y management techniques t h a t have had an e f f e c t
upon in d iv id u a liz e d i n s t r u c t i o n .

H.

To determine a p p l i c a b i l i t y o f in d iv id u a liz e d in s t r u c t io n
to mobile student p o p u la tio n s .

I.

To provide teachers w ith the o p p o rtu n ity to express p r e f e r ­
ences f o r s p e c ifie d sources o f in s e r v ic e education.

15
J.

To examine the im p lic a tio n s o f Federal Government in v o lv e ­
ment 1n lo c a l school operations as r e la t e d to d e c is io n ­
making ro le s o f te a c h e rs , a d m in is tra to rs and lo c al d e t e r ­
m ination o f school p o lic y .

K.

To i d e n t i f y changes e ffe c te d by c o n tra c tin g in p a r t i c ip a t i n g
schools.
D e f in i t io n o f Terms

D e f in it io n o f terms have been s tru c tu re d to a s s is t In the under­
standing and i n t e r p r e t a t i o n o f t h is study.
1.

Performance co n trac ts are agreements between schools and

p riv a te p r o f i t - o r i e n t e d firm s under which payment by the school is
based on procurement o f resources or on some measure o f the agent's
performance.

Stucker and H a ll have o u tlin e d the various kinds o f

contracts:
Four basic co n trac ts can be used to procure goods and s e rv ices :
fix e d and performance c o n trac ts f o r resources, and fix e d and
performance co n trac ts f o r resu lts^
The basic d is t in c t i o n between
c o n tra c tin g f o r resources and c o n tra c tin g f o r re s u lts is whether
the school o r the c o n tra c to r w i l l have a u t h o r it y over the d a y -to day operatio n o f the p r o je c t .
The basic d is t in c t i o n between a
fix e d c o n tra c t and a performance c o n tra c t is whether a s in g le
outcome and payment are s p e c if ie d , o r whether a range o f acceptable
outcomes o r corresponding payments are allow ed.
There are two fundamental r e s t r i c t i o n s on a school's a b i l i t y
to c o n tra c t f o r r e s u l t s . A fix e d c o n tra c t f o r re s u lts requ ires
th a t the desired r e s u lt s can be defined e x p l i c i t l y and o b j e c t iv e l y .
A performance c o n tra c t f o r re s u lts has the a d d itio n a l requirement
t h a t th e school must be ab le to measure o b j e c t iv e l y the re s u lts
i t is a f t e r ; t h a t i s , "more'' o r "less" must be meaningful and
measurable concepts.
Two g e n e r a liz a tio n s concerning c o n tra c t preference are
possible . . . the g r e a t e r the technological and managerial
advantage o f the p e rs p e c tiv e c o n tra c to r over the school, the
g re a te r th e advantage o f a c o n tra c t f o r r e s u lts over the school;
the g re a te r the advantage o f the r i s k in a p r o je c t , the g re a te r
the advantage o f a performance c o n tra c t over a fix e d c o n tra c t.

16
These g e n e r a liz a tio n s are d i r e c t l y a p p lic a b le to c o n tra c tin g
f o r student achievement. A performance c o n tra c t f o r r e s u lts is
most ap p ro p ria te when (a ) the d esired r e s u lt s can be q u a n t i t a t i v e l y
measured and scaled, (b ) the school b e lie v e s the c o n tra c to r has
some te c h n o lo g ic a l, managerial or i n s t i t u t i o n a l advantage in
achieving the desired r e s u l t s , and (c ) the r i s k in h eren t in the
operation is too g re a t to a llo w the use o f a f ix e d co n tra c t f o r
r e s u l t s . 30
2*

E f fic ie n c y is described in two ways.

reduction o f lo s t time or motion.

The f i r s t is the

Learning would be speeded, e s p e c ia lly

t h a t o f those c h ild re n who can be described as below the norm.
would be allowed to progress a t t h e i r own r a t e s .

C hildren

This would f r e e the

more able c h ild from the r e s t r a i n t s o f staying w ith his peers.

The

slow c h ild would progress f a s t e r because he would le a rn each sequential
step r a th e r than fe e l the f r u s t r a t i o n o f atte n d in g classes whose su b ject
m atter is beyond his comprehension.

The second phase o f e f f i c i e n t

operatio n is the saving o f money through p r o f i t - o r i e n t e d firm s by
c o m p e titiv e ly bidding f o r in s t r u c tio n a l programs.

E ffic ie n c y is the

e ffe c tiv e n e s s t h a t can be produced f o r a given amount o f resources
( c o s ts ).

The measure o f c o s t-e ffe c tiv e n e s s is the cost per u n it o f

achievement, in the form o f d o lla r s per grade le v e l

increase (or any

ca rd in a l u n i t , such as number o f behavioral o b je c tiv e s mastered).
3.

31

Achievement is the d if fe r e n c e between the re s u lts o f two

t e s t s , a norm-referenced or c r ite r io n - r e f e r e n c e d t e s t administered a t
the s t a r t o f the program and another form o f the same t e s t a t i t s
completion.
30

J. P. Stucker and G. R. H a l l , "The Performance Contracting
Concept in Education, a Report Prepared f o r the Department o f H e a lth ,
Education and W elfare" (Santa Monica: Rand C orporation, 19 71 ), p. 12.
^ B la s c h k e , p. 105.

17
4.

Contingency management r e fe r s to th e m o tiv a tio n a l reward

system, which rewarded students f o r achieving a s p e c ifie d le v e l o f
performance.

The le v e l o f performance was determined by t e s t s p e c i f i ­

c a tio n , or by the teacher or a id e , and also by c o n tra c tin g between the
teacher or a id e and student f o r the le v e l o f d esired competency.
Rewards were given f o r d a i l y lesson performance, f o r t e s t performance,
and f o r p o s itiv e verbal responses.

Rewards commonly used were reward

rooms, skins (two cents) and tokens (o n e -h a lf c e n t ) .
o f paper and resembles paper play money.
a bus token o r subway token.

A skin is made

A token is round s i m il a r to

These were given to students upon reaching

the desired competency, or upon responding p o s it i v e l y o r c o r r e c t ly to
a teach er i n i t i a t e d question.

Skins and tokens were used by the student

in the reward room, o r i f he p re fe rre d he could tu rn them in f o r cash.
Reward rooms were stocked w ith pool, games, books and refreshments.
Sometimes co n tracts between a student and teacher re s u lte d in the
student choosing to have f r e e time in th e reward room r a th e r than
accepting skins o r tokens.
5.

D i f f e r e n t ia t e d s t a f f i n g r e fe r s to a s t a f f o f c e r t i f i e d

teachers, a math or reading c o n s u lta n t, teacher a id e s , le a rn in g
manager o r c o n s u lta n t, s e c r e t a r ie s , and b u ild in g p r i n c ip a l.
In c e n tiv e in c o n tra c tin g provides f o r p r iv a te f ir m p r o f i t
motive, monetary reward to students f o r m o tiv a tio n a l purposes, and
bonuses to teach ers.
7.

In d iv id u a liz e d prescribed in s tr u c t io n was o p e ra tio n a liz e ^

by p r e - t e s tin g students to determine t h e i r le v e l o f s k i l l development

18
in reading and math (depending upon p ro je c t p ro v is io n s ), and then
matching m a te ria ls and a feedback system w ith s k i l l needs.
8.

In d iv id u a liz e d m a teria ls are sequenced to produce lo g ic a l

development and measurement o f desired s k i l l s .

T h e o r e tic a lly t h is

methodology brings in to r e a l i t y a one-to-one te a c h in g -le a rn in g r e l a ­
tionship through matching the student on one end, w ith m a te ria ls and
a feedback system th a t provides answers on the o th e r.

32

L im ita tio n s o f the Study
This study was lim ite d to co n tract p ro je cts in Michigan,
although inform ation from experiments throughout the United States
w i l l be drawn upon f o r background info rm ation .

Thus the re s u lts o f

th is study w i l l be p rim a rily ap p lic a b le to Michigan.
Although numerous a r t i c l e s about contracting are a v a ila b le ,
l i t t l e background research concerning the impact o f co n tracting has
been reported.
While the study w i l l endeavor to o u t lin e the status o f c o n tra c t­
ing and to d e lin e a te i t s im p lication s f o r educators, i t w i l l be p rim a rily
lim ite d to those areas most f a m i l i a r to p ro je c t p a r tic ip a n ts .
Data were gathered through structured in te rv ie w s .

The method

of gathering data through in te rv ie w has the advantage o f being a
f l e x i b l e and accurate tool in the hands o f a s k i l l f u l in te rv ie w e r.
However the in te rv ie w also increases the p o te n tia l f o r s u b je c t iv it y
32

Alexander F ra ze r, " In d iv id u a liz e d In s tr u c t io n ," Educational
Leadership ( A p r i l , 1968), pp. 616-619.

4

19
and innocent m o d ific a tio n o f f a c t s .

33

The design o f t h is study was

s tru c tu re d to control f o r th is l i m i t a t i o n .
Assumptions o f the Study
This study assumed t h a t c o n tra c tin g had s u b s ta n tia l impacts
upon p a r t i c ip a t i n g schools.

F u rth e r i t was assumed th a t p a r t ic ip a n t s

in each p r o je c t can c l e a r l y i d e n t i f y th e n atu re o f these Impacts.
I t is assumed t h a t data necessary to i d e n t i f y the impacts t h a t
performance c o n tra c tin g has made can be r e t r ie v e d through s tru c tu re d
in te rv ie w s .
Also t h i s study assumed t h a t th e o p e ra tio n a l fe a tu re s common
to performance c o n tra c tin g p ro je c ts have unresearched im p lic a tio n s
f o r p u b lic school educators, f o r teach er p re p a ra tio n , and f o r the
concept o f in d iv id u a liz e d in s t r u c t i o n .
Procedures
Through unstructured in te rv ie w s w ith p r i v a t e c o n tra c tin g firm s
and p u b lic educators, p a rc tic e s and procedures common to c o n tra c t
p ro je c ts were i d e n t i f i e d and used to prepare a primary focused in te rv ie w
instrum ent.

To r e f i n e the q u e s tio n n a ire the primary instrument was

submitted to a j u r y co n sistin g o f a p r i v a t e c o n tra c tin g f i r m , a member
o f th e Michigan Department o f Education, and a u n iv e r s it y re p r e s e n ta tiv e
f a m i l i a r w ith c o n tra c tin g .

F u r th e r, p i l o t in te rv ie w s were conducted

w ith t h is revised instrum ent f o r the purpose o f f u r t h e r improving the
q u e stio n n aire and the i n t e r v ie w e r 's technique.
33

P auline Young, S c i e n t i f i c Social Surveys and Research (Englewood
C l i f f s , N .J .:
P re n tic e HaTT, 1 9 6 6 ),“ ppT 222-223.

20
Structured interview s were conducted w ith p ro je c t managers,
school d ir e c to r s o f p ro je c ts , a d m in is tra to rs , and school teachers th a t
p a rtic ip a te d in p ro je c ts .

A ll schools in the s ta te o f Michigan th a t

were funded f o r the 1971-72 school year were included in the study.
Data from p a r t ic ip a t in g schools were analyzed and compared f o r
e ffe c ts common to co n tracting p ro jects in Michigan.
D e ta ils o f the design o f the focused in te rv ie w instrument and
treatm ent o f data are o u tlin e d in Chapter I I I .

Chapter I I

o f the l i t e r a t u r e and research re la te d to c o n tra c tin g .

is a review

Chapter IV

includes the data and analysis o f re s u lts obtained through focused
in te rv ie w s .

Chapter V includes the im p lic atio n s and re s u lts o f the

study, and recomnendations f o r f u r t h e r research.

4

CHAPTER I I
REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE

The fo llo w in g is a summary o f the h is t o r ic a l development o f
performance c o n tra c tin g and a review o f l i t e r a t u r e which forms a back­
ground f o r t h is research.

To e s ta b lis h a framework f o r t h is study the

fo llo w in g areas and repo rts are summarized:

(a ) the h is to r y o f con­

t r a c t i n g , which also includes the r o le o f the O f fic e o f Economic
O p p o rtu n ity's "Management Support System" in developing c o n tra c tin g ,
and news releases h ig h lig h t in g successes and f a i l u r e s o f c o n tra c tin g ,
(b)

Texarkana's Prevention Drop-out Program, a Case Study by Rand, (c )

Bannaker School Experiment, a Case Study by Rand, (d ) A C o s t-E ffe c tiv e
Analysis o f Selected Reading Programs in the Grand Rapids Schools,
a doctoral th e s is by J. Webster, (e ) O f f ic e o f Economic Opportunity
Report, "An Experiment in Performance C o n tra c tin g ," and ( f ) O ff ic e
o f Economic Opportunity Report, "A Demonstration o f In cen tives 1n
E d u c atio n ."
H is t o r ic a l Development o f
Performance Contracting
Performance co n trac tin g was new to the United S ta te s , but not
so new to England.

From 1863 to 1897, a system known as, "payment by

r e s u lts " was in operatio n in English Schools.

I t ended as a b ru p tly

as i t began, since payment f o r examination scores became a game

21

22
o f mechanical m anipulation in which teachers learned to beat the
system.1
Contracting was i n i t i a t e d in the United States by the United
States O ff ic e o f Education.
in flu e n tia l

Charles Blaschke and Leon Lessinger were

in t h is development.

This happened w h ile they worked

to gether during the time Lessinger was asso ciate commissioner o f the
United States O f f ic e o f Education.

Lessinger*s i n t e r e s t was the p r i n c i ­

ple o f a c c o u n ta b ilit y w h ile Blaschke thought along the same lin e s but
emphasized the idea o f performance c o n tra c tin g .

L a te r Blaschke l e f t

the United States O f f ic e o f Education and became p resident o f “Education
Turnkey Systems," the p r iv a t e f ir m contracted by the O f fic e o f Economic
Opportunity to “n e g o tia te " and “manage" performance co n trac ts between
the O ff ic e o f Economic Opportunity and lo c al education agencies.
S p e c i f i c a l l y , Education Turnkey Systems was contracted by the
O ffic e o f Economic Opportunity to provide management support to the
O ffic e o f Economic Opportunity and p a r t i c ip a t i n g schools in the "Per­
formance In c en tiv es in Education Experiment."

The purpose f o r the

co n tra c t was:
To provide support and assistance
experimental programs; to develop the
s i t e progress re p o rtin g and operating
assistance to the school d i s t r i c t s in
the program.2

(London:

necessary to e s ta b lis h the
system o f monitoring on­
procedures; and to provide
implementing and managing

^ i r Francis Sanford, Reports on Elementary School, 1852-88
MacMillan Company, 1889)".
2Blaschke» p. 12.

i

23
The goal o f the O f f ic e o f Economic Opportunity f o r e s ta b lis h in g
and purchasing support was to demonstrate a high le v e l o f " e f f ic ie n c y "
through b ring ing about close cooperation between the O f f ic e o f Economic
O pportunity, lo c a l educational agencies, and subcontractors.

3

Conse­

quently Education Turnkey System, a p r iv a t e f i r m , became the Federal
government's agent to n e g o tia te and to provide management support f o r
F e d e ra lly funded programs in lo c a l p u b lic school systems.

T h e re fo re ,

fo r a t le a s t th e d u ratio n o f t h is ex p erim en t,th e Federal government
had much v i s i b i l i t y in lo c al decision-making processes o f p a r t i c ip a t i n g
schools.
During the y e a r 1969-70 the United States O f fic e o f Education
funded one performance c o n tra c t p r o je c t , located in Texarkana.

Soon

a f t e r o p e r a tio n a liz in g t h is p ro je c t the United States O f f ic e o f Edu­
ca tio n gave the r e s p o n s ib i li t y f o r development o f a d d itio n a l p ro je c ts
to the O f fic e o f Economic O pportunity.

The 0E0 funded f o r t y p ro je c ts

f o r the y e a r 1970-71, o f which eighteen became the nucleus f o r the
"Performance In cen tives Experiment."

In a d d itio n to p ro je c ts funded

by th e Federal government th ere were many a d d itio n a l p ro je c ts funded
by s ta te and lo c al educational agencies.

Of in t e r e s t als o was the

Washington, D.C. Board o f Education's adoption o f a c o n tra c t p r o je c t
funded by u n iv e r s it ie s and foundations.
In 1972 the B a t t e l l e I n s t i t u t e , a p r iv a t e a u d itin g f i r m , was
contracted by the O ffic e o f Economic Opportunity to a u d it the eighteen
p ro je c ts funded f o r the 1970-71 y e a r .
3 I b i d . , p. 12.

Results from t h is a u d it in d ic a te d

24
no s i g n i f i c a n t Increase in reading and math achievement o f students
in experimental classrooms.

F urther re feren ce is made to the B a t t e l l e

re p o rt in t h is chapter.
As p ro je c ts became o p e r a tio n a liz e d , p o s it iv e and dramatic
p u b li c it y focusing upon the successes and m e rits o f c o n tra c tin g , were
given wide coverage in newspapers and educational jo u r n a ls .

Seth King

in a "Special to the New York Times," reported t h a t a p r iv a t e fir m
operating in th e Gary, In d ia n a , Bannaker Elementary School had
s u b s t a n t ia lly improved the reading and math s k i l l s o f p u p il s . 4

During

the f i r s t y e a r o f t h is p r o je c t a re p o rt issued by the Gary Schools
in d ica te d t h a t n e a rly 73 percent o f th e p u p ils a t the Bannaker E le ­
mentary School reached o r exceeded the n a tio n a l norms in reading or
5

math s k i l l s o r both in the f i r s t y e a r .

C ro ft Educational Services

also reported improvement in reading in the Gary p r o je c t.
James Mecklenburger and John Wilson reported successes f o r
th ree p r iv a t e firm s operatin g in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Combined

M o tiv a tio n Education Systems, Westinghouse Learning C o rp o ratio n, and
ALPHA Learning Corporation tau g h t 1000 elementary and ju n i o r high
p up ils f o r the Grand Rapids Schools.

Mecklenburger and Wilson repo rted

t h a t p a r t i c ip a t i n g students became s e lf -m o tiv a te d , contractors developed
a fe e lin g o f having performed a s e rv ic e beyond the teaching o f reading
4Seth S. King, "Gary, Indiana Pupils Improve in School Run by
P riv a te Company," The New York Times (September 29, 1971).
5Ib id .
^Education Summary, "C ontracting Improves Reading in G ary,"
C r o ft Educational Services (O ctober, 1 9 7 1 ), p. 3.

25
*

and math to c h ild re n , and t h a t the school system developed a philosophy,
" . . .

th a t every c h ild w i l l

lea rn or the schools are to blame."

7

These p o s itiv e reports tended to give a sense o f c r e d i b i l i t y
to the p o te n tia l o f co n trac tin g f o r e ff e c t in g achievement o f disad­
vantaged students.

However, before the O ffic e o f Economic Opportunity

completed i t s 1971-72 performance in c e n tiv e experiment, negative reports
re la te d to the m erits o f c o n trac tin g had begun to appear.

And e a rly

in 1972 the 0E0 reported t h a t co n tracting was a f a i l u r e as a v e h ic le
f o r increasing the reading and math s k i l l s o f students in the e x p e ri­
mental program.
□

The New York Times,

Q

Today’ s Education;

in

The Grand Rapids Press,

and the NEA R e p o rte r^ c a rr ie d reports o f the OEO's announcement th a t
contracting had f a i l e d to s i g n i f i c a n t l y improve the reading and math
achievement o f disadvantaged p u p ils .
The Washington Monitor reported t h a t the O ffic e o f Economic
O pportunity's c o n tra c t experiment had f a i l e d .

However in the same

re p o rt, Edward T r i c e , Superintendent o f the Texarkana Schools, who
developed the f i r s t pioneer co n trac tin g p r o je c t , challenged the O ffic e
7James A. Mecklenburger and John A. Wilson, "The Performance
Contracts in Grand Rapids," Phi D elta Kappan (June, 1971), pp. 590-594.
g
Fred Hechinger, "Contracts: Negative V e rd ic t on a Teaching
Program," The New York Times (February 6, 1972), Sec. 4 , p. 9.
^Today's Education, "Performance Contracts Achieve L i t t l e , "
a study by Rand C orporation, NEA Journal (February, 1972), p. 3.
^®Rober Lewis, "Contract Classrooms, No Gain f o r P u p ils ," The
Grand Rapids Press (February, 1972), pp. 1A-3A.
^ R e p o r te r , "Performance Contract Flunks," National Education
Association (February, 1972 ), p. 1.

26
o f Economic O pportunity's conclusion by observing t h a t the record o f
t h e i r performance co n trac t a n ti-d r o p -o u t program spoke f o r i t s e l f ,
since only e ig h t out o f e ig h t hundred p o te n tia l dropouts l e f t school
during the f i r s t two ye ars.

The normal r a te f o r t h is group was tw enty-

f i v e percent o r two hundred dropouts.

12

The Grand Rapids Press a t the time o f re p o rtin g the f a i l u r e o f
contractors to reach predetermined achievement goals in the Grand
Rapids Schools p ro je c ts , also reported sentiments o f school adminis­
tra to r s who expressed s a tis fa c t io n with c o n tra c tin g e ff e c ts upon
students and school personnel.

In p a r t i c u l a r the Grand Rapids Press

reported ad m in istrators had become more e n th u s ia s tic toward a search
f o r answers to the problems o f achievement, t h a t p a r t ic ip a t in g students
were enthused, and th a t d is c ip lin a r y problems had diminished.

13

As a r e s u l t o f the Michigan Department o f Education's b e l i e f
th a t contracting in Michigan had been successful in co n tras t to several
national negative re p o rts , the Department funded s ix p ro je cts f o r the
1972-73 school y e a r.

John P o rte r, Superintendent o f the Michigan

Department o f Education, in announcing th a t $500,000 in S tate aid had
been set aside f o r f u r t h e r c o n tra c t experim entation, expressed the
b e l i e f t h a t Michigan had become the f i r s t s ta te in the nation to take
th is kind o f a c t i o n . ^
12

"0E0 Flunks Performance C o n trac tin g ," Washington M o n ito r,
National School Public Relations A sso ciatio n, Washington (February 7,
1972), pp. 125-126.
^ L e w ls , 1A.
14

John W. P o rte r , "The Educational Report," State Board o f
Education, Lansing, Vol. V I , No. 30 (A p ril 3 , 1972), p. 60.

27
In the sh o rt time t h a t c o n tra c tin g functioned as an experiment,
much i n t e r e s t in i t s p o te n tia l as a v e h ic le f o r solving some o f M ichigan's
educational problems was generated.

F u rth e r, numerous repo rts in fe r r e d

t h a t th e re were p o s it iv e e f f e c t s o f c o n tra c tin g a f f e c t i n g the a t t it u d e s
o f school personnel and students.

Therefore the challenge was to

i d e n t i f y these p o s itiv e e f f e c t s and r e l a t e them to the needs o f edu­
cation in Michigan.
Texarkana's Dropout Prevention Program
Texarkana is w ell known f o r having developed the f i r s t major
performance c o n tra c t in the United S ta te s .

A tim e ly combination of

local school problems, i n i t i a t i v e by p ro fe s s io n a ls anxious to develop
c o n tra c tin g , and Federal ap p ro p ria tio n s f o r funding co n tracts culminated
in the development o f a f i v e year dropout prevention program in the
L ib e r ty -E y la u , Texas, and Texarkana, Arkansas, school d i s t r i c t s .

Since

the Texarkana, Arkansas, d i s t r i c t was designated as the le g a l agent f o r
the program, the p r o je c t has been commonly r e fe r r e d to as the Texarkana
c o n tra c tin g experiment.
Faced w ith a community problem o f a s ix percent unemployment
r a te and an increase in the school dropouts, the school community
through t h e i r Model C i t i e s Agency began searching f o r means to reform
education in the hopes t h a t in so doing these problems would be
a lle v ia te d .
In te g r a tio n on th e Texas side o f the border had been accompanied
by an increase in school dropouts.

The cause f o r t h is was a t t r ib u t e d

to the wide d is p a r i t y between educational achievement o f blacks and

28
whites in Texarkana.

I t was a t t h is ju n c tu re t h a t Texarkana school

o f f i c i a l s decided to make a special e f f o r t to prevent in t e g r a t io n from
leading to severe academic d i f f i c u l t i e s and widespread dropouts.

15

Dr. Joel H a rt, associated w ith the U n iv e rs ity o f Arkansas, was
a s s is tin g the Texarkana Model C it ie s Agency a t t h is time when the
agency was looking f o r ways o f improving lo c a l educational o p p o r tu n itie s .
Having p rev io u sly worked w ith Charles Blaschke, Presid en t o f Education
Turnkey Systems, to s e t up a performance c o n tra c t f o r young a d u lts ,
Hart contacted Blaschke and urged him to take advantage o f what appeared
to be an id e a l time and place f o r designing a performance c o n tra c t in
Texarkana.

Blaschke proceeded to take the i n i t i a t i v e to a s s is t the

Texarkana schools in designing a c o n tra c t between the United States
O ffic e o f Education and the Texarkana schools.

As a r e s u l t the O ffic e

o f Education awarded Texarkana w ith a f i v e y e ar dropout prevention
p ro g ra m .^
D o rsett Education Systems o f Norman, Oklahoma was the successful
bidder f o r the subcontract f o r the 1969-70 program.
f i r s t y e a r the program involved 351 students:
students.

During D o rs e tt's

219 male and 143 female

The r a c ia l d iv is io n was 203 w h ite and 148 black students.

Six j u n i o r and senior high schools were involved .

The students were

in grades seven through twelve and most spent two hours in the le a rn in g
ce n ter:

one hour f o r reading and one hour f o r mathematics.
16

The

P. C arpenter, A. W. C h a lfa n t, and G. R. H a l l , "Case Studies
in Educational Performance C o n trac tin g , Texarkana, Arkansas, L ib e r t y Eylau, Texas" (Sant Monica: The Rand C orporation, 19 71 ), p. 6.
16I b i d . , pp. 8 - 9 .

29
in itia l

group was composed o f near equal numbers o f v o lu n te e rs , students

selected by counselors, and students randomly s e le c te d .

The t a r g e t

population was p o te n tia l d r o p o u ts J 7
D o rsett Educational Systems proposed t o :

(a ) re p la ce con­

ventional textbooks and m a te ria ls w ith m a te r ia ls designed around audio
visual equipment, (b ) use in d iv id u a liz e d programmed m a te ria ls and
contingency management, and (c ) to change the "image" o f the teach er
and classroom.

To change th is "image," classrooms were carp ete d , a i r

co n dition ed , and furnished w ith o f f i c e - l i k e desks in place o f school
desks.

Teacher education graduates who had not acquired teaching po?*'

s itio n s were selected to teach in the p r o je c t .

To change the "image"

o f the teachers they were given new t i t l e s and red b la ze rs to wear.
To complete the s t a f f i n g , p a ra -p ro fe s s io n a ls were r e c r u ite d from members
o f a lo c a l f o o t b a ll team.

18

For behavior m o d ific a tio n D o rs ett provided green stamps,
ra d io s , t e le v is io n sets and a reinforcem ent ce n te r f o r rewarding s tu ­
dents.

D o rs ett reported t h a t th e e x t r i n s i c rewards did capture the

students' i n t e r e s t in the beginning stages o f the program, but f e l t
t h a t the a ttr a c tiv e n e s s o f the in s t r u c t io n a l program to students
replaced the need f o r e x t r i n s i c rewards.
R e s u lts .

19

" A fte r a thorough and so p h is tic a te d a n a ly s is , the

f i n a l re p o rt concludes t h a t D o rs ett had exposed so many t e s t questions
17j_ b id ., pp. 13-14.
18 I b i d . , p. 14.
19I b i d . , p. 15.

30
th a t no s t a t i s t i c a l l y v a lid achievement gains could be determined."

20

This action o f "teaching to the te s t" resu lted in legal action by
Dorsett to claim $30,000 w ithheld by the Texarkana Board o f Education.
I t was not u n t il March 1973, th a t t h is complex issue was resolved by
the court in fav o r o f Dorsett Learning Systems.

The co u rt held th a t

there were no provisions in the contract p ro h ib itin g teaching to the
tes t.

There were in f a c t no provisions in the 1969-70 c o n trac t d is ­

cussing evaluation and a u d itin g .

This l a t t e r p o in t is su rp ris in g when

considering the emphasis placed upon evaluation and au d itin g in a
performance c o n trac t.
There was however one dramatic accomplishment and t h a t was a
decrease in the dropout r a t e , the u ltim a te goal o f the program:
For 181 students meeting the en try c r i t e r i a , the dropout ra te
was only 1.7 percent, w hile f o r 170 students not meeting the
c r i t e r i a , the r a te was 12.4 percent. Hence, the co n trac t program
was p a r t i c u l a r ly e f f e c t i v e f o r those students th a t met the program
c r i t e r i a , i . e . the population f o r which i t was designed.21
D orsett was replaced as the subcontractor fo r the 1970-71 y e a r.
Nonetheless Texarkana's program has continued to d a te , having become
one o f the few contract projects "turnkeyed."
The Texarkana p ro je c t highligh ted (a ) complexities o f t e s t in g ,
(b) the problem o f how to s e t t l e payments f o r services when the con­
d itio n s assumed in the contract do not apply, (c ) the need f o r c le a r e r
ro le d e f in it io n s o f a l l

p a r tic ip a n ts , and (d) the importance o f planning

a program f o r more than one or two years to improve the chances o f
reaching the objectives o f the program.
2QI b i d . , p. 23.
21 I b i d . , p. 27.

31
H i s t o r i c a l l y , the Texarkana p ro je c t holds a prominent place
since i t pioneered the performance co n trac tin g concept.

I t s tirre d

substantial in t e r e s t in and much controversy about c o n tra c tin g .

It

was the s i t e o f the f i r s t ‘'scandal" over "teaching to the t e s t , " and
the f i r s t dispute between a local educational agency and learn in g system
contractor over f in a l payment.

As a r e s u lt o f these experiences the

p ro je ct served as a model f o r other co n tracting programs.

Of importance

also was the goal to "turnkey" the contractor-developed systems in to
the re g u la r school programs.

F in a lly the Texarkana p ro je c t was suc­

cessful in i t s e f f o r t to decrease the dropout r a t e .
Banneker School, Gary, Indiana
In September 1970, Behavioral Research Laboratories o f C a lif o r n ia
assumed a u th o r ity fo r operating the Banneker Elementary School located
in Gary, Indiana on a performance basis.

The performance co n tract was

scheduled to continue f o r four years wfth the hope th a t during the
fourth y e ar o f operation the program would be tra n s fe rre d to the Gary
schools f o r continuance.

Behavioral Research Laboratories was given

complete a u th o r ity to employ teachers, to e s ta b lis h i t s system of
in s tr u c tio n , and to provide whatever in s tru c tio n a l m a teria ls needed.
At the end o f three years BRL was to have refunded p er-pupil costs,
calcu lated a t the same le v e l as those in the other elementary schools,
f o r any c h ild who f a i l e d to reach o r exceed the n ational g rad e-level
norm on a standardized t e s t in reading and mathematics.
To o p e ra tio n a liz e the in s tru c tio n a l program pupils were te s te d ,
then grouped by s k i l l l e v e l .

Programmed m a te ria ls were emphasized

and e f f o r t s were made to in d iv id u a liz e in s tr u c tio n .

32
At the end o f one y e a r BRL reported t h a t n e a rly s e v e n ty -th re e
percent o f the p u p ils reached o r exceeded n a tio n a l norms in one o r both
o f the s k i l l s .

22

This dram atic announcement was much p u b lic iz e d and

received e n t h u s ia s t i c a l ly by th e supporters o f c o n tr a c tin g .
The Rand Corporation in i t s 1971 case study o f Banneker School
i d e n t i f i e d some p o te n t ia l problem areas which u l t i m a t e l y had an e f f e c t
upon the nature and continuance o f the p r o je c t .
have g e n e r a lly b e n e f ic ia l e f f e c t i v e impacts.

The program seemed to

However, BRL's d e s ire

fo r a more humanistic approach, w ith a g r e a te r stre s s on s e l f - d i s c i p l i n e ,
was not received k in d ly by the Gary community since they had a d i s l i k e
o f "permissiveness" and s tro n g ly d esired s t r i c t d i s c i p l i n e in the
schools.
The program generated f r i c t i o n w ith in the f a c u l t y a t Banneker,
w ith in th e ranks o f Gary te a c h e rs , between School C i t y , and the S ta te
Department o f Education.

Also a major issue was the e x te n t to which

reading and mathematics s k i l 1-improvement would be c o r r e la te d w ith o r
c o n f l i c t w it h , improvement in o th e r educational areas.

23

The Banneker performance based c o n tra c t continued f o r two and
a h a l f years before a December 31, 1972 mutual consent t e r m in a tio n ,
based upon voided guarantee aspects o f the c o n tr a c t.

S p e c ific a lly

these aspects were a teach er s t r i k e the previous y e a r and a low student
e n ro llm e n t, w ell under the 700 student guarantee.
22

Education Summary, C r o ft Educational S e rv ic e s , I n c . , New
London, Connecticut (O ctober, 1 9 7 1 ), p. 3.
23G. R. H a ll and M. L. Rapp, "Case Studies in Educational
Performance C o n tra c tin g , Gary, Indiana" (Santa Monica: The Rand
C orporation, 1 9 7 1 ), p. 92.

33
S t a f f members o f Banneker School spoke fa v o ra b ly o f the e x p e ri­
ment's accomplishments by observing t h a t ( a ) most s t a f f f e l t t h a t the
in d iv id u a liz e d in s t r u c t io n a l program was e d u c a tio n a lly sound, (b ) i n d i ­
v id u a liz e d in s t r u c t io n was more c o s t - e f f e c t i v e than the conventional
approach to ed u catio n, (c ) school people and company personnel did not
always have the same m o tiv a tio n o r p r i o r i t i e s , and (d) the program was
in n o v ativ e and brought about change t h a t was o fte n th re a te n in g .

It

should be noted t h a t c o s t-e ffe c tiv e n e s s was not achieved in the Gary
p r o je c t , since the experimental program cost more per pupil than the
conventional classroom approach.

24

The Gary p r o je c t was unusual in t h a t i t gave to a p r iv a t e firm
s u b s ta n tia l a u t h o r it y f o r operatin g a p u b lic school.

Student permissive

ness and f r i c t i o n w ith teachers l i k e l y co n trib u ted much toward ending
BRL's involvement in the Banneker School.
Schools "turnkeyed" the program.

During the 1973-74 y e a r Gary

Turnkeying along w ith continuous

e v a lu a tio n and upgrading appear to have re s u lte d in improved in s tr u c tio n
f o r p u p ils through in d iv id u a liz e d in s t r u c t io n a l approaches and d i f f e r ­
e n tia te d s t a f f i n g .
A C o s t - E ff e c tiv e Analysis o f Selected Reading Programs
in the Grand Rapids Public Schools
The purpose o f t h is study was to determine a c o s t-e ffe c tiv e n e s s
r e la t io n s h ip between in s t r u c t io n a l cost and pupil achievement gains in
s ix reading programs in the Grand Rapids Public Schools.

To compare

in s t r u c t io n a l costs the reading programs o f th ree p r iv a t e companies
24I b i d . . p. 31.

34
operating performance contracts in the Grand Rapids schools were compared
w ith " t r a d itio n a l remedial reading" a re g u la r (c o n tr o l) school program.
Cost categories i d e n t i f i e d were (a ) s t a f f s a l a r ie s , (b) added f a c i l i t y
costs, (c ) s t a f f t r a in in g costs, (d) student and teacher in c en tiv e
costs, and (e ) costs f o r m a te ria ls and supplies.
Since grade le v e ls were exposed to d i f f e r e n t program treatm ents,
three lev els o f reading in s tru c tio n were i d e n t i f i e d w ith in the design.
These le v e ls were grades two and th re e , seventh grade, and eighth and
ninth grades.

Following are the major re s u lts fo r the three le v e ls .

Grades Two and Three
A ll reading programs studied re su lted in less than one year
reading achievement gain.
There were no s i g n i f i c a n t d iffe re n c e s in grade gain achievement
among the programs w ith in the two studied grade le v e ls .
C o s t-e ffe c tiv e an alysis leads one to conclude th a t t r a d it io n a l
remedial reading programs are the most c o s tly .
The Westinghouse program is indicated to be the le a s t expensive
per one-tenth ( . 1 ) grade gain.
Westinghouse, P ro jec t Read, and the control program are the
most c o s t - e f f e c t iv e , producing the g re a te s t gains f o r less cost.
A ll three are w ith in a $4.00 cost per one-tenth ( . 1 ) grade gain.
However, the control group was over 20 percent more expensive than
Westinghouse. P ro ject Read was over 38 percent more expensive.
The o v e ra ll mean gain fo r t r a d i t i o n a l remedial reading was
the highest but the cost was considerably higher than the other
four programs, almost f i v e times as much as the lowest cost
program.25

Middle School, Grade Seven
The t r a d it io n a l remedial reading program had the highest cost
per one-tenth ( . 1 ) achievement gain (almost twelve times the
control group c o s t).
Joan Marie Webster, "A C o s t-E ffe c tiv e Analysis o f Selected
Reading Programs in the Grand Rapids Public Schools" (unpublished
Ph.D. d is s e r ta tio n , Michigan S tate U n iv e rs ity , 1972), D is s e rta tio n
Abstract.

35
The Combined M o tiv a tio n and Educational Systems and ALPHA I I
programs were the most c o s t - e f f e c t i v e , i . e . , they provided the
most le a rn in g f o r th e d o l l a r .
The co n tro l group performed h a l f as w ell as the performance
c o n tra c tin g programs.2°
Middle School, Grades Eight and Nine
There was a s i g n i f i c a n t d iff e r e n c e between the c o n tro l group
and both performance c o n tra c tin g programs; ALPHA I I and CMES.
The control group was the most expensive group per o ne-ten th
( . 1 ) grade gain w ith the ALPHA I I program being only s l i g h t l y
over 41 percent the cost o f the co n tro l group and the CMES program
cost being 68 percent o f the control group.
Student achievement gains in ALPHA I I and CMES were s l i g h t l y
above one (1 ) grade l e v e l , whereas th e control group o nly gained
approxim ately one-ten th as much.27
On the basis o f Webster's fin d in g s t r a d i t i o n a l remedial reading
programs were le a s t e f f i c i e n t f o r producing reading achievement g a in .
Also i t appears some p r iv a t e firm s in Grand Rapids did produce grade
gains in reading a t a more e f f i c i e n t r a t e than the co n tro l group.

The

gains do not appear to be s u b s t a n t ia l, nevertheless recognizing th a t
much o f educational technology is undeveloped, the gains made may
encourage f u r t h e r s o p h is tic a tio n o f programmed i n s t r u c t io n .
Webster also presented several

im p lic a tio n s r e f le c t e d from the

study t h a t harmonize w ith the o b je c tiv e s o f t h is study.

They a re:

The apparent im p lic a tio n s created by the in te rg ro u p in g o f
students in le a rn in g s itu a tio n s may have some s o c io lo g ic a l impact.
In the performance c o n tra c tin g programs, th e re appeared to be
an e f f e c t i v e so cial r e la t io n s h ip e s ta b lis h e d among students f o r
s e l f - h e l p and a help-one-another a t t i t u d e , i . e . , one student
t u to r in g another which could have a f u r t h e r p o s itiv e e f f e c t on
b e t t e r achievement.
Students who could ev alu ate t h e i r progress in the more
s tru c tu re d and in d iv id u a liz e d programs appeared to have an im­
proved a t t i t u d e towards themselves, t h e i r peers and the school.
26I b i d . , p. 152.
27I b i d . , p. 152.

i

36
Student attendance in school did improve in the performance
co n tra c t and programmed in s t r u c t io n programs which may have been
a r e s u l t o f (a ) b e t t e r student s e lf-im a g e , due to the s tu d e n t's
perception o f his success, (b ) the c o n tra c t o b lig a tio n o f the
c o n tra c to r and s t a f f which requ ired a minimum number o f days, and
(c ) o r a g r e a te r s e n s i t i v i t y o f the school system f o r keeping more
accurate records.
The r o le o f th e b u ild in g p rin c ip a l may need to be re d e fin e d .
The p r i n c i p a l , in order to f u l f i l l the requirements o f a two-way
s t r e e t o f a c c o u n ta b ility must have the autonomy to make decisions
in implementing le a rn in g programs which should include d ay-to -d ay
changes in program design as well as adequate lo c al l a t i t u d e in
f in a n c ia l decisions a f f e c t in g the immediate implementation o f
program changes.28
Although these are areas o f im plied s p e c u la tio n , the points
raised are very close to the teaching and le a rn in g environment and
th e re fo re j u s t i f y f u r t h e r a n a ly s is .
A breakthrough was made in producing reading gains e f f i c i e n t l y
through performance c o n trac tin g in the Grand Rapids schools.

But p er­

haps the g re a te r and more immediate gains were best r e f le c t e d in the
areas o f (a ) students a s s is tin g students, { b) improved student a t t it u d e s
toward school, (c ) improved pupil attendance, and (d) the need f o r
changing the r o le o f b u ild in g p r in c ip a ls .

E f f ic ie n c y , improved student

a t t i t u d e s , b u ild in g management, and school c lim a te are prime responsi­
b i l i t i e s o f each school-community.

The c o n trib u tio n being made by

co n trac tin g in these areas is pursued in t h is study.
An Experiment in Performance Contracting
In 1970 the O f f ic e o f Economic Opportunity selected 18 school
d i s t r i c t s in which to conduct an " o n -s ite " experiment in performance
c o n tra c tin g .

Six p r iv a t e firm s were selected on the basis o f experience,

28 I b i d . , pp. 162-164.

37
I n t e r e s t , th e types o f achievement they thought they could guarantee,
the d i v e r s i t y o f in s t r u c t io n a l approach they represented, and s t a f f
q u a li f i c a t io n s .

Each f ir m was assigned th re e r e l a t i v e l y d is s i m i l a r

s i t e s , and were given the fo llo w in g assignment:
The companies were to teach disadvantaged students in grades
one, two, th r e e , seven, e i g h t , arid n in e ; both reading and math
f o r two hours a day in the experimental schools. The performance
o f these experimental students in these subjects was to be
compared w ith t h a t o f s i m i l a r students in the control classrooms.
To prevent the c o n trac to rs from "teaching to th e t e s t , " which
as i t turned out was what ap p aren tly had happened in Texarkana,
experimental students were given separate te s ts f o r e v a lu a tio n
and payment purposes, w ith the e v a lu a tio n t e s t s , administered
f i r s t to prevent p r a c tic e e f f e c t s . 29
To c l a r i f y what the o b je c tiv e s o f the program w ere, the 0E0
emphasized the importance o f what was being tested in the experiment
which were:
The c a p a b i l i t i e s o f a re p re s e n ta tiv e group o f p r iv a t e edu­
ca tio n firm s using e x is tin g in s tr u c tio n a l m a te ria ls and tech ­
nologies and working under a s p e c if ic kind o f performance-based
c o n tra c t.
A concept t h a t proponents hoped would be more e f f e c t i v e than
t r a d i t i o n a l classroom methods in improving the reading and math
s k i l l s o f poor, under-achieving c h i l d r e n . 30
The outcome o f the experiment was reported as fo llo w s :
The r e s u lts o f the experiment c l e a r l y in d ic a te the firms
operating under performance co n tracts did not perform s ig ­
n i f i c a n t l y b e t t e r than the more t r a d i t i o n a l school systems.
Indeed, both control and experimental students did e q u a lly
poorly in terms o f achievement g ain s , and t h is r e s u l t was
remarkably c o n s is te n t across s ite s and among c h ild re n w ith
d i f f e r e n t degrees o f i n i t i a l c a p a b i l i t y . ^
pq

O f f ic e o f Economic O pportunity, "An Experiment In Performance
C o n tra c tin g ," 0E0, O f f ic e o f Planning, Research and Evaluation (June,
1972), p. 6.
30I b i d . , p. 6.
31 I b i d . , p. 3.

*

38
The OEO re p o rt went on to say, "Surely the c le a r e s t conclusion
drawn from the experiment is t h a t we s t i l l

have no s o lu tio n s to the

s p e c ific problem o f teaching disadvantaged youngsters basic math and
reading s k i l l s .

Thus w h ile we judge t h is experiment to be a success

in terms o f the info rm ation i t can o f f e r about the c a p a b i l i t i e s o f
performance c o n tra c to rs , i t is c l e a r l y another f a i l u r e in our search
fo r means o f helping poor and disadvantaged youngsters to develop s k i l l s
they need to l i f t themselves out o f p o v e rty ."

32

The OEO also reported t h a t experimental programs tended to be
equal to o r more c o s tly than co n tro l classrooms.
The OEO re p o rt is re p le te w ith i l l u s t r a t i o n s emphasizing t h e i r
conclusion t h a t the experiment was a f a i l u r e .

However those fa v o rin g

c o n tra c tin g re je c te d the OEO's contention t h a t c o n tra c tin g did so p o o rly .
School p r o je c t d ir e c to r s and co n trac to rs drew a t t e n t io n
p a r t i c u l a r l y to a lack o f planning time f o r p r e - t e s t in g and adequate
t r a in i n g o f t e s t e r s , which in some cases delayed assignment o f p u p ils
as l a t e as January o f 1971.

Also in question was the e x te n t to which

te s ts used harmonized w ith the su b ject m a tter and o b je c tiv e s o f the
reading and math programs used by p r iv a t e fir m s .

Outside o f the

negative r e f le c t io n s c a st by short-comings in e v a lu a tio n procedures,
d ire c to rs and co n tracto rs drew a t t e n t io n to numerous instances in which
students reacted p o s it i v e l y who had not responded in re g u la r programs.
B a t t e l ! e , a f t e r performing several analyses o f t h e i r data drew
the fo llo w in g conclusion:
32 I b i d . , p. 5.

39
There 1s very l i t t l e evidence th a t performance in c e n tiv e con­
t r a c t i n g , as implemented by the technology companies a t the eighteen
school d i s t r i c t s in t h is study f o r a period o f one y e a r , had a
b e n e fic ia l e f f e c t on the reading and mathematics achievement o f
students p a r t ic ip a t in g in the experiment, as measured by a
standardized achievement t e s t , 33
Gary Saretsky fe e ls th is statement is ambiguous and c l a r i f i e s
his viewpoint by s ta tin g :
F i r s t o f a l l , i t is not c le a r what the phrase "There is l i t t l e
evidence . . . " means.
I t might in d ic a te th a t th e re is not s u f­
f i c i e n t evidence (in fo rm a tio n ) to come to any conclusion. Or i t
might mean t h a t th e re is s u f f i c i e n t evidence (in fo rm a tio n ) to
f o r t h r i g h t l y say th a t performance co n trac tin g is not an e f f e c t i v e ,
v i a b l e , inn ovative technique.
I f the evidence (in fo rm a tio n ) was
i n s u f f i c i e n t than the fo llo w in g a l t e r n a t i v e statement could have
been made: "There is very l i t t l e evidence t h a t e i t h e r performance
in c e n tiv e c o n tra c tin g or t r a d i t i o n a l in s tr u c tio n had a g re a te r o r
le s s e r b e n e fic ia l e f f e c t . "
I f th e re was s u f f i c i e n t evidence and
i f the ev alu atio n was to a id and abet decision making, B a t t e l l e ' s
extensive q u a lify in g statements do not enable a decisio n maker
to reach conclusions as to the e f f i c i e n c y o f performance in c e n tiv e
c o n tra c tin g .
In co n tra s t to B a t t e l l e 's conclusion, i f one were to consider
the gains students in both control and experimental groups made,
th ere is ". . . evidence t h a t performance in c e n tiv e c o n tra c tin g
. . . had a b e n e fic ia l e f f e c t on the reading and mathematics
achievement." In o th e r words, mere in c lu s io n in the experiment
had a b e n e fic ia l e f f e c t f o r many, i f not the m a jo r it y , o f par­
t i c i p a t i n g s tu d e n ts .34
Saretsky hoped t h a t the controversy over the conclusions reached
by the OEO would not doom t h is attempt a t educational innovation to
f a i l u r e and deprive us o f the g reat mass o f valuable info rm ation gathered
by B a t t e l ! e .
33

B a t t e l l e , "Final Report on the O ffic e o f Economic O pportunity
Experiment in Educational Performance Contracting" (Columbus: B a t t e l l e
Columbus L ab o rato ries , 1972), p. 142.
34Gary Saretsky, "The OEO P. C. Experiment and the John Henry
E f f e c t ," Phi D elta Kappan (May, 1972 ), p. 581.

i

40
Mecklenburger and Goldenbaum a ls o f e l t t h a t the conclusion
reached by th e OEO was not c l e a r .

As they observed, " I f the e x p e r i­

ment f a i l e d , a good p a rt o f the reason is because OEO f a i l e d the
experiment by ac tin g h a s t i l y , by expecting a panacea, by adopting a
shaky experimental design, by c a r e le s s ly an a ly zin g d a ta , and by only
p a r t i a l l y re le a s in g p e r t in e n t in fo rm a tio n ."

35

The OEO tagged the performance in c e n tiv e experiment a f a i l u r e ,
but a t the same time a n a ly s is o f the OEO's data by researchers revealed
flaws in the experim ental design and,as a r e s u lt , f a u l t y conclusions
th a t tended to negate numerous p o s it iv e e f f e c t s o f c o n tra c tin g .
A Demonstration o f In c e n tiv e s
in Education
B e lie v in g t h a t the most c r u c ia l aspect o f performance c o n tra c tin g
might be the in c e n tiv e s to teachers and students r a t h e r than a p a r t i c u l a r
in s tr u c tio n a l technique or use o f a u d io -v is u a l a id s , the OEO o p e ra tio n ­
a liz e d two s it e s t h a t would not in v o lv e p r iv a t e companies. . This was
achieved by school d i s t r i c t s c o n tra c tin g w ith t h e i r lo c a l teach ers'
as so c ia tio n to provide in s tr u c t io n using the r e g u la r school curriculum .
Mesa, A rizo n a, and Stockton, C a l i f o r n i a , were selected as s i t e s .
Contract s p e c ific a tio n s in these p ro je c ts provided f o r payment o f
bonuses to teachers beyond t h e i r re g u la r s a l a r i e s , based upon the
performance o f t h e i r students.
35

36

Donald M. Goldenbaum and dames Mecklenburger, "How OEO F a ile d
Performance C o n tra c tin g ," Nations Schools, Vol. 8 9 , No. 4 ( A p r i l , 1 9 7 2 ),
p. 3.
36B a t t e l l e , p. 1.

41
The OEO's purpose f o r the “ Incen tives Only" p ro je c ts was to
determine whether o r not the in tro d u c tio n o f in c en tiv es alone in to an
e x is tin g school curriculum would increase achievement in reading and
math.

About 600 p up ils were involved in th is experiment.

The schools

in these p ro je c ts c a r r ie d on the re g u la r program w ith the added fe a tu r e
o f “m a te ria l I n c e n t iv e s . 1,37
P ro je c t goals f o r the Mesa and Stockton teacher asso ciatio ns
were s im ila r as fo llo w s :

(a ) to generate in students the d e s ire to

learn f o r the sake o f le a r n in g , thus knowledge becomes the In c e n t iv e ,
(b) to involve the teachers as so c ia tio n in educational processes and
decision-making which d i r e c t l y a f f e c t s th e education o f c h ild r e n , and
(c ) to p a r t i c ip a t e in research to determine i f the use o f student and
teacher in cen tives can a c c e le ra te achievement in reading and math f o r
disadvantaged students.

38

In p a r t i c u l a r the teach ers' a s so c ia tio n had some re s e rv a tio n s as
to the soundness o f using in c e n tiv e s .

Therefore one o f t h e i r major

o b je c tiv e s was the goal to move away from using in cen tives as soon as
students achieved the d e s ire to le a rn which would, 1n e f f e c t , be the
in c e n tiv e .
The OEO experimental s p e c ific a tio n s c a lle d fo r grouping c h ild re n
p a r t i c ip a t i n g in the experiment in special classrooms.

Mesa, because

o f boundary changes r e s u ltin g in an equal balance o f m in o rity groups in
each school and b e l i e f in heterogeneous grouping, refused to group
students as requ ired by the OEO.
37 I b i d . , p. 6.
38 I b i d . , p. 6.

As a r e s u lt the students were in

42
various classrooms o f fo u r schools and not grouped to g e th e r.

3Q

This is

noteworthy since in some p ro je c ts parents looked upon grouping p ra c tic e s
as another form o f segregation.

Also the OEO's grouping p ra c tic e s were

often in c o n f l i c t w ith o th e r Federal agencies pressing f o r an end to
a b i l i t y grouping.
Stockton grouped p up ils to meet the OEO's s p e c if ic a t io n s .

Since

both p ro je cts grouped p u p ils in d i f f e r e n t ways and both used in cen tives
to m otivate students, i t

is e s p e c ia lly im portant to observe t h a t i n ­

centives did not have a s i g n i f i c a n t e f f e c t upon improving achievement
regardless o f how p up ils were grouped.

B a t t e l l e reported t h a t in both

the Mesa and Stockton p ro je c ts r e s u lts were
in terms o f absolute gains.

. . e q u a lly disap po intin g

O v e r a ll, th ere is l i t t l e

o r no evidence

a t Stockton and Mesa t h a t the "In c en tiv es Only" programs were b e n e fic ia l
to the students in reading and mathematics achievement, as measured by
a standardized t e s t . "

40

The a d d itio n o f in c en tiv es in to the classroom

ro u tin e did not have any e f f e c t on stu d en ts' achievement in math and
reading in Mesa and Stockton according to the B a t t e l l e re p o r t.
Through a q u e stio n n aire mailed to each p a r t i c ip a t i n g teacher
in the Mesa p ro je c t most elementary teachers responding f e l t th a t
in cen tives were e f f e c t i v e fo r m otivatin g disadvantaged stu d en ts, whereas
the ju n i o r high teachers responding, r e f le c t e d a general negative a t t i tude toward the in c en tiv es system.
39 I b i d . , p. 9.
40 I b i d . , p. 150.
41 I b i d . . pp. 13-15.

41

43
In the Stockton p r o je c t 8 7 .5 percent o f the p a r t i c ip a t i n g teachers
expressed an i n t e r e s t to p a r t i c ip a t e in another p r o je c t.

42

Educational Turnkey System, the Management Support Group f o r
both s it e s was considered to be a nuisance f a c t o r by both teacher groups.
The main complaint was the voluminous repo rts required by t h is group
which had l i t t l e

value to aspects o f the "In c e n tiv e s Only" p ro je c ts .

43

I f the OEO's re p o rt on th e "In c e n tiv e s Only" p ro je c ts are
c r e d ib le , th e re would be l i t t l e

basis f o r a n t ic ip a t in g a p o s it iv e e f f e c t

upon achievement in reading and math o f disadvantaged students through
the use o f in c e n tiv e s .

However i t should be noted th a t a high percentage

o f p a r t i c ip a t i n g teachers in these two p ro je c ts looked fa v o ra b ly upon
in cen tives as a technique f o r m o tiv a tin g disadvantaged students.

This

appears to be o f p a r t i c u l a r s ig n ific a n c e , since the Mesa and Stockton
teachers' asso ciatio ns were r e lu c t a n t to en te r in to a c o n tra c t in v o lv in g
the use o f in c e n tiv e s .
Summary
The performance in c e n tiv e education experiment gave to p r iv a t e
e n te rp ris e decision-making a u t h o r it y f o r classroom in s t r u c tio n .

This

was not w ith o u t precedent, since schools had p rev io u sly contracted w ith
p r iv a t e agencies f o r cosmetology and o th e r vocational areas through
legal and f in a n c ia l support o f government.

For p r iv a t e firm s to be

given a u t h o r it y f o r choosing m a t e r ia ls , designing the c u rricu lu m , and
employing s t a f f w ith in the s h e lt e r o f the school, were q u ite d i f f e r e n t
42 I b i d . , pp. 15-16.
43 I b i d . , p. 17.

matters w ith possible f a r reaching im p lic a tio n s .

Testing in d iv id u a liz e d

prescribed in s tr u c tio n and o th e r technology on such a broad scale was
exemplary.

Teacher* company, and student in c e n tiv e s f o r r e s u lts

achieved reopened issues o f d i f f e r i n g and c o n f li c t i n g m o tiv a tio n a l
philosophies.

And the issue o f m e rit pay f o r teachers again became

a questionable m a tte r.
A c c o u n ta b ility f o r achievement r e s u lts was hampered by the
lim it a t io n s o f p r iv a t e firm s to "d e fin e in measurable terms" what i t
was t h a t they wished to "measure" and t h is to harmonize w ith the
theory o f performance in c en tiv es must be d e fin a b le .

I t appeared q u it e

reasonable to assume t h a t e x is t in g standardized t e s t in g programs would
be ap p ro p ria te f o r measuring achievement in a performance c o n tra c t
s it u a t i o n .

These te s ts were designed f o r the purpose o f showing norms

o f achievement.

They were not however designed f o r the purpose o f

measuring growth ra te s o f students w ith d i a l e c t and o th e r language
patterns d i f f e r i n g from the norm.
That every c h ild w i l l

le a rn and th e re fo r e must be e f f e c t i v e l y

taught were points t h a t have been a p p ro p r ia te ly placed b efo re those
responsible f o r education.
Decision-making a u t h o r it y , r e s u lt in g in management f l e x i b i l i t y ,
was looked upon as the key to success.

Given the a u t h o r it y f o r d e c is io n ­

making, p o te n tia l f o r e f f e c t i v e f l e x i b i l i t y did e x i s t .

Performance

in c e n tiv e co n tracts endeavored to produce " e ff ic ie n c y " w ith t h is f l e x i ­
b i l i t y , w ith o u t the encumbrances o f bureaucracy.

Nevertheless in t h is

experiment in te rn a l management l im it a t io n s were replaced w ith i n f l e x i b l e
external c o n tro ls .

45
The Federal governr.ient's a c tio n to design programs w ith the
exclusion o f teacher p a r t i c i p a t i o n in decision-making ra is e d questions
concerning i t s in te n t io n s .

I t r a is e d , to o , the question o f who was in

the c lo s e s t p ro xim ity and best p o s itio n to solve classroom problems.
A u t h o r itie s in change processes recognize the general problems connected
w ith advocating change by those who are located too d is t a n t from the
a c tio n .
Grouping c h ild re n was in c o n f l i c t w ith Federal government
desegregation tre n d s .

In the Hobson versus Hansen and School Board o f

D i s t r i c t o f Columbia c o u rt case, Judge W right ru le d t h a t a l l

forms o f

a b i l i t y grouping were u n c o n s t it u t io n a l, and t h a t such p ra c tic e s were
another form o f se g reg a tio n .^^

This may have i l l u s t r a t e d lac k o f

communication between government agencies or in t e r p r e te d as the
beginning o f a re g res sive tre n d toward se g reg a tio n .
The OEO invested seven m i l l i o n d o lla r s in t o performance con­
tra c tin g .

A f t e r two years o f experim entation few r e l i a b l e and gener­

al iz a b le conclusions about th e e f f e c t s o f c o n tra c tin g were a v a i l a b l e .
Nevertheless the experiment did produce s u b s ta n tia l in fo rm atio n about
the problems and p i t f a l l s o f implementing la rg e s c a le , rig o ro u s , i n ­
fo rm a tiv e experiments.
Texarkana, Gary, and Grand Rapids school o f f i c i a l s , in an
attem pt to b lu n t the OEO repo rts o f the experim ent's apparent f a i l u r e ,
put f o r t h e f f o r t s to convince o th e r educators t h a t c o n tra c tin g had
^ J . S k e lly W rig h t, Federal D i s t r i c t Court Judge, "Hobson versus
Hansen and School Board o f D i s t r i c t o f Columbia," Congressional Record,
Washington, D.C. (June 21, 1 9 6 7 ), pp. 16763-16764.

46
indeed p o s i t i v e l y a ffe c t e d stu d en ts' and te a c h e rs ' a t t i t u d e s , as w ell
as having improved th e r a t e o f reading achievement o f disadvantaged
c h ild r e n .
Many Michigan educators were convinced t h a t ’ c o n tra c tin g e ffe c te d
changes in t h e i r schools.

T h e refo re t h is study was an e f f o r t to search

f o r the impacts o f performance c o n tra c tin g upon students and educators
in the p a r t i c ip a t i n g schools in M ichigan.

The design f o r gathering

th is in fo rm a tio n is presented in Chapter I I I .

i

CHAPTER I I I
DESIGN OF THE STUDY

Through promoting performance c o n tra c tin g , the United States
O f f ic e o f Education in flu e n ce d Michigan education.

As a consequence

o f the experim ent's d e s ig n ,in d u s t r ia l firm s were placed in charge o f
managing school programs.

P r iv a te f ir m r e s p o n s ib i li t y w ith in p ro je c ts

ranged from developing reading and math c u rric u lu m , to assignment o f
t e a c h e r s ,.a id e s , and p r o je c t managers.

Consequently Michigan Schools

were faced w ith an o n - s it e challenge to t h e i r c a p a b i l i t y o f meeting
the educational needs o f stu d en ts, as w ell as being confronted w ith
the n eces sity o f weighing the q u a l i t y o f t h is re ce n t f e d e r a l l y sponsored
educational

in n o v a tio n .

A number o f Michigan educators c lo s e ly associated w ith the
experiment h ig h ly favored the concept o f performance c o n tra c tin g .
Therefore they were disappointed when the OEO announced t h a t c o n tra c tin g
had f a i l e d to s i g n i f i c a n t l y increase reading and math s k i l l s o f students,
and, as a r e s u l t , the experiment would be term inated a t th e end o f i t s
t h ir d ye ar o f o p e ra tio n .

Several educators and p r i v a t e firm s f e l t t h is

e a r ly te rm in a tio n was premature and t h a t many b e n e f ic ia l e f f e c t s o f
c o n tra c tin g had been overlooked by OEO a u d ito rs .

The i n t e r e s t o f these

educators re in fo rc e d the importance o f doing t h is study.
John P o rte r , Superintendent o f the Michigan Department o f
Education, was also impressed w ith M ichigan’ s experience in performance
47

48
c o n tra c tin g .

Through h is lea d e rs h ip th e s ta te ap p ro p ria ted resources

which assured co n tin u in g c o n tra c tin g a c t i v i t y in Michigan and underlay
the need fo r researching th is a c t i v i t y .
Since schools w ith experim ental p ro je c ts were in an e x c e lle n t
p o s itio n to e v a lu a te th is fe d e r a lly sponsored in te rv e n tio n in lo c a l
school a f f a i r s , they were c a lle d upon to p a r tic ip a te in t h is study.
The fo llo w in g design was constructed to id e n t if y th e impact o f con­
tr a c tin g upon students in p a r tic ip a tin g schools.
Statem ent o f th e Problem
This study, th e re fo re ,w a s an endeavor to examine (a ) the impact
o f performance c o n tra c tin g upon p u p ils , te a c h e rs , a d m in is tra to rs , and
in s tru c tio n a l programs in p a r tic ip a tin g schools, (b ) the type o f
re la tio n s h ip s th a t were e s ta b lis h e d between th e d i s t r i c t and th e le a rn in g
systems c o n tra c to r, (c ) the e ffe c tiv e n e s s and q u a lity fe a tu re s o f
c o n tra c to rs ' le a rn in g systems, (d ) the reason f o r the fe d e ra l govern­
ment's o r ig in a l

in te rv e n tio n and te rm in a tio n o f the experim ent, and

(e ) th e im p lic a tio n s th a t c o n tra c tin g may have f o r tea ch er ed u catio n.
O b jectives
The o b je c tiv e s o f th is study a re :
A.

To id e n t if y e ffe c ts o f the performance in c e n tiv e experim ent
upon p a r tic ip a tin g students.

B.

To analyze the impact o f in c e n tiv e s upon " e ffic ie n c y " and
"achievem ent."

C.

To id e n t if y humanizing e ffe c ts o p eratin g in experim ental
classrooms.

D.

To

id e n t if y fe a tu re s unique o n ly to c o n tra c tin g p ra c tic e s ,

E.

To seek the cause f o r the OEO's sudden diminishment o f
support f o r c o n tra c tin g ,

F.

To s o l i c i t te a c h e rs ' re a c tio n s to th e e x tr in s ic reward
system used in c o n tra c tin g f o r m o tiv a tin g stu d en ts.

G.

To i d e n t if y management techniques th a t have had an e f f e c t
upon in d iv id u a liz e d in s tr u c tio n .

H.

To determ ine a p p li c a b il i t y o f in d iv id u a liz e d in s tru c tio n
to m obile student p o p u la tio n s .

I.

To p ro vid e teachers w ith th e o p p o rtu n ity to express p r e f e r ­
ences fo r s p e c ifie d sources o f In s e rv ic e ed u catio n.

J.

To examine th e im p lic a tio n s o f Federal government in v o lv e ­
ment in lo c a l school o p eratio ns as re la te d to d e c is io n ­
making ro le s o f te a c h e rs , a d m in is tra to rs , and lo c a l d e te r­
m ination o f school p o lic y .

K.

To id e n t if y changes e ffe c te d by c o n tra c tin g in p a r tic ip a tin g
schools.
L im ita tio n s o f th e Study

This study was lim ite d to c o n tra c t p ro je c ts in M ichigan, although
in fo rm atio n from experiments throughout th e U nited S tates was drawn upon
fo r background in fo rm a tio n .

Thus the r e s u lts o f th is study a re p r im a r ily

a p p lic a b le to M ichigan.
While th e study endeavored to o u tlin e th e sta tu s o f c o n tra c tin g
and to d e lin e a te i t s

im p lic a tio n s f o r ed u cato rs, i t was p rim a r ily

lim ite d to those areas most f a m ilia r to p ro je c t p a r tic ip a n ts .

50
Data were gathered through s tru c tu re d in te rv ie w s .

The method o f

gath erin g data through in te rv ie w has the advantage o f being a f l e x i b l e
and accurate to o l in th e hands o f a s k i l l f u l in te rv ie w e r.

However the

in te rv ie w also increases th e p o te n tia l f o r s u b je c tiv it y and innocent
m o d ific a tio n o f f a c ts .

The design o f the study is s tru c tu re d to co n tro l

fo r t h is lim it a t io n .
Assumptions o f th e Study
This study assumed th a t:
1.

C o n tractin g had s u b s ta n tia l impacts upon p a r tic ip a tin g
schools;

2 . . P a rtic ip a n ts in each p ro je c t could c le a r ly id e n t if y th e
n atu re and e x te n t o f these impacts;
3.

The o p e ra tio n a l fe a tu re s common to performance c o n tra c tin g
p ro je c ts have unresearched im p lic a tio n s f o r p u b lic school
educators, fo r tea ch er p re p a ra tio n , and f o r the concept
o f in d iv id u a liz e d in s tr u c tio n ; and

4.

Data necessary to id e n t if y th e impacts th a t performance
c o n tra c tin g has made could be re trie v e d through stru c tu re d
in te rv ie w s .
In stru m en tatio n

A q u e s tio n n a ire r e f le c t in g the unique fe a tu re s o f c o n tra c tin g
was designed w ith the fo llo w in g g u id e lin e s used in the c o n stru c tio n
^Pauline Young, S c ie n t if ic Social Surveys and Research (Englewood
C l i f f s , N .J .:
P re n tic e H a ll, 1 9 6 6 ), pp. 222-223.

and development o f procedures f o r ad m in is terin g a s tru c tu re d in te rv ie w
instrum ent.
I t was most im portant to g iv e care to wording to make c e r ta in
the s p e c ific issue which the q u e s tio n n a ire had in mind was the issue
2
to which the in te rv ie w e e would g iv e an answer.
Theory in d ic a te d 1 t was g e n e ra lly best to proceed from the
general to the s p e c ific .

T h erefo re "opener" o r in tro d u c to ry questions

were designed to be o f the most general fr e e answer typ e.

These helped

to lead in to the s u b je c t, to e l i c i t n o n -d ire cte d u nstru ctu red r e p lie s ,
and to provide the background f o r in te r p r e tin g d e ta ile d questions asked
l a t e r in the q u e s tio n n a ire .

3

For th e purpose o f r e fin in g and tim in g th e in s tru m e n t, i t was
e s s e n tia l to conduct p i l o t in te rv ie w s in s itu a tio n s approxim ating the
main s tu d y .4
Each question was to be read to a l l

in te rv ie w e es in the exact

wording g iv e n , subsequently emphasis was placed on s ta tin g each question
as w r itte n and recording the respondent's r e p lie s as g iv en .

5

Oppenheim has drawn a tte n tio n to th e in te r a c tin g v a ria b le s o f
an in te rv ie w in stru m en t, and the p o ssib le bias th a t may r e s u lt from a
respondent's answers.
2

S tanley L. Payne, The A r t o f Asking Questions (P rin c e to n :
P rinceton U n iv e rs ity Press, 1951j , p. 10.
3l b i d . , p. 34.
4 Ib id . , pp. 52 -53 .
c
Abraham Oppenheim, Q uestion n aire Design and A ttitu d e Measurement
New York: Basic Book, I n c ., P u b lis h e rs , 1 9 6 6 ), p. 29.

52
The In te rv ie w co n sists o f th re e in te r a c tin g v a ria b le s (1 )
respondents. (2 ) in te r v ie w e r , and ( 3 ) the in te rv ie w schedule.
Each o f th e s e , as w e ll as th e in te rv ie w s it u a t io n , can have an
im p ortan t in flu e n c e on the re s u lts . . . . though th e in te rv ie w
procedure is s ta n d a rd ize d , th e re w i l l always remain d iffe re n c e s
in the way in which questions a re put to each respondent; and
these may, o r may n o t, have an im p ortan t in flu e n c e on th e r e s u lt s .
E q u a lly what is understood by the respondent and what is recorded
o r noted down from th e respondent's answer w i l l be s e le c te d and
p o s sib ly b ia s e d .6
To c o n tro l f o r in te rv ie w b ia s , in te rv ie w s were tap e recorded
and tra n s c rib e d onto the in te rv ie w instrum ent as soon a f t e r each
in te rv ie w as p o s s ib le .
The in te rv ie w was s e le c te d f o r g a th erin g d ata f o r t h is study
because o f i t s d is t in c t advantages.

Oppenheim s ta te s , "The g re a te s t

advantage o f th e in te rv ie w 1n th e hands o f a s k ille d in te rv ie w e r is
Its f l e x i b i l i t y .

The in te rv ie w e r can b u ild up and m a in ta in ra p p o rt,

th a t e lu s iv e m o tiv a tin g fo rc e th a t w i l l keep the respondent in te re s te d
and responsive to the end o f th e in te rv ie w .

There remains th e undisputed

advantage th a t the richness and s p o n ta n e ity o f in fo rm a tio n c o lle c te d
by in te rv ie w s is higher than th a t which a m ailed q u e s tio n n a ire can hope
to o b t a in .1,7
The instrum ent is d iv id e d in to e ig h t se ctio n s w ith each d iv is io n
focusing upon an o b je c tiv e o f th e study.

S ection "A" was s tru c tu re d

to gain background in fo rm a tio n re la te d to each p r o je c t.

To i l l u s t r a t e

the co n ten t o f th e o th e r d iv is io n s , each is b r i e f l y Introduced as
fo llo w s :
6 I b i d . , p. 35.
7 lb 1 d . , pp. 3 1 -3 2 .

53
B.

Review o f p r o j e c t s success, which in clu d es open-ended

questions s tru c tu re d to id e n t if y each p r o je c t's successes.
Ex:

What evidence would you p o in t t o , to show th a t t h is
p ro je c t was r e a l l y successful?

C.

Reward " In c e n tiv e s 11 system:

Please in d ic a te your f e e lin g

to the reward system used f o r m o tiv a tin g stu d e n ts .

For th e fo llo w in g

statements s e le c t th e code l e t t e r th a t best d escrib es your agreement
w ith each statem ent.
S tro n g ly Agree "SA," Agree "A ," N eu tral "N ," D isagree "D."
S tro n g ly D isagree "SD"
Ex:

The " fre e room" o r "RE" room had a p o s itiv e e f f e c t
upon stu d en ts' a t t it u d e s .
SA

D.

A

N

In d iv id u a liz e d in s t r u c t io n :

D

SD

Please In d ic a te the " e f f e c t iv e ­

ness" o f in d iv id u a liz e d management techniques and concepts th a t have
improved in d iv id u a liz e d in s tr u c tio n , by s e le c tin g th e code l e t t e r t h a t
best describes your agreement w ith th e fo llo w in g .
Ex:

C harting progress " c h a rts ."
SA

E.

A

In s e rv ic e e d u c a tio n :

N

D

SD

There a re numerous in s e rv ic e education

a lte r n a tiv e s open to te a c h e rs , w ith p r iv a te firm s adding another source.
I am in te re s te d in knowing which o f several a lte r n a tiv e s you fe e l are
most e f f e c t iv e .

Please s e le c t th re e from th e fo llo w in g l i s t th a t you

fe e l a re most e f f e c t iv e and rank them in o rd e r o f p refe re n c e from one,
"1" to th re e " 3 ," w ith one being th e most p re fe rre d form o f in s e r v ic e .

Ex:

____ Local school s t a f f
Local school s t a f f - u n i v e r s i t y
P riv a te fir m

F.

D ecision-m aking:

The fo llo w in g questions a re designed to

determ ine th e decision-m aking r e la tio n s h ip s th a t developed through
c o n tra c tin g .

Please respond to each q u estion by In d ic a tin g "Yes" o r

"No" to th e vario us a lt e r n a t iv e s .
Ex:

What e f f e c t has th e Federal governm ent's "management
support system" had upon lo c a l school community d e c is io n
making»

G.

a.

D if f e r e n t people made d ec is io n s

Yes__ No

b.

Development o f Federal lo c a l p a rtn e rs h ip

Yes__ No

c.

More in n o v a tiv e programs

Yes__ No

d.

Less lo c a l c o n tro l

Yes__ No

Changes r e s u ltin g from c o n tra c tin g :

The fo llo w in g changes

have become a p a rt o f th e re g u la r school program as a r e s u lt o f con­
t r a c t in g .
Ex:

Commitment to concept o f " p o s itiv e
re in fo rc e m e n t."

Yes__ No.

Each o f the d iv is io n s was p a r t ic u la r ly designed to g a th e r data
re la te d to the eleven o b je c tiv e s o f th is stu d y.

A f i n a l s e c tio n o f th e

instrum ent was s tru c tu re d to b rin g th e in te rv ie w to a c lo s e in an atmos­
phere o f a p p re c ia tio n f o r th e in te rv ie w e e 's co o p e ra tio n .
instrum ent is lo c ate d in Appendix A , page 116.

The complete

55
Procedures
Through unstructured in te rv ie w s w ith p r iv a te c o n tra c tin g firm s
and p u b lic ed u cato rs, p ra c tic e s and procedures common to c o n tra c t pro­
je c ts were i d e n t if ie d .

These p ra c tic e s and procedures were used to

prepare a s tru c tu re d In te rv ie w in stru m en t.
q u e stio n n aire , the i n i t i a l

T h erefo re to r e fin e the

Instrum ent was subm itted to a ju r y c o n sistin g

o f a c o n tra c t te a c h e r, a p r iv a te firm c o n s u lta n t, a school a d m in is tra to r,
and a u n iv e r s ity p ro fesso r c lo s e ly associated w ith c o n tra c tin g .

Also

p i l o t In te rv ie w s were conducted w ith th e revised instrum ent f o r the
purpose o f fu r t h e r r e fin in g th e q u e s tio n n a ire .

The p i l o t in te rv ie w s

took p lace 1n an elem entary performance c o n tra c t school.
In te rv ie w procedures.

F o rty m inute s tru c tu re d in te rv ie w s were

conducted w ith p ro je c t managers, school d ir e c to r s o f p ro je c ts , adm inis­
t r a t o r s , p riv a te fir m c o n s u lta n ts , and teachers Involved in p ro je c ts ,
and p resid en ts o f lo c a l te a c h e rs ' a s s o c ia tio n s .

To e lim in a te th e need

fo r w r itin g during th e in te r v ie w , responses were taped and tra n s c rib e d
onto the instrum ent as soon a f t e r each in te rv ie w as p o s s ib le , but no
l a t e r than tw e n ty -fo u r hours a f t e r each in te rv ie w .

To assure u n ifo rm ity

o f tim e f o r each in te r v ie w , a clo ck was co n ve n ien tly lo c ate d to assure
a p p ro p ria te pacing.
A ll schools in the S ta te o f Michigan th a t were funded f o r two
o r more y e a rs , and w ith an o p e ra tio n a l p ro je c t f o r the 1972-73 y e a r
were Included in th is study.

E ig h t school d i s t r i c t s q u a lif ie d , however

one p re fe rre d not to be a p a rt o f the study and several c o n tra c t per­
sonnel 1n another d i s t r i c t had changed t h e i r p la ce o f employment.
T h erefo re e ig h t elem entary and two ju n io r high schools lo c ate d in s ix
school d i s t r i c t s p a r tic ip a te d in th e study.

Table 1 , shows th e pop ulatio n sample by school d i s t r i c t s it e s .
In d i s t r i c t s two, f i v e , and s ix th e p opulation to be In te rv ie w e d Included
a l l p ro fe s s io n a l personnel connected w ith the performance c o n tra c t
p ro je c t in each re s p e c tiv e school.

The p o p ulatio n f o r d i s t r i c t s one,

th re e , and fo u r were Included on th e basis o f (a ) one school p ro je c t
s it e designated by the lo c a l educational agency, and (b ) one school
p ro je c t randomly se lec ted from a l l remaining p ro je c ts 1n each o f the
th re e d i s t r i c t s .

TABLE 1 . — Population Sample.
School D is t r ic t s
1

2

3

4

5

6

Tota

Teachers

4

2

4

4

2

2

18

P rin c ip a ls

1

1

1

2

1

1

7

D ire c to rs o f Curriculum

1

1

1

1

0

0

4

P riv a te Firm Consultants

1

1

2

2

1

1

8

Superintendents

1

1

1

1

1

1

6

P residents o f Local Education
A ssociations

1

1

1

1

1

1

6

School P ro je c t D ire c to rs

1

0

1

1

0

0

3

10

7

11

12

6

6

52

In terview ees

T o ta ls

Scheduling o f in te rv ie w s .

Superintendents o f schools in th e

study were contacted by phone in January o f 1973, f o r th e purpose o f
gaining permission to conduct the research .

Each was o ffe re d the

o p p o rtu n ity to discuss th e purpose o f th e study through an appointment
w ith th e in te rv ie w e r.

None f e l t t h is was necessary and In d ic a te d so

57
by encouraging th e researcher to proceed w ith scheduling o f i nt e r v i e ws .
A s t a f f member in each d i s t r i c t was designated by the sup erin ten den t
as a lia is o n to th e re search er-

A copy o f a fo llo w -u p l e t t e r m ailed

to each superintendent is found in Appendix B, page 128.
A nalysis o f d a ta .

Data c o lle c te d from p a rtic ip a n ts are presented

and analyzed in ta b le and n a r r a tiv e form in Chapter IV .

The n atu re o f

the data analyzed co n sists o f (1 ) demographic in fo rm a tio n , (2 ) responses
to e ig h t open-ended questions in Section "B" o f th e q u e s tio n n a ire , which
focused upon successes o f p ro je c ts , (3 ) response to eig h ty -tw o L ik e r t
item s, which focused upon the "Reward System," and " E ffe c tiv e n e s s " o f
In d iv id u a liz e d In s tr u c tio n , (4 ) rank o rd er o f p re fe rre d sources o f
in s e rv ic e ed u catio n, (5 ) decision-m aking r e la tio n s h ip s , and (6 ) changes
re s u ltin g from c o n tra c tin g .
Data are presented and c o rre la te d w ith o b je c tiv e s d e lin e a te d in
Chapter I .

Each se ctio n is introduced w ith th e o b je c tiv e re la te d to

th a t d iv is io n or s u b d iv is io n , fo llow ed by p re s e n ta tio n o f fin d in g s
taken from th e stru c tu re d in te rv ie w in s tru m e n t, which was d iv id e d in to
the fo llo w in g sectio ns:
I.

Demographic Info rm ation
A.
B.
C.

II.

Population (In te rv ie w e e s ]
Funding
P upils e n ro lle d

Review o f P ro je c ts ' Successes
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
F.
G.
H.

Results o f school data
E ffic ie n c y o f c o n tra c tin g
In d iv id u a l student successes
Group successes
C o n tractin g compared to remedial reading
Humanizing fe a tu re s o f c o n tra c tin g
Features unique to c o n tra c tin g
Federal support f o r c o n tra c tin g

58
III.

Reward "In c e n tiv e s " System
A.
B.

IV .

In d iv id u a liz e d In s tru c tio n
A.
B.

V.

Federal government
Teachers' a s s o c ia tio n
Teachers
P riv a te firm s
P rin c ip a ls
Aides

Changes R esu ltin g from C o n tractin g
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
F.

V III.

Local school
U n iv e rs ity
P riv a te firm s
Teacher as so ciatio n s

Decision-m aking Roles
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
F.

V II.

E ffe c tiv e n e s s
A p p lic a tio n to m obile student populations

In s e rv ic e Education Sources
A.
B.
C.
Dv

V I.

E ffe c t upon p u p ils
"RE" rooms

Decision-m aking
Reinforcement
In d iv id u a liz e d in s tru c tio n
In s e rv ic e
A b i li t y grouping
D iffe r e n tia te d s t a f f in g

Closing the In te rv ie w
A.
B.

W illin g n ess to p a r tic ip a te in fu tu re c o n tra c tin g
F u rth e r comments
Summary

This study was designed to examine th e impact o f performance
c o n tra c tin g upon p u p ils , te a c h e rs , a d m in is tra to rs , and in s tru c tio n a l
programs o f p a r tic ip a tin g schools in M ichigan.
Through unstructured in te rv ie w s w ith p u b lic educators and
p riv a te firm c o n s u lta n ts , p ra c tic e s and procedures common to c o n tra c t

*

59
p ro je c ts were id e n t if ie d and used to prepare a s tru c tu re d in te rv ie w
instru m ent.

To r e f in e th e q u e s tio n n a ire th e i n i t i a l

instrum ent was

submitted to a ju r y c o n s is tin g o f a c o n tra c t te a c h e r, a p r iv a te fir m
c o n s u lta n t, school a d m in is tra to r, and a u n iv e r s ity p ro fess o r c lo s e ly
associated w ith c o n tra c tin g .

P ilo t in te rv ie w s were conducted in an

elem entary performance c o n tra c t school.
F i f t y c o n tra c t p a r tic ip a n ts , lo c ate d in s ix school d i s t r i c t s ,
were In d iv id u a lly in te rv ie w e d .

In te rv ie w s were scheduled by an adminls

t r a t o r 1n each d i s t r i c t , who had been appointed to a c t as a lia is o n
between those to be in te rv ie w e d and th e in te r v ie w e r .

F o rty minute tape

recorded in te rv ie w s took p lace w ith each o f th e p a r tic ip a n ts between
January 2 , and May 30 , 1973.

Recordings were tra n s c rib e d onto a ques­

tio n n a ire assigned to each p a r tic ip a n t .

For anonym ity, d i s t r i c t s and

schools were assigned a code number fo r re fe re n c e purposes.

Schools

and In te rv ie w e es are to remain anonymous.
The in te rv ie w instrum ent was designed to c o lle c t d ata e s s e n tia l
fo r meeting the eleven o b je c tiv e s o f th is study.
and computer-programmed f o r easy a c c e s s ib ilit y .

Data were c a ta g o rize d
Results in Chapter IV ,

presented in ta b le and n a r r a tiv e form , a re c o rre la te d w ith th e eleven
o b je c tiv e s o f th is study.

CHAPTER IV
ANALYSIS OF DATA

The prime purpose o f t h is study was to examine th e e ffe c ts o f
performance c o n tra c tin g upon c h ild re n in th e p a r tic ip a t in g schools in
M ichigan.

To gain a c le a r p ic tu re o f th e e ffe c ts o f c o n tra c tin g ,

te a c h e rs , d ir e c to r s o f p ro je c ts , p r in c ip a ls , s u p e rin te n d e n ts , and
p resid en ts o f lo c a l tea ch er a s so c ia tio n s were in te rv ie w e d .

The f i f t y

p ro fe s s io n a ls c lo s e ly associated w ith c o n tra c tin g who were included
in th e study were lo c ate d in s ix d if f e r e n t school d i s t r i c t s ranging
in s iz e from 2 ,0 0 0 to 50,000 stu d en ts.
Schools q u a lify in g f o r th is study were in t h e i r second o r t h ir d
y e a r o f o p e ra tio n w ith a p ro je c t in process fo r the 1972-73 school y e a r.
E ffo r ts were made to in c lu d e a l l schools in M ichigan th a t q u a lif ie d .
There w ere, however, two p ro je c ts where personnel m a tric u la tio n made
i t q u ite im possible to c o lle c t d a ta , as w ell as one school which de­
c lin e d p a r t ic ip a t io n in th e study fe e lin g th a t th e g a th e rin g o f data
would cause in te rfe r e n c e w ith school a c t i v i t i e s to a degree th a t
teachers would be u n w illin g to t o le r a t e .

T h e re fo re the s ix d i s t r i c t s

included in th is study, w ith the exceptions mentioned, c o n s titu te the
t o ta l p o p ulatio n o f schools w ith two o r more years o f c o n tra c tin g in
the S ta te o f M ichigan.
E ffo r ts were made to c o n s is te n tly conduct a f o r t y m inute
in te rv ie w w ith each person involved in the study.
60

The personnel o f

61
the p a r tic ip a tin g schools and p r iv a te firm personnel were most cooper­
a tiv e and eager to share t h e i r experiences w ith performance c o n tra c tin g .
In te rv ie w s were scheduled during school hours beginning in January and
ending in Hay o f 1973.

Follow ing the in te r v ie w , taped recordings were

tra n s c rib e d onto the in te rv ie w instru m ent.
The data which fo llo w s a re c o rre la te d w ith th e eleven o b je c tiv e s
d e lin e a te d in Chapter I I I .

The f i r s t m ajor d iv is io n In clu d es demographic

in fo rm atio n w ith each succeeding s e c tio n introduced w ith th e o b je c tiv e
re la te d to th a t d iv is io n o r s u b d iv is io n , fo llo w ed by p re s e n ta tio n o f
fin d in g s taken from the s tru c tu re d in te rv ie w in s tru m e n t.

Responses by

in te rv ie w e es to open-ended questions were paraphrased f o r the purpose
o f m ain ta in in g th e f la v o r o f respondents' a ttitu d e s toward c o n tra c tin g .
Demographic In fo rm a tio n
Table 2 , shows the ca te g o rie s o f personnel in te rv ie w e d and
t h e ir d is t r ib u t io n w ith in th e s ix school d i s t r i c t s p a r tic ip a t in g in
th is stu d y.

In terview ees f o r schools tw o, f i v e , and s ix were chosen

since they represented the t o t a l p a rtic ip a n ts in th e program.

In

schools one, th re e , and fo u r , the school a d m in is tra to rs s e le c te d the
f i r s t two teachers and school, and the second two teachers and school
were s e le c te d a t random.

Schools f i v e and s ix d id not have any one

person designated as d ir e c t o r o f cu rric u lu m .

Also only schools one,

th re e , and fo u r appointed d ir e c to r s fo r t h e i r c o n tra c tin g p ro je c ts .
Programs in d i s t r i c t s two, f iv e and s ix were p r im a r ily ad m in istered
by p r iv a te firm s .
Success in securing r e l i a b l e funding data was q u a lif ie d although
e f f o r t s to gain such in fo rm a tio n through in te rv ie w and fo llo w -u p

62
TABLE 2 . — Population In te rv ie w e d .
School D is t r ic t s
Interview ees

1

2

3

4

5

6

Teachers

4

2

4

4

2

2

18

P rin c ip a ls

1

1

1

2

1

1

7

D ire c to rs o f Curriculum

1

1

1

1

0

0

4

P riv a te Firm Consultants

1

1

1

2

1

1

7

Superintendents

0

1

1

1

1

1

5

P residents o f Local Education
A ssociations

1

1

1

1

1

1

6

School P ro je c t D ire c to r

1

0

1

1

0

0

3

9

7

10

12

6

6

50

T o ta ls

correspondence were made.

T o ta ls

Teachers, school a d m in is tra to rs and p r iv a te

firm co n su ltants lacked accu rate knowledge o f F e d e ra l, S ta te and lo c a l
funding amounts.

C o n trib u tin g to th is la c k o f in fo rm a tio n was the

common a d m in is tra tiv e p ra c tic e o f in te r-m ix in g F e d e ra l, S ta te and
lo c a l funding f o r o p e ra tio n a l purposes.

Although these p ro je c ts were

to be "models" fo r " e ffic ie n c y " p a r tic ip a n ts appeared to have lim ite d
knowledge o f funding and program co s ts .
D o lla r amounts in Table 3 , p a r t i a l l y r e f l e c t funding from
various sources.
In Table 4 , en ro llm en t fig u re s re p res en t the number o f p u p ils
in th e p ro je c t schools assigned to c o n tra c t p ro je c ts fo r th e 1972-73
school y e a r.

Four school d i s t r i c t s assigned p u p ils who were two o r

more years below grade le v e l in reading to p ro je c t rooms.
two school d is t r i c t s

In c o n tra s t

included a l l p u p ils in t h e ir p ro je c t schools in

63

TABLE 3 . — Amount and Source o f Funding Expressed in Thousands o f D o lla rs .
School D is t r ic t s
Funding

1

2

3

4

5

6

0

0

0

30

12

14

$ 56

S ta te

50

9

19

67

0

8

153

Local

36

0

0

0

0

0

36

Foundations

36

0

0

0

0

0

36

$122

9

19

97

12

22

$281

Federal

$

T o ta ls
*

T o ta ls
*

Thousands.

TABLE 4 . — Number o f P u pils E n ro lle d .
School 1
D is tr ic t s
1

2

3

4

5

6

T o ta ls

Elementary

300

500

600

300

300

300

2300

J r. High School

500

P u pils E n ro lled

T o ta ls

800

500
500

600

300

300

300

2800

64
s p e c ia liz e d c o n tra c t programs.

Also in te rv ie w e e s in schools one, th re e ,

and fo u r repo rted plans to In c lu d e a l l
fu tu re In d iv id u a liz e d reading programs.

p u p ils w ith in t h e i r b u ild in g in
I n i t i a l l y schools included

p u p ils who were below grade le v e l in reading two o r more years as t h e i r
prime t a r g e t , but by th e t h ir d y e a r o f o p e ra tio n schools reported
s u b s ta n tia l in t e r e s t by teachers to in c lu d e a l l c h ild re n e n ro lle d .
Two d if f e r e n t approaches were used to in v o lv e c h ild re n in
s p e c ia liz e d reading programs.

Most schools grouped p u p ils by s k i l l

le v e l and scheduled groups fo r a reading la b o ra to ry .

In c o n tra s t one

la rg e d i s t r i c t b e lie v in g th a t c h ild re n should not be grouped or sent
to a la b o ra to ry fo r in s tr u c tio n , scheduled s p e c ia liz e d reading a c t i v i t i e s
in to th e e x is tin g curriculum under th e su p ervisio n o f classroom te a c h e rs .
Review o f P ro je c ts ' Successes
I.

O b je c tiv e A. To id e n t if y e ffe c ts o f th e performance in c e n tiv e
experim ent upon p a r tic ip a tin g stu d en ts.
A.

Were c r i t e r i a f o r e v a lu a tin g the program e s ta b lis h e d before
the program began?
1.

In answer to th e q u e s tio n , fo rty -tw o respondents answered
yes and th re e answered no. F o r ty -e ig h t interview ees
repo rted th a t an a u d it was made a t the end o f each y e a r 's
o p e ra tio n . Two in te rv ie w e e s not responding lacked know­
ledge o f th is fu n c tio n . A ll schools p a r tic ip a tin g in
th is study d id a u d it achievement 1n re ad in g , though in
some instances no p re te s tin g had been done.

2.

In terview ees were asked to share t h e i r a u d it r e s u lts .
Table 5 gives re s u lts as rep o rted by respondents fo r
1970-71.

3.

In terview ees rep o rted th a t standardized te s t re s u lts d id
not c le a r ly r e f l e c t the e ffe c ts o f tre a tm e n t. The
fo llo w in g paraphrased responses were exemplary o f
reasons given fo r in c o n clu sive a u d its as w ell as
e xp lan atio n s fo r students not r e a liz in g p red icte d gains:

65
TABLE 5 . — Gains in Reading and Math Reported by In te rv ie w e es fo r 1970-71.
Results

T o ta ls

Percent

9

18

Students did not make p re d ic te d gains

10

20

Some successes

22

44

One ye ar o r more o f math growth

1

2

Inconclusive

6

12

No response

2

4

50

100

One y e a r o r more o f reading gain

T o ta ls

a.

Many reading exp erts tend to agree th a t i t is alm ost
im possible to o b ta in an accurate e v a lu a tio n o f reading
a b i l i t y by a s in g le standardized reading t e s t .
I t is
g e n e ra lly agreed th a t a c r ite r io n -r e fe r e n c e d t e s t be
used along w ith a standardized measure.

b.

R e lu c ta n t readers g e n e ra lly tend to avoid te s ts which
re q u ire concentrated re ad in g .

c.

Unknowingly, th e t e s t s itu a tio n s may have hindered
optimum student e f f o r t s .
Students were o fte n p re­
te s te d and p o s t-te s te d in la rg e groups, sometimes as
la rg e as 180 p u p ils . For th is ta r g e t p o p u la tio n , la rg e
groups such as th is might have proven to be too d is ­
tr a c t in g .

d.

In o rd er f o r problem readers to read even a t minimal
le v e ls , they must be thoroughly m o tiva te d .
Because
o f tim e lim ita t io n s th is was not p o s s ib le .

e.

In some instances s u b s titu te te a c h e rs , w ith no p r io r
knowledge o r p re p a ra tio n were h ire d by a u d ito rs to
a d m in is te r p r e -te s ts . This te s tin g was b e lie v e d to be
h ig h ly u n r e lia b le .

U n d esirab le te s tin g s itu a tio n s , au d its adm inistered by o u ts id e
firm s , and d i f f i c u l t y in matching standardized te s ts to f i t the needs
o f the programs were c ite d as p a r t ia l ex p la n a tio n f o r re s u lts c o n tra ry
to what c o n tra c to rs under optimum c o n d itio n may have achieved.

These

66
re s u lts l e f t schools who b e lie v e d th ey had made co n sid erab le gains h ig h ly
fr u s tr a te d w ith p u b lic iz e d r e s u lts .

T h e re fo re , i t was necessary to look

more c lo s e ly a t the successes rep o rted by p a r t ic ip a tin g schools.
B.

Table 5 , shows t h a t eig hteen percent o f those in te rv ie w e d
repo rted students had gained one o r more years in re a d in g .
Another 44 percen t rep o rted "some successes." Paraphrased
response o f these successes fo llo w s :
1.

2.

A ttitu d e s
a.

Attendance ra te s improved as w e ll as tra n s ie n c y
movement in and out o f b u ild in g s .

b.

S tu dents' work and s o c ia l a ttitu d e s improved.

c.

P rin c ip a ls said th a t th e c h ild re n who had s a t in
t h e i r o ffic e s th e previous y e a r fo r d is c ip lin a r y
a c tio n now during th e y e a r 1972-73 were seldom
sent to the o f f i c e .

d.

Many parents said t h e i r c h ild re n were enjoying school
fo r th e f i r s t tim e .

Achievement
a.

S ta te Assessment f o r 1971-72, showed th a t p u p ils
made s u b s ta n tia l gains in reading in d i s t r i c t "one."
This was v e r if ie d by te s ts given by th e d i s t r i c t
which p a r a lle le d S ta te Assessment re p o rts .

b.

S tandardized p r e -te s ts and
by school counselors from
d i s t r i c t "tw o," In d ic a te d
years gain in reading f o r
r e a liz e d .

c.

Sampling o f tw e n ty -fiv e students in d i s t r i c t "tw o,"
te s te d a t th e end o f one y e a r in th e program and
again the fo llo w in g f a l l showed tw enty-one p u p ils
m aintained t h e i r grow th, w ith fo u r re g re s s in g .

d.

R esults f o r school d i s t r i c t f i v e :
Grade

1
2
3

p o s t-te s ts ad m in istered
an o ther d i s t r i c t f o r school
th a t the o b je c tiv e o f 2 .0
one y e a r 's e f f o r t was

Students Averaged
Grade Gain
1.0
1 .3
1. 2

67

Grade

Students Averaged
Grade Gain

4
5

.9
1 .0

6

.8

Given a standard ex p e c ta tio n o f one y e a r 's growth
fo r one y e a r 's a tte n d an c e, these re s u lts represented
moderate successes. However when co n siderin g t h a t
many o f these stu d e n ts , e s p e c ia lly in th e h igher
grades, had not achieved a t t h is r a te f o r several
years th e re s u lts f o r grades fo u r , f i v e , and s ix
could be In te rp re te d as being b e tte r than expected.
e.

In d i s t r i c t " th r e e ," on an expectancy ta b le which
re q u ire d g re a te r growth f o r th e h ig h e r scoring
students in th e p r e - t e s t in g , a p r iv a te company lo s t
$ 1 3,0 00 . The company had a n tic ip a te d th a t the
b r ig h te r students would make g re a te r gains than
those who had scored low er in p r e -te s tin g .
By
being o v e rc o n fid e n t w ith th is group, th e r e s u ltin g
c o n tra c t firm s worked to the advantage o f the school
d is tr ic t.

f.

Students e n ro lle d in th e p ro je c t gained an average
o f .6 o f a y e a r o r more on th e S tan fo rd Achievement
T est in d i s t r i c t " th r e e ."

g.

Over h a lf o f th e 145 students e n ro lle d did not achieve
th re e -fo u rth s o f a y e a r 's g a in , which was the expected
performance le v e l fo r school "one," in d i s t r i c t
" th r e e ."

h.

OEO data f o r d i s t r i c t "fo u r" repo rted students did
not gain a p p re c ia b ly in reading and m ath, o th e r than
what they norm ally would in a re g u la r classroom.
However strong o b je c tio n s were voiced toward the
OEO's e v a lu a tio n procedures.

Schools in te rv ie w e d rep o rted c o n s is te n tly b e tte r re s u lts f o r the
second y e a r o f o p e ra tio n .

In t e r e s t in g ly , lo c a l school ed u cators,

e s p e c ia lly te a c h e rs , had g re a te r in p u t in to second y e a r programs than
they had in th e f i r s t y e a r.

Some educators blamed much o f the f i r s t

y e a r 's f a ilu r e s to p oo rly adm inistered a u d its and th e sparse in v o lv e ­
ment o f lo c a l decisio n -m aking .

N evertheless as shown by th e above

t

68
paraphrased remarks, s u b s ta n tia l successes were a ttr ib u te d to students
who p re v io u s ly had been la b e le d f a i l u r e s .

Reports from th re e schools

ra ise d the p o s s ib ilit y o f a breakthrough f o r m o tiv a tin g students in
grades fo u r , f i v e , and s ix .

Students in these grades, lo c a te d in

th ree d if f e r e n t d i s t r i c t s , achieved a t h ig her ra te s than they had in
previous y e a rs .
C.

Even though companies did not meet t h e i r achievement g o a ls ,
i t is p o ssib le to conclude on th e basis o f data in T able 5,
th a t companies did meet w ith some successes. Since th e re
was th e p o s s ib ilit y th a t firm s s e t t h e i r performance le v e ls
above normal exp ectation s, in te rv ie w e es were asked, "Do you
th in k p r iv a te firm s s e t t h e i r performance le v e ls too high?"
S ixteen respondents r e p lie d yes and tw e n ty -s ix said no.
Those re p ly in g yes were asked, " I f too high how do you
th in k i t should have been?" T h e ir r e p lie s a re paraphrased
. as fo llo w s :
1.

I t was u n r e a lis tic to use stand ard ized te s ts to measure
e d u c a tio n a lly deprived c h ild r e n . An expectancy r a te
f o r a c h ild g ain in g .3 o f a y e a r the p r io r y e a r , fo llow ed
by .6 o f a y e a r 's gain f o r the next y e a r would have been
an a p p ro p ria te p a tte rn to fo llo w .

2.

An a r b it r a r y ta r g e t o f one y e a r should have been replaced
w ith an average o f student growth. To i l l u s t r a t e , th e re
were instances where students achieved .9 o f a y e a r 's
growth, but th e company received no payment since they
had missed the ta r g e t by .1 o f a y e a r. Also th e re was
a la g w ith te s tin g and p la cin g p u p ils b efo re in s tru c tio n
•.could begin. T h erefo re a ta r g e t o f 75 percent o f a
y e a r 's gain f o r a y e a r 's e f f o r t would have been more
r e a lis tic .

3.

Month to month gains should have been based p r im a r ily
on c r ite r io n -r e fe r e n c e d te s ts designed to harmonize
w ith th e in s tr u c tio n a l o b je c tiv e s .

4.

I t would have been r e a l i s t i c to expect between a y e a r
and a y e a r and a h a lf growth fo r a school y e a r , r a th e r
than two y e a r 's growth.

5.

An improved t e s t would have been d e s ira b le . Also students
should have been te s te d in groups o f t h i r t y and under
a p p ro p ria te te s tin g c o n d itio n s .

69
6.

Though the company In d i s t r i c t "th re e " e s ta b lis h e d an
expectancy ta b le le v e l based upon thousands o f p re v io u s ly
computerized t e s t score perform ances, th e company s t i l l
lo s t so i t is d i f f i c u l t to p re d ic t what should have been
expected.

Since two school d i s t r i c t s , one w ith a ta r g e t f o r two y e a r 's
gain and another w ith a ta r g e t f o r one month's gain f o r each month in
the program, d id reach t h e i r o b je c tiv e , i t is d i f f i c u l t to e s ta b lis h
a d e f i n i t i v e answer to the question o f , "Did th e p riv a te firm s set
t h e i r performance le v e ls too high?"

On th e b asis o f t h is lim ite d in s ig h t

in to e s ta b lis h in g performance le v e ls i t would seem th a t p r iv a te firm s
had d i f f i c u l t y w ith (a ) securing adequate te s tin g in stru m en ts, (b )
te s tin g c o n d itio n s , (c ) e s ta b lis h in g r e a l i s t i c expectancies f o r popu­
la tio n s w ith which they were u n fa m ilia r , and (d ) overcoming co n siderable
lag tim e between p re -te s tin g and the beginning o f in s tr u c tio n .
A f u r th e r a n a ly s is o f successes fo llo w s .
D,

To gain fu r th e r evidence o f successful outcomes in terview ees
were asked, "What evidence would you p o in t t o , to show th a t
th is p ro je c t was r e a l l y successful?" The fo llo w in g para­
phrased responses id e n t if y these successes:
1.

Reading achievement.
a.

S e v e n ty -fiv e percent o f 150 students e n ro lle d gained
one y e a r o r more o f growth in re a d in g , as measured
on th e "Oral Gilmore Reading T e s t." The mean grade
gain fo r a l l p u p ils in the reading program was 1 .1 5 .

b.

The Gates-MacG1n1tie Reading Test showed th a t students
surpassed normal exp ectatio n s in reading comprehension
a t a l l le v e ls fo r th e 1971-72 y e a r.

c.

Students in the 50 p e rc e n tile o r low er on an expect­
ancy ta b le made remarkable g a in s , to the e x te n t th a t
they were used to j u s t i f y a c o n tin u a tio n o f the pro­
gram f o r a t le a s t another y e a r.

d.

P u pils in one school made an average gain o f .8 o f a
grade in reading during e ig h t months o f in s tr u c tio n .

4

70
e.

Two schools d id not show a gain in reading during
the f i r s t y e a r o f th e p ro je c t. T h e re a fte r students
increased vocabulary arid comprehension by one grade
le v e l fo r each y e a r o f e f f o r t .

f . . P r io r to performance c o n tra c tin g , p u p ils gained .3
o f a year in read in g .
During c o n tra c tin g they
gained .6 o f a y e a r and the fo llo w in g y e a r w ith o u t
c o n tra c tin g .8 .
g.

2.

3.

A teacher s ta te d th a t h is English la b o ra to ry students
gained two or more le v e ls in one semester. Students
also enjoyed the freedom o f th e la b o ra to ry , which
was not a v a ila b le in t h e ir re g u la r c la ss es . Although
the students designed t h e ir own programs, near the
end o f the program many students became bored and
needed o th e r a c t i v i t i e s to m o tivate them. Regarding
the p o s t-te s t, some o f the students said they were
"fed up" w ith te s tin g .

A ttitu d e s .
a.

For some c h ild re n performance c o n tra c tin g was t h e ir
f i r s t o p p o rtu n ity to succeed.

b.

The program gave students confidence in themselves.

c.

An a u d ito r from o u tsid e the d i s t r i c t who gave a p re ­
te s t and p o s t-te s t , s ta te d the c h ild re n e x h ib ite d
a p o s itiv e change in t h e i r a t t it u d e toward te s tin g .

d.

Encouragement o f independent work h ab its created a
c lim a te fo r p u p ils to progress as ra p id ly as p o s s ib le .

e.

Teachers' and p u p ils ' fe e lin g s toward performance
c o n tra c tin g were very p o s itiv e .

f.

C hildren were more e n th u s ia s tic and w illin g to t r y
to complete t h e i r stu d ies in c o n tra s t to sayin g,
" I c a n 't ."

In s tru c tio n .
a.

Through management o f human and m a te ria l resources
students had o p p o rtu n itie s to be taught on a oneto-one b a s is , which brought in to r e a l i t y the process
o f in d iv id u a liz e d in s tr u c tio n .

b.

As a r e s u lt o f c o n tra c tin g reading programs were
organized in several secondary schools.

f

71

E.

c.

Success was in d ic a te d by a b u ild in g s t a f f d ecisio n
to go b u ild in g -w id e as opposed to co n tin uin g the
program r e s tr ic te d to two classrooms.

d.

Several schools moved from performance c o n tra c tin g
to a d i s t r i c t m odified design o f c o n tra c t le a rn in g .

To id e n t if y in d iv id u a l successes interview ees were asked,
"Would you c i t e in d iv id u a l instances o f successes?" Most
in te rv ie w e es were enthused w ith the impact o f these p ro je c ts
upon in d iv id u a l p u p ils . An enumeration o f some o f these
e ffe c ts fo llo w s :
1.

In d iv id u a l s ix th graders made grade gains in reading o f
3 .3 , 3 . 5 , 4 . 0 , and 3 .2 years
in one y e a r o f study.

2.

One g i r l , who had p rev io u sly been la b eled a slow retard ed
re a d e r, made two years gain in reading in one academic
y e a r.

3.

One boy diagnosed as d is le x ic , worked very hard and
progressed to the th ir d and fo u rth grade le v e l during
h is seventh grade in school.

4.

On the Iowa Achievement T es t one student gained th re e
years and another fo u r years in reading.

5.

According to a Michigan S ta te U n iv e rs ity survey most
students showed an improvement in s e lf-c o n c e p t in one
school.

6.

I t was p o ssib le to p o in t to almost any group o r in d i­
vid u al in the school and conclude th a t the program
helped students a c ad e m ica lly, b e h a v io ra lly , and
a t t i t u d i n a l l y . These fe e lin g s were expressed by a
teacher w ith two and o n e -h a lf years o f experience in
th e program, and two and o n e -h a lf years in th e school
p r io r to the beginning o f the p ro je c t.

7.

One boy fir m ly b elie ve d th a t he could not read. A fte r
working w ith him fo r two years h is whole a t t it u d e was
c h a ra c te rize d by, " I can do i t !
Look a t what book
I'm in now!"

8.

One g i r l w ith tw in s is te r s a y e a r o ld e r than she, moved
in to th e school the previous y e a r. A ll th re e were
exceedingly d is ru p tiv e and ran w ild ly about the school.
By g iv in g her s p e c ific co n tracts w ith a performance
flo w c h a r t, and p la cin g her on a "skins economy" to
modify b eh av io r, she became a resp o n sib le stu d en t.

72
9.
10.

F.

G.

A very q u ie t p up il showed over fo u r years growth in
reading in one academic y e a r.
Students lik e d th e fe e lin g o f being resp o n sib le f o r
them selves, and not being in co m p etition w ith o th e rs .
T h e ir le a rn in g was s t r i c t l y personal based upon con­
fid e n c e th a t they had good m a te r ia ls , and th a t teachers
were th e re to help when needed.

To fu r th e r id e n t if y successes in te rv ie w e es were asked,
"Would you c i t e group instances o f successes?" The para­
phrased responses o f group successes fo llo w s :
1.

A group o f fo u rte e n students who were p re -te s te d and
p o s t-te s te d by Michigan S ta te U n iv e r s ity , made 2 .0
y e a r 's growth in reading 1n f i v e months.

2.

Nineteen students from a group o f f i f t h and s ix th
graders made two o r more years gain in reading in one
y e a r.

3.

A la b o ra to ry te a c h e r's com parative study
o f f i f t e e n seventh graders in a remedial
a group o f f i f t e e n e ig h th graders in the
la b o ra to ry , r e fle c te d gains o f 1 .5 years
The average previous gain had been e ig h t
a y e a r 's e f f o r t .

4.

Through token econony (monetary re w a rd ), English la n ­
guage speaking students were s u c c e s s fu lly organized
in to small groups fo r studying th e Spanish language.

5.

Several students decided to work to g e th e r completing
reading lessons. A fte r they discovered th a t i t was
not cheating to a s s is t one a n o th e r, they appeared to
le a rn from each o th e r.

6.

The program seemed to work best w ith p u p ils o f normal
in t e llig e n c e , but who had some reading d i f f i c u l t y .
The a ttitu d e s o f these c h ild re n toward school improved
co n sid erab ly.

o f a group
c la s s , w ith
c o n tra c t
in read ing .
months fo r

To compare th e success o f c o n tra c tin g w ith re g u la r classroom
in s tru c tio n in te rv ie w e es were asked, "Was performance con­
tr a c tin g more successful than t r a d it io n a l classroom methods
fo r improving reading and math s k i l l s o f disadvantaged
students?"
1.

Table 6 shows th a t e ig h t y - f iv e percent o f the respondents
said th a t performance c o n tra c tin g f o r reading was more
successful than t r a d it io n a l classroom methods. Since

73
TABLE 6 . — Success o f C o n trac tin g in Comparison to T ra d itio n a l
In s tru c tio n a l
Areas

In s tr u c tio n .
-

Yes

No

Response

Reading

85%

15%

80%

Math

87%

13%

30%

the number o f p ro je c ts w ith a math program were few , a
s im ila r judgment could not be made about th e e f f e c t i v e ­
ness o f math through c o n tra c tin g .'
2.

H.

The fo llo w in g paraphrased responses were th e reasons
given f o r the success o f performance c o n tra c tin g in
re ad in g :
a.

S k il l s were sequenced which assured th a t p u p ils
would le a rn each s k i l l b efo re going to the next
l e v e l.
O ften in t r a d it io n a l programs s k i l l s needed
by c h ild re n were not sequenced o r even o m itte d .

b.

I t was th e in s tr u c tio n a l program th a t th e company
had to o f f e r th a t was more s u c c e s s fu l, not performance
c o n tra c tin g .

c.

Success may have been caused by the "Halo" or
Hawthorne e f f e c t .

d.

Math achievement exceeded read ing achievement during
the experim ent. This re p o rt by one school was given
c r e d it f o r the a b i l i t y o f the students to more
capably read math assignm ents.

e.

I t was more e f f i c i e n t in terms o f s p e c ific in s tr u c tio n
f o r a s p e c ific o b je c tiv e . The program was very
concentrated and h ig h ly c o n tro lle d tending to reduce
spurious behavior and fo rc in g th e c h ild re n through
pacing to co n cen trate on th e issue a t hand. There
w ere, however, instances o f n e g ative a ttitu d e s de­
velop ing among c h ild re n as a r e s u lt o f being r a p id ly
paced. Once th e students lo s t the pacing they were
l e f t out o f th e program and s in ce i t was a group
in s tr u c tio n a l program few d e v ia te d from th e pacing.

Summary o f e ffe c ts
experim ent.

[successes! from th e performance in c e n tiv e

74

II.

1.

G re a te r Impetus was given to contingency management and
In d iv id u a liz e d programs than to performance c o n tra c tin g .
School personnel rep o rted g re a te r success during the
second and t h ir d y e a r o f program o p e ra tio n than during
th e f i r s t y e a r. T h e re fo re success may have re s u lte d in
a change from performance c o n tra c ts f o r achievement to
c o n tra c ts fo r c o n s u lta n t s e rv ic e s , the l a t t e r a llo w in g
more tea ch er in p u t.

2.

Teachers and programmed m a te ria ls were id e n t if ie d as the
most e f f e c t iv e components f o r assuring success o f these
programs.

3.

Teachers and school a d m in is tra to rs gave c r e d it to p riv a te
firm s fo r i n i t i a t i n g new in s tr u c tio n a l approaches.

4.

Dram atic e ffe c ts were recorded f o r in d iv id u a l p u p ils
and groups in achievement ranging from improved a t t i ­
tu d es, to gains o f fo u r grades o r more in re ad in g .

5.

Use o f p o s itiv e rein fo rcem en t to m o tiva te c h ild re n was
th e most s t r ik in g fe a tu re o f c o n tra c tin g .

O b je c tiv e B. To analyze th e impact o f in c e n tiv e s upon " e ffic ie n c y "
and "achievem ent."
A.

P riv a te firm s had a n tic ip a te d producing achievement gains a t
a more e f f i c i e n t r a te than costs f o r re g u la r classroom
in s tr u c tio n .
To d e lin e a te what had been accomplished by
p riv a te firm s in t h e i r o b je c tiv e to achieve " e f f ic ie n c y ,"
in te rv ie w e es were asked, "Did p r iv a te firm s produce ach ieve­
ment grade u n its 1n reading o r math a t a more 'e f f i c i e n t *
r a te (c o s t) than c o n tro l classrooms?"
1.

Table 7 , i ll u s t r a t e s the d i f f i c u l t i e s in gaining a c le a r
p ic tu r e o f what was achieved in " e f f ic ie n c y ." S u b s ta n tia l
in crease in "no response" f o r reading appears to support
the b e l i e f th a t 0E0 a u d it re p o rts d id not e lim in a te the
confusion centered around the c a p a c ity o f p r iv a te firm s
to achieve gains a t a more e f f i c i e n t r a te than c o n tro l
o r re g u la r classrooms.

2.

Four firm s f e l t s tro n g ly th a t e f f ic ie n c y goals may have
been le g it im a t e ly met, had c r ite r io n -r e fe r e n c e d t e s t
re s u lts been used to determ ine payment.

3.

One d i s t r i c t repo rted g re a te r e f f ic ie n c y f o r c o n tra c t
gains than f o r re g u la r classroom s, per grade u n it o f
g a in .
However p a r t ia l c r e d it f o r th is gain was given
to a human r e la tio n s in s e rv ic e workshop which was given
c r e d it fo r helping teachers to improve s e lf-c o n c e p ts
o f p u p ils .

75
TABLE 7 . — E ffic ie n c y o f Experimental Classroom Compared to Control
Classrooms.
Subjects

Yes

No

No Response

T o ta ls

Reading

17

10

23

50

5

6

39

50

22

16

—

—

Math
T o ta ls

B.

Although p r iv a te firm s d id not reach t h e i r e ffic ie n c y g o a ls ,
numerous re p o rts show t h e i r e f f o r t s were marked by s u b s ta n tia l
success w ith students who had reading problems.

Teachers and a d m in is tra to rs commended p riv a te firm s f o r Improving
student a t t it u d e s , promoting p o s itiv e rein fo rcem en t stances among
te a c h e rs , and f o r s e ttin g in to motion new in s tru c tio n a l a lt e r n a t iv e s .
Thus " e ffic ie n c y " in terms o f "costs" was not achieved y e t in terms
o f in d iv id u a l and group successes numerous e ffe c ts were seemingly
r e a liz e d .
III.

O b je c tiv e C. To id e n t if y humanizing e ffe c ts o p e ra tin g in
experim ental classrooms.
A.

An o b je c tiv e o f th is study was to look fo r humanizing
fe a tu re s o f c o n tra c tin g th a t removed th e stigma o f
"re m e d ia tio n ." A search f o r humanizing e ffe c ts was made
by asking in te rv ie w e e s , "Would you id e n t if y humanizing
fe a tu re s o p e ra tin g in c o n tra c t classrooms th a t improved
the le a rn in g clim a te? " The fo llo w in g are paraphrased
responses f o r fe a tu re s id e n t if ie d by respondents:
1.

Reinforcem ent.
a.

Highest resp ect was given to in d iv id u a l stu d en ts.

b.

P o s itiv e rewards were given in place o f punishment
as a means o f m o tiv a tin g p u p ils to le a rn .

c.

In te r a c tio n between teachers and students was
organized to s tres s p o s itiv e pupil behavior in

76
e f f o r t s to e lim in a te n eg ative tea ch er reinfo rcem en t
p a tte rn s . A system o f monetary rewards and tea ch er
verb al and non-verbal p ra is e was used to b rin g about
th e d esired e f f e c t .
d.

2.

3.

During the f i r s t y e a r in a p ro je c t p u p ils ' s o c ia l
and study h a b its appeared to be e f f e c t i v e l y a lte r e d
through being given monetary rew ards. T h e re a fte r
students began to fe e l more s e lf-re w a rd e d f o r t h e i r
achievements. As a r e s u lt some teachers developed
a m odified e x t r in s ic reward system id e n t if ie d as
"so cia l a p p ro v a l."
In p lace o f in d iv id u a l rew ards,
monetary resources were used by p u p ils to share
through stagin g s o c ia l fu n c tio n s o f b e n e fit to the
t o ta l group. A d d itio n a lly teachers stim u late d p u p ils
to re in fo rc e one an o ther through encouragement and
re c o g n itio n o f academic progress.

Teachers.
a.

The presence o f c e r t if ic a t e d teachers supported the
humanizing fe a tu re s as opposed to th e m echanistic
n a tu re o f th e system approach to in s tr u c tio n .

b.

Teacher aides were o f Immediate valu e to c h ild re n ,
working in teams w ith black and w h ite te a c h e rs .

In s tru c tio n .
a.

Peer group in te r a c tio n , pantomime, and debates were
e f f e c t iv e ly used.

b.

Instrum ents were a v a ila b le f o r id e n tify in g more
r a p id ly the weaknesses and stren g th s o f in d iv id u a l
p u p ils .

c.

A c t iv it y and re c re a tio n rooms were popular w ith
stu d en ts.

d.

In one p r o je c t, i f students did not want to work,
they were re q u ire d to p lace t h e i r head down on the
desk o r ju s t s i t a f t e r com pleting an assignment.
Some students were observed p ic kin g up t h e i r p e n c ils
w ith th e a t t it u d e th a t they might as w e ll work.
They appeared to have concluded i f no one were
pushing them they were w illin g to t r y .

e.

V it a l to th e le a rn in g process were meetings on a
w eekly basis w ith th e p ro je c t co n s u lta n t to discuss
ways in which a d u lt behaviors were changed as they
viewed c h ild re n .

4

77
f.

In small groups teachers f e l t c lo s e r to p u p ils than
they did in a re g u la r classroom. C h ild re n also
ap p a re n tly f e l t c lo s e r to each o th e r.

g.

Communicating c lo s e ly w ith in d iv id u a l students f o r
f i v e o r ten minutes in a teaching s itu a tio n gave a
tea ch er tim e to be w ith each c h ild , h is problems,
and th e o p p o rtu n ity f o r undivided tea ch er a tte n tio n .

h.

Some students who were la b eled " tro u b le m akers,"
performed w ell in c o n tra c t rooms.

i.

As a r e s u lt o f success experiences in th e classroom
students f e l t good about themselves.

j.

I t was s tim u la tin g
in s tru c tio n a l tim e
p a rts on machines,
re in fo rc e m e n t, and
w r itin g .

to c h ild re n to o rg an ize the
each day in to e ig h t p a rts : two
one p a rt f o r "teach er t a lk " and
fo u r p arts f o r c r e a tiv e s to ry

B. - The number o f humanizing fe a tu re s a tt r ib u te d to c o n tra c tin g
were numerous. T h erefo re an e f f o r t was made to determ ine
some cause o r m o tiv a tio n f o r t h is a c t i v i t y .
How teachers
f e l t about p u p ils was considered fundamental to t h e i r
u ltim a te success in e f f o r t s to humanize in s tr u c tio n . To
fu r t h e r exp lo re what teachers b a s ic a lly b elieved about the
a b i l i t y o f c h ild re n to le a rn they were asked, "Do you
b e lie v e any c h ild can le a rn regard less o f the c h ild 's past
record?" N in e ty -th re e percent o f the n in e ty percent
responding said they b elie ve d any c h ild could le a rn reg ard ­
less o f h is past reco rd . The major reasons given are
paraphrased as fo llo w s :
1.

We le a rn a l l through l i f e .

2.

A ll c h ild re n can le a r n , only the r a t e o f le a rn in g v a rie s .

3.

C ontract environment proved th a t c h ild re n can le a rn
since a l l c h ild re n showed some a c c e le ra tio n .

4.

I t ' s human to le a rn to grow.

5.

C h ild ren can le a rn to read as n a tu r a lly as they le a rn
to speak.

6.

I f p ro p e rly paced, a l l c h ild re n can le a rn .

7.

Type "A" p u p ils did very w ell in c o n tra c t programs.
Even in cases o f extreme r e ta r d a tio n , c h ild re n made
good gains.

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78
As c o n tra c tin g developed, p r iv a t e firm s encouraged use o f a
monetary reward system in an e f f o r t to e lim in a te n eg ative teacher and
pupil beh avio r, which was believed to have been an underlying cause
f o r low achievement.

Through observation teachers reported th a t

students were i n i t i a l l y motivated by being given rewards, but i n ­
c re a s in g ly f e l t self-rew ard ed by having success experiences.

Conse­

quently interview ees reported t h a t reinforcem ent systems g r e a t ly
contributed to humanizing in s t r u c t io n f o r c h ild re n p re v io u s ly e x p e ri­
encing f a i l u r e .
IV.

O b jec tive D.
p ra c tic e s .

To i d e n t i f y fe a tu re s unique only to c o n tra c tin g

A... To i d e n t i f y in n o v a tiv e performance c o n tra c tin g ideas, i n t e r ­
viewees were asked, "Were th e re fe a tu re s o peratin g in your
p r o je c t t h a t were only unique to c o n tra c tin g p rac tice s? "
T h i r t y respondents said th a t th ere were unique fe a tu re s
o perating in t h e i r p r o je c t s . Table 8 , l i s t s the fe a tu re s
reported.

V.

1.

Contingency management was ranked as the most unique
fe a tu r e o f c o n tra c tin g , w ith flo w c h a r ts , p re s c r ip tio n
tea ch in g , and machines fo llo w in g close behind.

2.

The most common c h a r a c t e r is t ic o f the fe a tu re s is the
closeness to which most items come to f i t t i n g in to a
system o f management techniques and o rg a n iz a tio n o f
curriculum f o r i n s t r u c t io n .

3.

Managing curriculum through s k i l l f u l co o rd in atio n o f
human and technological resources was a unique c h a ra c te r­
i s t i c o f c o n tra c tin g .

O b jec tive E. To seek the cause f o r the OEO's sudden d im in ish mant o f support f o r c o n tra c tin g .
A.

In February 1972, the 0E0 announced t h a t i t s o b je c tiv e to
improve in s tr u c t io n through c o n tra c tin g had f a i l e d and
t h a t support was being dim inished. To gain c l a r i f i c a t i o n
f o r the government's d ecisio n interview ees were asked,
"Why did the Federal government r a p i d ly dim inish i t s support
f o r co n tracting ?" The fo llo w in g paraphrased remarks were
t y p ic a l o f the reasons given:

79
TABLE 8 . — Unique Features o f C o n tractin g .

Features

Number Reporting
Features

Contingency management

11

Flow charts

9

Teaching machines

8

M u lt ile v e l m a te ria ls

6

Teacher aides

5

•Systems management

5

In s e rv ic e teacher education

2

Small group w ith l i k e s k i l l needs

3

One-to-one p u p il-te a c h e r r a t i o

3

I n d iv id u a liz a t io n

4

Highly s tru c tu re d program

1

7.

The Federal government had one g ran t f o r s ix m i l li o n
d o l l a r s , adm inistered through the 0E0, but did not
p a r t i c u l a r l y dim inish t h e i r support o u tsid e o f th a t
one in s tan ce . T i t l e I and Chapter I I I even encouraged
c o n tra c tin g .

2.

The government gave the t h r u s t to c o n tra c tin g and from
th e re expected schools to tu rn key, e v a lu a te , and continue
c o n tra c tin g through lo c al i n i t i a t i v e .

3.

The evidence became q u ite c l e a r , p a r t i c u l a r l y in Gary,
In d ia n a , and Texarkana, Texas, t h a t a l l t h a t was claimed
f o r these programs would not hold t r u e .
Several p r iv a te
firm s r e a liz e d l i t t l e o r no p r o f i t on t h e i r c o n tra c ts ,
since fa c to r s basic to c o n tra c t terms had not been
considered.
Consequently, as support diminished the
o r ig in a l co n trac to rs r e a liz e d t h a t they could not produce
t h e i r o b je c tiv e s e f f i c i e n t l y .

Since o th e r sources o f support were a v a i l a b l e f o r continuing
c o n tra c tin g a f t e r the e a r ly y e a r s , schools were less i r r i t a t e d by
diminished 0E0 support than they were w ith the sudden announcement o f

4

80
the 0E0 t h a t t h e i r c o n tra c tin g experiment had f a i l e d .

In the judgment

o f in te rv ie w e es the 0E0 f a i l e d to thoroughly measure many p o s itiv e
e f f e c t s o f c o n tra c tin g as w ell as having conducted a questionable
a u d it o f achievement.
V I.

O b je c tiv e F. To s o l i c i t te a c h e rs ' re a c tio n s to the e x t r i n s i c
reward system used in c o n tra c tin g f o r m o tiv a tin g students.
A.

This system fe a tu re d schools using tokens, s k in s , green
stamps, reward rooms, and numerous o th e r items as e x t r i n s i c
rewards f o r r e in f o r c in g p o s it iv e student beh avio r. To
determine th e e f f e c t o f contingency management tea ch ers,
p r i n c ip a ls , and p r i v a t e f ir m consu ltants were asked to
r e a c t to t h e i r reward system.
Of th e eighteen teachers
in te rv ie w e d fo u r did not use a system atic form f o r g iv in g
e x t r i n s i c rewards.

B.

Teachers were asked to express t h e i r agreement w ith the
statements in t h i s se ctio n o f the q u e s tio n n a ire by (a)
S tro n g ly Agree "SA," (b ) Agree "A," (c ) Neutral "N,"
(d ) Disagree "D," o r (e ) S tro n g ly Disagree "SD." The
statements were designed to s o l i c i t re a c tio n s to e x t r i n s i c
m o tiv a tio n and the impact o f in c e n tiv e s upon " e f f i c i e n c y . "
Following is the enumeration o f each o f the e ig h t s t a t e ­
ments, fo llo w ed by paraphrased responses o f in te rv ie w e es :
1.

"The a t t i t u d e toward school o f in c e n tiv e students was
b e t t e r than students in n o n -in c e n tiv e classrooms."
a.

2.

" In c e n tiv e s were e f f e c t i v e in modifying student behavior
when used p ro p e rly and s y s te m a t ic a lly ."
a.

3.

Table 9 shows f i f t e e n o f the tw e n ty -th re e respondents
f e l t th e a t t i t u d e o f in c e n tiv e students was b e t t e r
than n o n -in c e n tiv e stu d en ts. Although th e tendency
was toward a g re e in g , th e re was no evidence o f
system atic comparing o f in c e n tiv e s students' a t t i ­
tudes w ith those o f n o n -in c e n tiv e p u p ils .

Table 10 in d ic a te s t h a t w ell over h a l f o f the r e ­
spondents b elie ve d t h a t in c e n tiv e s m odified student
beh avio r.

" In c e n tiv e s used were a p p ro p ria te f o r rewarding student
b e h a v io r ."

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81

TABLE 9 . - - A t t i t u d e o f In c e n tiv e Students Compared to N on-In centive
Stu dents.
SA

A

N

D

SD

T o ta ls

Teachers

4

5

4

1

0

14

P rin c ip a ls

1

1

2

1

0

5

P r iv a te firm s

4

0

0

0

0

4

T o ta ls

9

6

6

2

0

23

Respondents

TABLE 1 0 . — E ffe c tiv e n e s s o f In c en tiv es in Modifying Student Behavior.
SA

A

N

D

SD

T o ta ls

Teachers

4

5

4

1

0

14

P rin c ip a ls

1

1

2

1

0

5

P riv a te firm s

4

0

0

0

0

4

T o ta ls

9

6

6

2

0

23

Respondents

82
a.

4.

Table 11 shows a tendency toward s tro n g ly agreeing
w ith the appropriateness o f in c e n tiv e s used f o r
rewarding behavior.

"Students were ab le to atte n d to a given task f o r a
s u b s t a n t ia lly longer period o f tim e ."
a.

Table 12, in d ic a te s t h a t students were able to attend
to a given task f o r longer periods o f time

TABLE 11.--A p p ro p ria te n e s s o f In c en tiv es f o r Rewarding Behavior.
SA

A

N

D

SD

T o ta ls

Teachers

7

7

0

0

0

14

P rin c ip a ls

2

2

1

0

0

5

P riv a te firm s

4

0

0

0

0

4

T o ta ls

13

9

1

0

0

23

Respondents

TABLE 1 2 . — A b i l i t y o f Students to Attend to a Task f o r Longer Period o f
Time.
SA

A

N

D

SD

T o ta ls

Teachers

6

5

3

0

0

14

P rin c ip a ls

1

2

1

1

0

5

P riv a te firm s

2

2

0

0

0

4

T o ta ls

9

9

4

1

0

23

Respondents

5.

"In c e n tiv e s were e f f e c t i v e in s tim u la tin g achievement."
a.

Table 13, r e f l e c t s the tendency o f respondents'
b e l i e f t h a t in c e n tiv e s were e f f e c t i v e in stimu­
l a t i n g achievement.

83
TABLE 1 3 .— E f f e c t o f In c en tiv es in S tim u la tin g Achievement.
SA

A

N

0

SD

T o ta ls

Teachers

4

9

1

0

0

14

P rin c ip a ls

2

1

2

0

0

5

P riv a te firm s

1

1

2

0

0

4

T otals

7

11

5

0

0

23

Respondents

6.

" P a r t ic ip a t in g teachers favored the use o f in c en tiv es
w ith disadvantaged stu d en ts."
a.

Table 14, shows t h a t most teachers favored the use
o f in c en tiv es w ith disadvantaged students.

b.

The p o s itio n o f p r iv a t e firm s was influenced by
teacher opposition to in c e n tiv e s during the e a r l i e r
stages o f c o n tra c tin g .

TABLE 1 4 .— P a r t ic ip a t in g Teachers Favoring Incen tives •
SA

A

N

D

SD

Totals

Teachers

4

9

1

0

0

14

P rin c ip a ls

0

4

1

0

0

5

P riv a te firm s

0

2

0

2

0

4

T otals

4

15

2

2

0

23

Respondents

7.

The " f r e e room" or "RE" room had a p o s itiv e e f f e c t upon
s tu d e n t's a t t i t u d e s .
a.

Table 15, shows t h a t most respondents had taken a
n eu tral p o s itio n toward the concept o f "RE" rooms.
A f t e r two years o f experience most schools had
replaced reward rooms w ith o th e r forms o f re in fo rc e
ment.

84
TABLE 1 5 .— E ff e c t o f "RE" Rooms Upon Students' A tt itu d e s .
SA

A

N

D

SD

Teachers

2

4

3

0

0

9

P rin c ip a ls

0

2

2

0

0

4

P riv a te firm s

1

0

3

0

0

4

T otals

3

6

8

0

0

17

Respondents

b.

- 8.

T o ta ls

Respondents reported social ap p ro val, p r o f i l e c h a rt
progress, and a b i l i t y o f students to fe e l s e l f ­
rewarded f o r achievement as primary reasons f o r
de-emphasizing "RE" rooms.

In cen tives were being used f o r students during the 197273 school y e a r.
a.

Table 16, shows the broad acceptance given to using
in c en tiv es f o r reinforcem ent o f pupil behavior.

TABLE 1 6 .— Reported Use o f Incen tives f o r 1972 -73 School Year.
Yes

No

T otals

14

0

14

P rin c ip a ls

5

0

5

P riv a te firm s

4

0

4

23

0

23

Respondents
Teachers

T o ta ls

C.

In Table 17, which is a summary o f responses
through seven, 82 percent o f the respondents
agreed w ith the e ffe c tiv e n e s s o f contingency
f i f t e e n percent took a n eu tral p o s it io n , and
disagreed.

to statements one
agreed or stro n g ly
management,
th re e percent

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TABLE 1 7 .— Total o f Responses to Statements 1 - 7 , E ffec tiv en e ss o f Rewards.
Summary

SA

A

N

D

SD

T o ta ls

Statements 1-7

84

65

26

6

0

181

Percent

46

36

15

3

0

100

1.

On the basis o f these responses i t can be concluded t h a t
in c en tiv es did p o s it i v e l y m o tivate students.

2.

Superintendents, d ir e c to r s o f curriculum and presidents
o f lo c a l educational agencies r e fr a in e d from making
judgments about e f f e c t s o f reward systems since they
lacked s p e c if ic knowledge o f t h is a c t i v i t y .

3.

P ro jects in t h is study reported increased costs per
grade u n it o f gain in comparison to re g u la r classroom
costs. O r i g i n a l ly i t was hoped t h a t through in c en tiv es
f o r tea ch ers, p u p ils , and the c o n tra c tin g firm s them­
selves a s i g n i f i c a n t increase in e f f i c i e n c y would be
achieved. However in only one p r o je c t were in c e n tiv e s
o ffe re d to teachers and these were r e l u c t a n t ly rescinded
by the p r iv a te f ir m when faced w ith opposition and co u rt
ac tio n by the local teachers' a s s o c ia tio n .

4.

During e a r l i e r phases o f these experiments teachers
commonly rewarded c h ild re n f o r p o s itiv e behavior w ith
tokens, skins, school s to re p r i v i l e g e s , l is t e n in g to
records, f r e e paper backs, reward rooms, and flow charts
designed to show each in d iv id u a l s tu d e n t's progress.
[See p r o f i l e c h a rt in Appendix C, page 1 3 0.] As teachers
gained experience w ith behavior m o d ific a tio n they
changed the o r ig in a l system o f g iv in g monetary rewards
to in d iv id u a ls to a system o f "social ap p ro v a l," a
teach er coordinated in d iv id u a l and group reward process
w ith major emphasis upon promoting social and academic
growth o f p up ils w ith in a group. Social approval was
ch a rac terize d by:
a.

Teachers s i t t i n g down w ith p upils so t h a t students
f e l t they had t h e i r te a c h e r's a t t e n t io n ;

b.

Turning points and tokens in to a group sharing
process, which made i t possible f o r classrooms to
have Christmas, p izza and d inner p a r t ie s ; and

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c.

Teachers c o n s is te n tly r e in fo r c in g students w ith
expressions o f "out o f s i g h t , " " w ild ," " b e a u t i f u l , "
o r "tremendous."

A major goal o f p r iv a te firm s was to place emphasis upon student
in c en tiv es in an e f f o r t to get teachers to c o n s is te n tly r e in f o r c e
students p o s i t i v e l y .

P ro je c t p a r t ic ip a n t s reported success through

use o f e x t r i n s i c rewards w ith p up ils who had a h is to r y o f f a i l u r e .
As p u p ils continued in the program they appeared to become more s e l f ­
motivated w ith less need f o r being m o n e ta rily rewarded.

Observing

th is change teachers diminished use o f in d iv id u a l monetary rewards
and placed more emphasis upon so c ia l ap p ro val.

Through so c ia l approval

in d iv id u a l p u p ils were rewarded by teach ers' p r a is e , gestures and
oth e r non-verbal communication.

Monetary rewards were banked and

used to b e n e f it the group in e f f o r t s to b u ild group cohesiveness or
m o tiv a tio n .

Therefore Table 15, in d ic a tin g e x t r i n s i c m o tiva tio n

continued to be popular, is a r e f l e c t i o n o f the change from g iv in g
monetary in c e n tiv e s to i n d iv id u a ls , to t h a t o f r e in fo r c in g p o s itiv e
behavior through group process.
V II.

O b je c tiv e G. To i d e n t i f y management techniques t h a t had an
e f f e c t upon in d iv id u a liz e d in s t r u c t io n .
A.

An an a ly s is o f management techniques was done to d e lin e a te
fe a tu re s th a t improved in d iv id u a liz e d in s t r u c t io n and
fe a tu re s th a t may have a p p lic a tio n f o r students w ith in
the normal ranges o f i n t e l l i g e n c e , as w ell as disadvantaged
and migrant student p o p u la tio n . To determine the " e f f e c t i v e ­
ness" o f management fe a tu re s interview ees were asked,
" In d ic a te the 'e ff e c t iv e n e s s ' o f in d iv id u a liz e d management
techniques and concepts th a t have improved in d iv id u a liz e d
i n s t r u c t i o n . " The interview ees were asked to s e le c t the
code l e t t e r (a ) S tro n g ly Agree "SA," (b ) Agree "A," (c )
Neutral "N," (d ) Disagree "D," o r (e ) S tro n g ly Disagree
"SD," t h a t best described t h e i r agreement w ith th e fo llo w in g
in d iv id u a liz e d in s t r u c t io n a l components.

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1.

Table 18, in d ic a te s t h a t in d iv id u a liz e d o rg a n iz a tio n a l
techniques provided c o n s tru c tiv e o p p o rtu n itie s f o r
students to work independently and improve t h e i r s e l f concept. Teacher aides and teachers were ra te d as being
the t h i r d and fo u rth most e f f e c t i v e in d iv id u a liz e d
management components.
In c o n tr a s t, the use o f teaching
machines ranked the l e a s t e f f e c t i v e management technique.

2.

Items 16, "Center Manager," 22, "Reading S p e c i a l i s t , "
and 24 , "Math S p e c i a l i s t , " have an unusually high number
o f " n e u tra l" r a tin g s caused by the f a c t t h a t these
p ro fess io n als were not fe a tu re d in most p r o je c t s .
P r iv a te firm s favored employment o f teachers who did
not have a s p e c i a l i s t background in reading or math.
For a number o f reasons, these p ro je c ts focused upon
reading s k i l l s , w ith most o f the mathematics g e n e r a lly
being taught in n o n -co ntract classrooms.

3.

In Table 18, item number 21 , "Student o p p o r tu n itie s to
in t e r a c t more w ith m a te r ia ls than w ith teachers and
a id e s ," r e f l e c t s c o n f l i c t i n g b e l i e f s r e la t e d to the
r o le o f teachers and m a t e r ia ls . Those agreeing w ith
t h is p o in t o f view were teaching in programs where
teachers had close co n tact w ith c h ild re n o r in s i t u ­
atio n s where c h ild re n had time to i n t e r a c t w ith m a te r ia ls
independently o f teachers and a id e s . Those opposed to
the concept monitored a program in which students upon
en te rin g the le a rn in g c e n te r , were given taped recorded
in s tr u c tio n s and m a te r ia ls and then proceeded to do
t h e i r work com pletely independent o f as sistan ce from
teachers and a id e s .
This l a t t e r h ig h ly c o n tr o lle d
approach e x e m p lifie d one o f the few programs t h a t
reached i t s t a r g e t o f 2 . 0 years grade gain f o r one y e a r
o f i n s t r u c t io n .

4.

Objections to p r iv a t e firm s consu ltants recorded in item
number 20, Table 18, were (a ) i n a b i l i t y to r e l a t e to
lo c al school p opulation problems, (b) lack o f promptness
o r o n - s it e presence when needed, (c ) l a t e o r n o n -d e liv e ry
o f m a te r ia ls and parts f o r teaching machines, and (d)
lack o f educational e x p e r t is e .
In c o n tr a s t, these
program weaknesses o f some c o n s u lta n ts , were reported
as e f f e c t i v e strengths f o r many p r iv a t e f ir m c o n s u lta n ts .
Several teachers and p r in c ip a ls were h ig h ly Impressed
w ith the promptness o f firm s in supplying continuous
in s e r v ic e education and needed m a te r ia ls throughout
the experiments.

In d iv id u a liz e d prescribed in s tr u c t io n was to be o p e ra tio n a liz e d
by p r e - t e s t in g students to determine t h e i r le v e l o f s k i l l development

*

88
TABLE 18, — I n t e n s it y o f Agreement w ith " E ffe c tiv e n e s s " o f In d iv id u a liz e d
Management Components.
In d iv id u a liz e d Components

SA

A

N

D

SD

T o ta ls

31

9

2

1

0

43

2 . Student o p p o r tu n itie s to improve
s e lf-c o n c e p t

31

9

2

1

0

43

3. Teacher aides

30

8

3

1

1

43

4. C e r t i f i c a t e d teachers

28

12

3

0

0

43

5. S e lf-p a c in g

27

10

5

1

0

43

6 . Charting progress

25

11

7

0

0

43

7. M o nitorin g progress

23

15

4

0

1

43

8 . Programmed m a te r ia ls

22

15

5

1

0

43

9. Student o p p o r tu n itie s to work w ith o u t
fe a r o f s t a f f c r itic is m

22

14

6

1

0

43

10. D iagnostic procedures

19

8

13

1

2

43

11. B u ild in g p r in c ip a l

19

14

10

0

0

43

12. Learner c o n tro lle d m a te r ia ls

19

13

7

1

3

43

13. Performance p re s c rip tio n s

18

6

16

3

0

43

14. Provisio n f o r co o perative peer
in t e r a c t io n

17

11

15

0

0

43

15. Student importance evidenced by
room f u l l o f m a te r ia ls and
machinery

11

12

9

10

1

43

16. Center manager

16

6

19

2

0

43

17. Grouping p ra c tic e s

16

16

9

2

0

43

18. D i f f e r e n t i a t e d s t a f f i n g

14

17

11

1

0 .

43

19. Teach er-p u pil c o n tra c ts

13

14

15

1

0

43

20. P r iv a te f i r m manager

12

12

7

8

4

43

2 1 . Student o p p o r tu n itie s to i n t e r a c t
more w ith m a te r ia ls than w ith
teachers and aides

11

12

9

10

1

43

2 2 . Reading s p e c i a l i s t

10

12

10

10

1

43

23. Teaching machines

9

16

12

3

3

43

24. Math s p e c i a l i s t

2

2

39

0

0

43

445

274

238

58

17

1032

43

27

23

5 .5

1 .5

100

1 . Student O p p o rtu n itie s to work
independently

T o ta ls
Percent

i

89
in read ing , and then matching m a te r ia ls and a feedback system w ith s k i l l
needs.

In d iv id u a liz e d m a te ria ls were sequenced to produce lo g ic a l

development o f desired s k i l l s .

T h e o r e t ic a lly t h is methodology brings

in to r e a l i t y a one-to-one te a c h in g -le a rn in g r e la t io n s h ip .

Item 17,

Table 18, r e f l e c t s a c o n tra d ic tio n in the methods used by p r iv a te
firm s to in d i v i d u a l i z e in s t r u c t i o n .

In d i v i d u a l i z a t i o n in several

p ro je c ts gave way to o rg an izin g in s tr u c t io n f o r s k i l l groups r a th e r
than f o r in d iv id u a ls .

Teachers, p r i n c ip a ls , and p r iv a t e f ir m s , how­

ever approved t h is arrangement, which appeared to r e f l e c t strong
o r ie n t a t io n to grouping p ra c tic e s .

T y p ic a l l y , a team o f teachers and

a id e s , selected on t h e i r a b i l i t y to s k i l l f u l l y apply management
techniques o f p o s itiv e reinforcem ent and pacing, made up the core
o f an e f f e c t i v e in d iv id u a liz e d in s tr u c t io n a l program.
Table 18, reveals t h a t seventy percent o f those responding
agreed w ith the e ffe c tiv e n e s s o f in d iv id u a liz e d in s tr u c tio n a l compo­
nents i d e n t i f i e d in t h is t a b le .

Therefore the " e ffe c tiv e n e s s 11 o f

in d iv id u a liz e d in s t r u c t io n a l techniques in c o n tra c t environments was
s tro n g ly supported by p a r t ic ip a n t s .
V III.

O b je c tiv e H. To i d e n t i f y a p p l i c a b i l i t y o f in d iv id u a liz e d
in s t r u c t io n to mobile student pop ulatio ns.
A.

The question was asked, "In what ways would in d iv id u a liz e d
in s t r u c t io n be e f f e c t i v e f o r mobile student populations?"
Following are exemplary paraphrased responses:
1.

In p ro je c ts c h ild re n were sometimes absent f o r two
months, and upon re tu rn in g to school began where they
le ft o ff.
Therefore In d iv id u a liz e d m a te ria ls are
b e n e fic ia l f o r students who are mobile o r who attend
school i r r e g u l a r l y .

2.

I f a number o f schools were using the same program i t
would be convenient to send a c h i l d 's in s t r u c t io n a l
p r o f i l e to the re c e iv in g teachers f o r continuing
i n s t r u c t io n .

90
3.

I d e a l l y , students in an in d iv id u a liz e d program are
le a rn in g to work independently, th e re fo r e t h is should
ease the adjustment f o r those th a t are m obile.

4.

Students scheduled f o r in d iv id u a liz e d in s t r u c t io n are
programmed in to a range o f s k i l l l e v e l s , th e re fo re
incoming students can more e f f e c t i v e l y be paced than
in t r a d i t i o n a l classrooms.

Large c i t y systems reported some success w ith stand ard izin g
m a te ria ls c ity -w id e to b e n e f it i n - c i t y m o b ilit y .

The above responses

support the b e l i e f t h a t in d iv id u a liz e d programs s im ila r to those used
in c o n tra c t experim entation have p o te n tia l f o r developing s ta n d a rd iza tio n
o f m a te ria ls to adapt to increased m o b ilit y between schools using th is
method.
IX .

O b je c tiv e I .
To provide teachers w ith the o p p ortun ity to
express preferences f o r s p e c ifie d sources o f in - s e r v ic e edu­
c a tio n .
A.

To determine which programs were most p re fe rre d interview ees
were asked to s e le c t th re e sources o f in s e rv ic e from a l i s t
o f n in e , and then rank them in order o f preference from "1"
to " 3 ," w ith one being the most p re fe rre d form o f in s e rv ic e .
1.

Table 19, in d ic a te s a preference by educators i n t e r ­
viewed f o r in s e rv ic e education drawn from a combination
o f local school s t a f f , u n i v e r s it y , and p r iv a t e firm
sources.
P riv a te firm s appear to be p a r t i a l toward
educational assistance which would help them r e a l i z e
t h e i r own p a r t i c u l a r program goals.

2.

The le a s t p re fe rre d source o f in s e rv ic e appears to be
t h a t r e s u ltin g from resources selected from a combination
o f lo c al school s t a f f and the professional teachers
a s s o c ia tio n .

3 ..

I t should be noted t h a t nine f i r s t choices were given
to an in s e rv ic e combination o f professional teachers
a s s o c ia tio n , lo c a l school s t a f f , p r iv a t e f i r m , and
u n iv e r s it y . Therefore the d e s ire o f the professional
teachers a s so c ia tio n to have an input in to in s e rv ic e
is strong.

4.

Teachers voiced support f o r in v o lv in g the u n iv e r s ity
in development o f in s e r v ic e . This is e s p e c ia lly

T A B L E

1 9 . —

P r e f e r r e d

S o u r c e s

o f

I n s e r v i c e

E x p r e s s e d

Teachers

Principals

b y

I n t e r v i e w e e s .

Superin­
tendents

Sources of
Inservice Education

Directors of
Curriculum

Project
Directors

Presidents of
Local Ed. Ass's.

Private
Firms

Totals

F irs t and Second Choices

School s ta ff

4-3

2-2

0-2

1-3

2-0

2-0

1-2

12-12

School s ta ff—private firm

4-2

1-3

0-1

1-0

0-1

2-1

5-1

13- 9

School-teachers association

0-1

0-0

0-0

0-0

0-0

0-1

0-0

0- 2

School s ta ff—university

5-3

2-0

3-0

2-0

0-0

0-2

1-0

13- 5

Teachers association

0-0

0-0

0-0

0-0

0-0

0-0

0-0

0- 0

Teachers association—school
s ta ff-p riv a te firm

0-2

0-1

1-1

0-0

1-0

0-0

0-1

2- 5

Teachers association—school
s ta ff—private firm—
university

4-2

2-1

1-1

0-1

0-1

1-0

1-0

9- 6

Teachers association—school
s ta ff—university

1-2

0-0

0-0

0-0

0-0

0-0

0-2

1- 4

Teachers association—
university

0-0

G-0

0-0

0-0

0-0

0-0

0-0

0- 0

18-15

7-7

5-5

4-4

3-2

5-4

8-6

50-43

Totals

92
important considering e f f o r t s by teachers associations
to have a g re a te r voice in the process o f lic e n s in g
teachers.
Teachers, a d m in is tra to r s , and the teachers
a s so c ia tio n s t i l l look to the u n iv e r s it y f o r q u a li t y
c o n su ltants.
X.

O b jec tive J. To examine the im p lic a tio n s o f Federal government
involvement in local school operations as r e la te d to d e c is io n ­
making ro les o f teach ers, a d m in is tra to rs , and determ ination o f
school p o lic y .
A.

In p r a c t ic e , a p r iv a t e f ir m may enjoy f u l l o r p a r t i a l
a u t h o r it y f o r making curriculum decisions and f o r adminis­
t e r in g a c o n tra c t p r o je c t.
To determine to what exten t
t h is took place and to d iscover o ther decision-making
r e la tio n s h ip s th a t developed through c o n tra c tin g , i n t e r ­
viewees were asked to respond to the fo llo w in g questions.
(This section o f the q u estion n aire is included in i t s
e n t i r e t y , followed by a ta b le f o r each s e c t io n .)
1.

"What e f f e c t has the Federal government's 'management
support system* had upon lo c a l school-community d e c is io n ­
making?"
a.

Table 20, shows th a t even though a number o f educators
f e l t the Federal government had become e x te n s iv e ly
involved in lo c al school a f f a i r s through c o n tra c tin g
few f e l t i t threatened lo c al control o f education.

TABLE 2 0 . — E f fe c t o f "Management Support System:
Questions

Upon Decision-M aking.".

Yes

No

Percent

T o ta ls

D i f f e r e n t people made decisions

17

28

38

45

Development o f F e d e ra l-lo c a l p artn ersh ip

19

25

42

44

More in n o v ativ e programs

34

11

76

45

9

36

20

45

79

100

44

179

Less lo c a l control
T otals

93
b.

2.

Seventy-six percent o f the respondents gave c r e d i t
to th e Federal government's funding f o r providing
resources f o r development o f “more in n o v a tiv e pro­
grams." Consequently few f e l t they could have
brought about the kinds o f changes t y p i f i e d by
c o n tra c tin g w ith o u t i n i t i a l governmental support.

"To what e x te n t was the lo c a l te a c h e r's a s s o c ia tio n
involved in developing co n trac tin g ? "
a.

Table 21, r e f l e c t s teacher resentment f o r not being
involved w ith i n i t i a l planning o f c o n tra c t e x p e r i­
ments .

TABLE 2 1 .--In v o lv e m e n t o f Teachers' Association in C o n trac tin g .
Yes

No

11

33

44

8

36

44

Operational phase

22

19

41

Association support

21

20

41

52

118

170

Questions
Local te a c h e r's a s so c ia tio n was
involved in c o n tra c tin g
In itia l

planning

T o ta ls

T o ta ls

b.

Some a d m in is tra to rs explained t h a t teachers were not
involved because in many instances programs had to
be q u ic k ly designed during the summer vacation to
take advantage o f c u rre n t funding.

c.

Other a d m in is tra to rs reported th a t teachers had been
involved in i n i t i a l plann ing , w h ile the teachers in
the school system were denying t h a t they had been
involved .
Contract p a r t ic ip a n ts r e f le c t e d the
continuing s tru g g le by teachers f o r increased i n ­
volvement in decision-making a u th o r ity .
In te re s tin g ly ,
as c o n tra c tin g moved in t o i t s second and t h ir d years
o f o p e ra tio n , the teachers but not t h e i r as so ciatio ns
achieved g r e a te r involvement in s tr u c tu r in g p ro je c ts .

94
3.

4.

" C e r t i f i e d teachers played which o f th e fo llo w in g ro les?"
a.

As can be seen by th e responses in Table 2 2 , the
t e a c h e r 's r o le in c o n tra c tin g was as comprehensive
as t h a t o f a te a c h e r in a r e g u la r classroom.

b.

Teachers in c r e a s in g ly became the leaders in c u r r i ­
culum development and they held most o f the p o s itio n s
needed to supervise th e p r o je c t s .

"The p r i v a t e f i r m 's le a rn in g manager played which o f
the fo llo w in g r o le ( s ) ? "

TABLE 2 2 . — Roles o f C e r t i f i c a t e d Teachers in C o n tra c tin g .
Questions

T o ta ls

Yes

No

35

12

47

5

42

47

Center Manager

26

21

47

Reading s p e c i a l i s t

20

27

47

Only a te c h n ic ia n

10

37

47

P a r t i c i p a t o r in curriculum decisions

26

21

47

Only a f a c i l i t a t o r

13

33

46

135

193

328

P ro je c t d ir e c t o r
Math s p e c i a l i s t

T o ta ls

5.

The b u ild in g p r in c ip a l played th e fo llo w in g r o l e ( s ) , "
a.

Tables 23 and 24 i l l u s t r a t e th e c o n f l i c t i n g ro le s
o f p r in c ip a ls and p r i v a t e firm s and i t would seem
t h a t b u ild in g p r in c ip a ls were keenly aware o f t h e i r
c o n f l i c t i n g r o l e . As p ro je c ts progressed th e r o le
o f le a rn in g manager was changed from "manager" to
"co n s u lta n t" thus d im in ish in g p o s sib le c o n f l i c t
between p r i v a t e firm s and p r i n c ip a ls .

95
TABLE 2 3 . — Contracting Role o f P riv a te Firm 's Learning Manager.
Questions

T o ta ls

Yes

No

A d m in is tra to r o f c o n tra c tin g program

22

20

42

D ir e c t o r o f p r o je c t

26

17

43

Consultant to s t a f f

42

2

44

90

39

129

T o ta ls

TABLE 2 4 . — C on tractin g Role o f P r in c ip a l.
Yes

No

D ir e c to r o f curriculum

17

26

43

A d m in is tra to r o f c o n tra c tin g p r o je c t

22

22

44

Consultant to c o n tra c tin g s t a f f

19

25

44

A u th o rity over the p r iv a t e
f i r m 's personnel

14

28

42

72

101

173

Questions

T o ta ls

6.

7.

T o ta ls

The teach er aid e played th e fo llo w in g r o le ( s ) ? "
a.

Although the r o le o f an aide in Table 25 was i d e n t i f i e d
as a te c h n ic ia n , so s i m il a r were the ro le s o f teachers
and aides t h a t in terview ees made l i t t l e d i s t i n c t i o n
between fu n c tio n s o f aides and tea ch ers.

b.

The d i v e r s i f i e d r o le o f the teacher aid e was con­
sid ered by the respondents to be o f tremendous
support to teachers and p u p ils .

To conclude t h is in q u ir y on decision-m aking, interview ees
were asked, "Do you consider empowering p r i v a t e firm s
w ith decision-m aking a u t h o r it y a productive a l t e r n a t i v e
f o r improving educational programs?"

96
TABLE 2 5 . --C o n tr a c tin g Role o f Teacher Aide.
Yes

No

Technician f o r co o rd in atin g
in d iv id u a liz e d in s tr u c tio n

38

9

47

Record Keeper

40

7

47

Tutor

39

8

47

Supervisor o f "RE" rooms

16

27

43

Contingency manager

16

27

43

A second teacher

25

22

47

174

100

274

Questions

T o ta ls

a.

T o ta ls

Interviewees were somewhat d ivid ed on t h is question
w ith f o r t y - e i g h t percent answering yes and f i f t y two percent responding no. They were however,
impressed w ith the a b i l i t y o f p r iv a te firm s to get
co n tra c t p ro je c ts i n i t i a t e d .

C o n f lic t o f ro les diminished r a p id ly as p r iv a t e firm s moved
away from the arena o f performance c o n tra c tin g toward s e l li n g m a te r ia ls
and co n su ltant services to schools.

In c re a s in g ly teachers and p r i n c i ­

pals took the i n i t i a t i v e to f u r t h e r develop in s tr u c tio n a l programs
begun by p r iv a te co n tra c to rs .
X I.

O b jec tive K. To i d e n t i f y changes e ffe c te d by co n trac tin g in
p a r t i c ip a t i n g schools.
A.

With two o r more years o f performance c o n trac tin g experience
th e re was p o te n tia l f o r change to develop in p a r t i c ip a t i n g
schools. Section "G” o f the q u e stio n n aire asked interview ees
to i d e n t i f y innovations t h a t had taken place in t h e i r schools
as a r e s u l t o f c o n tra c tin g .
Changes i d e n t i f i e d are ranked
in order o f g re a te s t change to le a s t change in Table 26.
1.

A d ir e c tio n a l change did occur in o v e ra ll in s tr u c tio n a l
procedures in a commitment to p o s it i v e l y r e in fo rc e p u p ils .

97
This evidence o f change was supported by seve n ty -th ree
percent o f the respondents as noted in Table 26.
It
would seem t h a t p r iv a t e firm s d id achieve t h e i r o b je c tiv e
o f in flu e n c in g teachers to change from n egative to
p o s itiv e reinforcem ent.
2.

In d iv id u a liz e d in s t r u c t io n a l components s u b s t a n t ia lly
replaced t r a d i t i o n a l remedial reading p ra c tic e s in
p r o je c t schools. Table 26, r e f l e c t s t h is and i d e n t i f i e s
a p a tte rn o f d ia g n o s t ic -p e r s c r ip t iv e teach ing . C r i t e r i o n referenced te s ts continue to replace o th e r standardized
measures, p a r t i c u l a r l y f o r p o s t- te s tin g .
Quick assessment
te s ts were used e x te n s iv e ly f o r p r e - t e s t i n g .

3.

In s e rv ic e education from p r iv a t e firm s was s u b s ta n tia l
during i n i t i a t i o n o f p ro je c ts . Table 26, shows a con­
tinued in t e r e s t in these s e rv ic e s . The r o le o f firm s
changed from i n i t i a t i n g ac tio n in the schools to t h a t
o f consulting se rv ic e s .

Although schools re fe r re d to t h e i r reading in s t r u c tio n as i n d i ­
vidual i zed* o fte n students were grouped by s k i l l

needs.

Computers and

o ther machines played a r o l e , but t h e i r p o te n tia l was not r e a liz e d in
c o n tra c t p ro je c ts .
in c e n tiv e s .

Table 26, r e f l e c t s the dim inishing use o f e x t r i n s i c

F i n a l l y , although teachers were i n i t i a t i n g changes in

o rg a n iza tio n and s tr u c tu r e o f t h e i r reading programs, th ere were few
s itu a tio n s where lo c al teacher associations were involved in d ec is io n ­
making.
Summary
Most interview ees questioned the v a l i d i t y o f e x t e r n a lly audited
standardized t e s t r e s u l t s , b e lie v in g th a t the au d its not only f a i l e d
to a c c u ra te ly measure reading achievement, but overlooked o ther p o s it iv e
e f f e c t s o f c o n tra c tin g as w e l l .

Large group t e s t in g , inexperienced

te s t a d m in is tra to rs , and d i f f i c u l t y in o b ta in in g an accurate ev alu atio n
o f reading a b i l i t y w ith a s in g le standardized reading t e s t were c ite d

98

TABLE 2 6 .— Changes Resulting from C o n tractin g .
Yes

No

Percent

Pre and p o s t-te s tin g

38

11

78

49

Use o f programmed m a te ria ls

38

11

78

49

B e li e f t h a t c h ild re n can le a rn regardless
o f t h e i r past record

37

12

75

49

Commitment to concept o f " P o s itiv e
Reinforcement"

36

13

73

49

In d iv id u a liz e d in s tr u c tio n

36

13

73

49

C r ite rio n -re fe r e n c e d te s ts

34

15

69

49

Sequencing-of o b je c tiv e s

32

17

68

49

Grouping by s k i l l needs

29

20

59

49

Use o f teaching machines

25

24

51

49

Continuing in s e rv ic e by p r iv a t e fir m

25

24

51

49

Use o f i n t r i n s i c in c en tiv es

19

29

39

48

Use o f e x t r i n s i c in c en tiv es

17

32

35

49

D i f f e r e n t ia t e d s t a f f in g

17

32

35

49

Computerized grading

16

33

33

49

Curriculum decision-making by teachers

16

33

33

49

Decision-making a t school b u ild in g le v e l

15

34

31

49

Building budgeting

14

33

29

47

A b i l i t y grouping

14

35

29

49

Local teacher a s so c ia tio n involvement

10

39

20

49

468

460

50

928

Changes

T o ta ls

T o ta ls

99
as major reasons given f o r s e rio u s ly questioning reported r e s u l t s .

In

co n trast in te r n a l re p o rts by p a r t i c ip a t i n g schools showed t h a t many
p up ils made s u b s ta n tia l gains in reading and so c ia l a t t i t u d e s .
Through p r iv a t e fir m s ' c o n tra c tin g , th ere was a demonstrated
growth o f measured pupil achievement in the lower p e r c e n t ile groups
o f elementary c h ild re n .

Contrary to e x p e c ta tio n s , pupil growth was

more s i g n i f i c a n t in these lower p e r c e n t ile le v e ls than in upper per­
c e n t i l e groups.

I t is possible t h a t influen ces upon pupil growth such

as teaching m a te ria ls may have been unconsciously aimed a t the lower
groups or th a t c o n tra c tin g schools placed g re a te r emphasis upon these
pupils in requesting c o n tra c t assistance in less s o p h is tic a te d s k i l l
development areas.

The decrease in absenteeism, f o r example, might

have more in flu e n c e in improving reading s k i l l s f o r lower performance
c h ild re n than those who were c l e a r l y high achievers in the upper p er­
c e n t i l e groups.
Since the in s tr u c tio n a l systems used in experimental programs
were e f f e c t i v e f o r students in the lower p e r c e n tile o f an expectancy
t a b le , th ere appears to be hope f o r many students who f a l l
n atio n al average norms in reading.

below the

Further evidence f o r t h is p o s s i b i l i t y

was r e f le c t e d in the progress o f l a t e r elementary c h ild r e n .

Groups o f

fo u r th , f i f t h , and s ix th graders located in th re e d i f f e r e n t d i s t r i c t s
produced r e s u lts in reading ranging from 1 .5 years to over 2 .0 years
fo r a y e a r 's e f f o r t .

Because these groups o f p u p ils had not achieved

a t t h is r a t e in previous years the r e s u lts were impressive.
Because most school d i s t r i c t s reported increased costs per grade
u n it o f gain compared to re g u la r classroom co s ts , the performance

100
c o n tra c t o b je c tiv e to produce " e f f ic ie n c y " was not r e a l i z e d .

Neverthe­

less s u b s ta n tia l successes in reading achievement were recorded f o r
in d iv id u a ls and groups o f p u p ils .

T h e refo re the e x te n t to which i n d i ­

vidual p up ils were achieving may have been a b e t t e r d eterm in er o f
e f f i c i e n c y , since many students who had been la b e le d f a i l u r e s o r
retarded made impressive gains in reading ranging from 2 .0 to 4 .0
grade gains f o r one y e a r 's e f f o r t .

E f f o r t s by c o n tra c t teachers to

p o s it iv e ly r e in fo r c e behavior through in d iv id u a liz e d in s t r u c t io n appear
to have overcome the stigma of " la b e lin g " r e s u ltin g in improved a t t i ­
tudes and achievement f o r many p u p ils .
Resources a llo c a te d to in s e rv ic e a c t i v i t i e s through p r iv a te
firm s w e r e 's u b s t a n t ia l.

Consequently p r o je c t personnel had o p p o rtu n ity

to p a r t i c ip a t e in p reo p eration al in s e r v ic e as w ell as having time f o r
o n - s ite t r a in in g as p ro je c ts became o p e r a tio n a liz e d .

I n i t i a l l y , p r iv a t e

firms s tru c tu re d the in s e rv ic e co n ten t, however teachers were i n ­
c re a s in g ly c a lle d upon to develop p r o je c t changes designed to improve
in s tr u c tio n a l p a tte rn s .

This in p u t by teachers may have determined

the success o f c o n tra c t programs since i t was during the second year
o f operations t h a t schools began to reach t h e i r achievement o b je c tiv e s .
Teachers, a d m in is tra to rs , and the teach ers' a s s o c ia tio n were
impressed w ith success p r iv a te tirm s r e a liz e d in helping teachers to
p o s it i v e l y r e in fo r c e student behavior.

Nevertheless they also look to

the u n iv e r s ity f o r co n su ltant assistance and urged professors to become
more c lo s e ly involved w ith o n -s c h o o l-s ite In s e rv ic e education.
The performance c o n tra c t "clim a te " c h a ra c te riz e d by (a ) in s e r v ic e
education f o r teach ers, (b) promotion o f p o s itiv e reinforcem ent techniques,

101

and (c ) use o f in d iv id u a liz e d in s t r u c t io n a l technology may have created
a "halo" e f f e c t .

In p a r t i c u l a r , personnel working in p r o je c t classrooms

r e f le c t e d e n th u s ia s tic commitment to improving the classroom c lim a te
through c le v e r c o o rd in atio n o f human and techn o lo g ical resources.

As

a r e s u l t th ere were some in d ic a tio n s t h a t teachers in r e g u la r classrooms
became c o m p e titiv e w ith c o n tra c t classrooms through exposure to t h is
a c tiv ity .
Federal government funding provided schools w ith resources to
develop in n o v a tiv e programs f o r improving achievement in reading and
math through performance c o n tra c tin g .
p a r t i c ip a t i o n in lo c a l school programs.

One r e s u l t was government
However few educators f e l t

t h a t t h is i n t e r f e r e d w ith lo c a l c o n tro l o f education.

The government,

in becoming th e change-agent f o r in s t r u c t io n a l fe a tu re s t y p i f i e d by
c o n tra c tin g , was a s s is tin g educators to f a c i l i t a t e change t h a t under
o rd in a ry circumstances may have been p o l i t i c a l l y d i f f i c u l t to expedite
by lo c al educational agencies.
A trend in p ro je c ts was to expand s p e c ia liz e d reading i n ­
s tr u c tio n to a l l elementary p u p ils , w ith la rg e c i t y systems re p o rtin g
some success w ith sta n d a rd izin g m a te ria ls c it y -w id e to b e n e f it i n - c i t y
m o b ilit y .

Therefore in d iv id u a liz e d reading programs, s i m il a r to those

used in c o n tra c tin g , have p o te n tia l f o r making a c o n trib u tio n through
sta n d a rd izin g m a te r ia ls to adapt to increased m o b ilit y w ith in and
between c i t i e s .
Eighty-tw o percent o f the respondents f e l t t h a t contingency
management did e f f e c t i v e l y m otivate students.

Although teachers

reported p o s it iv e e f f e c t s r e s u lt in g from student in c e n tiv e s , p ro je c ts

102

in t h is study reported increased costs per grade u n it o f gain f o r
reading in comparison to re g u la r classroom costs.

As p ro je c ts moved

in to the second and t h i r d y e a r , so c ia l ap p ro va l, a teacher coordinated
e f f o r t to r e in fo r c e p o s itiv e behavior through group processes, decreased
use o f the o r ig in a l system o f m o n e ta rily rewarding in d iv id u a l students.
Although the reinforcem ents were s t i l l

e x t r i n s i c in form, more recog­

n it io n appeared to be given to the i n t r i n s i c nature o f students f e e lin g
self-rew ard ed f o r academic and social successes.
As c o n tra c t p ro je c ts progressed, lo c al school personnel i n ­
c re a s in g ly i n i t i a t e d changes from modifying reinforcem ent and i n ­
s tr u c tio n a l systems, to purchasing m a te ria ls and co n su lta n t services
from p r iv a t e firm s .

Consequently the i n t e r e s t o f educators in the

p o te n tia l b e n e fits o f in d iv id u a liz e d reading systems continued to be
co nsiderable.

In Chapter V the im p lic a tio n s o f these fin d in g s are

discussed f u r t h e r .

CHAPTER V
CONCLUSIONS, IMPLICATIONS,
AND RECOMMENDATIONS

The c e n tra l purpose o f t h is study was to i d e n t i f y p ossible
e f f e c t s from school performance c o n tra c tin g p ro je c ts upon c h ild re n i n
the schools involved in the experiment.

To gain a c le a r p ic tu r e o f

the e f f e c t s o f c o n tra c tin g tea ch ers, d ir e c to r s o f p r o je c t s , p r i n c ip a ls ,
superintendents, and presidents o f lo c a l teacher asso ciatio ns were
in te rv ie w e d .

Some f i f t y

p ro fess io n als c lo s e ly associated w ith con­

t r a c t i n g , re presen ting s ix d i f f e r e n t school d i s t r i c t s ranging in s iz e
from 2,000 to 50,000 p u p ils , p a r t ic ip a te d in t h is study.
Through unstructured in te rv ie w s w ith p r iv a t e c o n tra c tin g firm s
and p u b lic educators, p ra c tic e s and procedures common to c o n tra c t
p ro je c ts were i d e n t i f i e d and used to prepare a s tru c tu re d in te rv ie w
instrum ent.

The q u e stio n n aire was designed to gather th e inform ation

needed f o r f u l f i l l i n g the eleven o b je c tiv e s o f t h is study.
In t h is f i n a l chapter conclusions are l i s t e d ; im p lic a tio n s o f
the fin d in g s are discussed; and suggestions and comments f o r f u r t h e r
research a re i d e n t i f i e d .
Conclusions
Eighteen percent o f those interview ed reported students had
gained one o r more grades in reading f o r a y e a r 's e f f o r t .

Another

103
4

104
f o r t y - f o u r percent recorded "some successes."

Consequently th e re were

" e ffe c ts " from the performance in c e n tiv e experiment fa v o rin g d isad ­
vantaged p u p ils .
For referen ce purposes the conclusions which are r e la te d to
" e ffe c ts " o f c o n tra c tin g , are c o rr e la te d w ith the eleven o b je c tiv e s o f
t h is study.
I.

O b jec tive A. To i d e n t i f y e f f e c t s o f the performance in c e n tiv e
experiment upon p a r t i c ip a t i n g p u p ils .
A.

Since students who had been p rev io u sly lab eled reading
f a i l u r e s o r m e n ta lly handicapped made gains in reading
ranging from one to fo u r grade le v e ls f o r one y e a r 's e f f o r t ,
these programs were e f f e c t i v e in overcoming d etrim en tal
e f fe c t s o f la b e lin g and stigma o f rem ediatio n.
I t is
possible t h a t a s e l f - f u l f i l l i n g prophecy resembling th a t
i d e n t i f i e d by Rosenthal and Jacobson influenced achievement.
' Since c o n tra c t tea ch ers, expecting c h ild re n to do w e l l ,
probably gave them c lo s e r a t t e n t io n w ith the r e s u ltin g
improvement in reading.
Conversely when p up ils are not
expected to do w e l l , they g e n e r a lly do n o t . '

B.

Through contingency management many students gained "co n tro l"
o f t h e i r social behavior and a b i l i t y to achieve. To i l l u s ­
t r a t e , absenteeism and d is c i p li n a r y problems diminished
during the i n i t i a l 0E0 experiment and the trend continued
the fo llo w in g two y e ars.
F u rth e r, in d iv id u a ls and groups
o f fo u r th , f i f t h , and s ix th graders made s u rp ris in g grade
gains in reading ranging from .9 to 4 . 0 years f o r a y e a r 's
e ffo rt.
I t appears t h a t contingency management i n i t i a l l y
motivated t h is " ta rg e t" population to perform a t higher
ra tes than they had achieved in the p a s t. Also pupil
control and m otivatio n continued to improve as teachers
modified the system o f g iv in g monetary rewards to in d iv id u a ls
w ith , "social ap p ro v a l," a teacher coordinated e f f o r t to
re in fo r c e p o s itiv e behavior through group process.

C.

Students in the f i f t y p e r c e n tile or lower on an expectancy
ta b le made gains in reading s u f f i c i e n t f o r some schools to
continue the program. As t h is yroup was the " ta r g e t"
population f o r which much c o n tra c tin g was designed, com­
pensatory programs were e f f e c t i v e f o r disadvantaged c h ild re n .

^Robert Rosenthal and Lenore Jacobson, Pygmalion in the Class­
room (New York: H o lt Rinehart and Winston, 1968)7

105
This e f f e c t appears to c o n tr a d ic t fin d in g s by Vrugglnk and
others in which compensatory education was reported to have
had no e f f e c t upon achievem ent.2 Therefore u n t i l educators
can devise more c o n s tru c tiv e programs f o r e d u c a tio n a lly
handicapped c h ild r e n , compensatory education o f f e r s some
hope.

II.

III.

D.

P r io r to performance c o n tra c tin g p u p ils in a sample school
d i s t r i c t gained .3 o f a grade in reading during the school
year.
During c o n trac tin g they gained .6 o f a grade in
reading f o r a y e a r 's e f f o r t , and the fo llo w in g y e a r , w ith o u t
c o n tra c tin g , .8 o f a y e a r.

E.

E x te rn a lly a u d ite d , two school d i s t r i c t s , one w ith a t a r g e t
o f two years grade gain in reading f o r a y e a r 's e f f o r t , and
the o ther w ith a goal f o r one month's reading gain f o r each
month in the program, reached t h e i r o b je c t iv e .
Given the
r i g h t mix o f human and technological resources reasonable
t a r g e t o b je c tiv e s can be met as measured w ith standardized
te s tin g instruments.

O b jec tive B. To analyze the impact o f in c en tiv es upon " e f f ic ie n c y "
and- "achievement."
A.

" E ffic ie n c y " as measured by o b je c tiv e "costs" was not achieved,
but in terms o f more s u b je c tiv e in d iv id u a l and group success
some dramatic e f f e c t s were re p o rte d . To c i t e a few, using
the Iowa Achievement Test as a basis f o r determining growth,
one student gained th ree grades w h ile another demonstrated
fo u r years o f reading growth in one academic y e a r .
In a
comparative study, a group o f f i f t e e n seventh graders showed
a gain o f 1 .5 grades in read ing , whereas the average previous
gain had been e ig h t months f o r a y e a r 's e f f o r t .
Although
these examples are perhaps a b i t is o la t e d , I f one can assume
th a t schools are serious about helping disadvantaged c h ild r e n ,
i t may be e s s e n tia l to accept increased costs o r reconsider
p r i o r i t i e s to bring about improved achievement.

B.

Use o f in c en tiv es r e s u ltin g in improved student a t t it u d e s
and increased achievement may have influenced development
o f p o s itiv e reinforcement a t t it u d e s among teachers.

O b jec tive C. To i d e n t i f y humanizing e f f e c t s operating in
experimental classrooms.
A.

2

E f fo r t s were made to humanize classrooms by encouraging
respect f o r a l l in d iv id u a ls and by m o tiva tin g pupils w ith

Elmer Vruggink, "A Study o f the C o n trib u tio n o f Compensatory
Programs in a Large Urban School System" (unpublished Ph.D. d is s e r t a t i o n ,
Michigan S ta te U n iv e r s it y , 1970).

106
social and personal rewards.
Praise r a t h e r than punishment
was encouraged w ith e a r ly e x t r i n s i c teacher use o f p ra is e
and p r iv ile g e s replaced f o r the most p a rt by s e lf-re w a rd
through successful social and le a rn in g experiences.
B.

IV.

O bjective D.
p ra c tic e s .
A.

V.

Several in s e rv ic e education workshops by u n iv e r s it ie s and
p r iv a te firm s were designed to develop p o s it iv e reinforcem ent
techniques among teach ers. During the e a r ly development o f
c o n tra c tin g p ro je c ts , p r iv a te firm s promoted use o f a monetary
reward system in an e f f o r t to r e in f o r c e p o s it iv e behavior
and u n iv e r s it ie s encouraged r e lia n c e upon i n t r i n s i c rewards
f o r improving self-c o n c ep ts o f p u p ils . As programs progressed
the p a tte rn o f social approval, a m odified form o f the above
systems, emerged as the most popular reinforcem ent method.
I t was in t h is area o f reinforcem ent t h a t c o n tra c t resources
a llo c a te d to in s e r v ic e education markedly co n trib u ted to
humanizing experiences f o r c h ild re n .
To i d e n t i f y fea tu res unique only to c o n tra c tin g

Contingency management was ranked by interview ees as the
• most unique fe a tu r e o f co n trac tin g w ith s p e c if ic support
f o r the u t i l i z a t i o n o f flow c h a rts , d ia g n o s t ic -p r e s c r ip tiv e
teaching, and teaching machines. P r io r to co n trac tin g
p r e s c r ip t iv e teaching was a p a rt o f many school programs
and the use o f gold sta rs f o r pupil rewards, progress charts
and teaching machines were common. Therefore the above
techniques and resources were unique only in as much as they
were molded in to a management system designed to increase
the e ffe c tiv e n e s s o f curriculum through s k i l l f u l co ordination
o f human and technological resources.

O bjective E. To seek the cause f o r the OEO's sudden diminishment
o f support fo r c o n tra c tin g .
A.

The 0E0 had hoped to bring about e f f i c i e n c y , f i r s t through
reducing l o s t time and motion by org an izin g in s tr u c t io n so
t h a t pupils could progress a t t h e i r own r a t e s , and secondly
by i n i t i a t i n g com petitive bidding by p r o f i t - o r i e n t e d firm s
to produce grade le v e l growth a t costs co m p etitive w ith
those o f the t r a d i t i o n a l classroom. Although many instances
o f p u p il-te a c h e r success were recorded in the r e a l i z a t i o n
o f the f i r s t o b je c t iv e , few p r iv a te firm s achieved grade
le v e l increases a t costs comparable to those incurred in
o perating the re g u la r classroom.

B.

Without doubt the gains r e s u ltin g from c o n tra c tin g as
reported by interview ees were genuine, nevertheless the
i n a b i l i t y o f p r iv a te firm s to e f f i c i e n t l y produce achieve­
ment increases seems to be the major cause f o r diminished
0E0 support.

107
V I.

V II.

O b jec tive F. To s o l i c i t te a ch ers' reac tio n s to the e x t r i n s i c
reward system used in c o n tra c tin g f o r m o tiva tin g students.
A.

Performance c o n tra c t p a r t ic ip a n t s s tro n g ly believed p o s it iv e
reinforcem ent helped c h ild re n to overcome educational handi­
caps as evidenced by improved se lf-c o n c e p ts and reading
achievement. A decrease in pupil absenteeism and behavior
re q u irin g d i s c i p l i n a r y ac tio n was a sid e e f f e c t o f t h is
method. Consequently n o tic e a b le changes in pupil behavior
motivated through the use o f tokens, rewards rooms, and
o th e r e x t r i n s i c reinforcem ents encouraged teachers to modify
the system and r e in f o r c e p o s it iv e behavior w ith "social
a p p ro v a l." Through so c ia l approval in d iv id u a l students
were re in fo rc e d w ith teach er verbal and non-verbal p ra is e
and use o f student p r o f i l e c h a rts . Monetary rewards were
pooled to b e n e f it the group in e f f o r t s to b u ild group
cohesiveness and m o tiv a tio n .
As a r e s u l t students appeared
to progress to the p o in t o f f e e lin g more i n t r i n s i c a l l y
rewarded by having academic and social successes.

B.

There appears to be more than a casual r e la t io n s h ip between
reinforcem ent s tr a t e g ie s used by teachers and Rosenthal and
Jacobson's theory o f ex p e c ta tio n s .
Teachers may have com­
municated to p up ils t h a t they expected improved academic
performance by what they s a id , how and when they said i t ,
by obvious f a c i a l expressions, and possibly even by t h e i r
to u c h .3

O b jec tive G. To i d e n t i f y management techniques th a t had an e f f e c t
upon in d iv id u a liz e d in s t r u c t io n .
A.

P riv a te firm s endeavored to increase achievement in reading
through a system o f in d iv id u a liz e d in s t r u c tio n in v o lv in g
the c o o rd in atio n o f le a rn in g managers, tea ch ers, a id e s ,
m a te r ia ls , and hardware.
Interview ees ranked teachers and
aides the most e f f e c t i v e assistance to in s t r u c t io n w ith
s e lf - p a c in g , progress c h a rts , and p o s it iv e reinforcem ent
reported as h ig h ly e f f e c t i v e management fe a tu r e s .

B.

Reading s p e c i a l i s t s , teaching machines, and p r iv a t e f ir m
managers were ranked the le a s t e f f e c t i v e components o f i n d i ­
v id u a liz e d in s t r u c t i o n .
Therefore the key to s u c c e s s fu lly
i n d i v i d u a l i z in g reading in s t r u c tio n appeared to be the
q u a l i t y o f in t e r a c t io n between te a c h e rs , aides and the
p up ils w ith o th e r in s t r u c t io n a l components p layin g a less
important r o l e .

3

Rosenthal and Jacobson.

108
V III.

O b jec tive H. To determine a p p l i c a b i l i t y o f in d iv id u a liz e d
in s t r u c t io n to mobile student pop ulatio ns.
A.

IX.

O b jec tive I .
To provide teachers w ith th e o p p o rtu n ity to express
preferences f o r s p e c ifie d sources o f in s e r v ic e education.
A.

X.

At a time in contemporary s o c ie ty when d i v e r s i t y and i n ­
creased options in cu rricu lu m would seem to be p r e f e r a b le ,
increasing m o b ilit y suggests the need f o r s ta n d a rd iz a tio n
o f basic le a r n in g , e s p e c ia lly f o r developing reading and
math s k i l l s .
Through expansion o f in d iv id u a liz e d in s t r u c t io n
in p r o je c t schools some s ta n d a rd iz a tio n f o r the b e n e f i t o f
pupil m o b ilit y w ith in d i s t r i c t s did occur. Even though the
p o te n tia l a p p l i c a b i l i t y o f s p e c ia liz e d m a te r ia ls appears
g r e a t , th e re was l i t t l e in d ic a tio n t h a t i t is being developed
f o r f u tu r e use in the schools.

Although performance co n tracts f o r th e g r e a te r p a r t were
s tru c tu re d to ac q u ire in s e rv ic e education through p r iv a t e
f ir m s , two school d i s t r i c t s contracted f o r human r e la t io n s
workshops from u n i v e r s i t i e s .
Schools using p r iv a t e firm s
reported t h a t te a c h e rs , as a r e s u l t o f the in s e r v ic e edu­
c a t io n , were more c o n s is te n t in p o s it i v e l y r e in f o r c in g pupil
b ehavior.
In d i s t r i c t s where u n i v e r s it i e s conducted work­
shops, teachers reported improved s e lf-c o n c e p ts among
p u p ils . As a consequence teachers and a d m in is tra to rs took
advantage o f a v a ila b le in s e rv ic e education o p p o rtu n itie s
whether they were l o c a l l y i n i t i a t e d o r c o o p e ra tiv e ly planned
w ith p r iv a t e f ir m s , u n i v e r s i t i e s , and o th e r agencies.

O b je c tiv e J. To examine the im p lic a tio n s o f Federal Government
involvement in lo c al school operations as r e la t e d to d e c is io n ­
making ro le s o f te a c h e rs , a d m in is tra to r s , and lo c a l d eterm in atio n
o f school p o lic y .
A.

Even though a c o n f l i c t o f ro le s did e x i s t between b u ild in g
p rin c ip a ls and p r iv a t e f ir m le a rn in g managers as a r e s u l t
o f dual r e s p o n s ib i li t y f o r b u ild in g a d m in is tr a tio n , lo c a l
d eterm in ation o f school p o lic y was a ffe c te d very l i t t l e
through c o n tra c tin g .
By changing th e fu n c tio n o f p r iv a t e
’’manager" to c o n s u lta n ts , c o n f l i c t s between b u ild in g
p rin c ip a ls and p r iv a t e firm s were dim inished.
Interview ees
reported very l i t t l e su b sta n tive in flu e n c e r e s u lt in g from
governmental support o f performance c o n tr a c tin g , even though
the OEO's support system and ex te rn a l a u d its were looked
upon as nuisance fa c t o r s .

B.

I t does seem reasonable to conclude t h a t some o f the inno­
vations developed in the schools re s u lte d from the govern­
ment's promotion o f change through the performance e x p e r i­
ment. As a consequence teachers found i t p ossible to

109
i n i t i a t e a d d itio n a l changes in room and school procedures.
This may have been i n e v i t a b l e since w ith the exception o f
the p r iv a t e f i r m managers, teachers and lo c a l school adminis­
t r a t o r s were c o n s is te n tly assigned as p r o je c t d ir e c t o r s ,
ce n te r managers, and c o n tra c t tea ch ers.
C.

X I.

With lo c al educators holding most o f th e im portant assignments
o f the p r o je c ts , teachers and p r in c ip a ls gained g r e a te r
r e s p o n s ib i li t y f o r i n i t i a t i n g changes a t the b u ild in g l e v e l .

O b jec tive K. To i d e n t i f y changes e f fe c t e d by c o n tra c tin g in
p a r t i c ip a t i n g schools.
A.

A f t e r two o r more years o f performance c o n tra c tin g experience
th e re was p o te n tia l f o r change in p a r t i c i p a t i n g schools. A
d ir e c t io n a l change occurred in teachers as revealed by t h e i r
commitment to p o s i t i v e l y r e in fo r c e p u p il beh avio r. A
d ia g n o s tic - p r e s c r ip t iv e system o f teaching s u b s t a n t ia lly
replaced t r a d i t i o n a l reading p ra c tic e s in most p r o je c t
schools.
In a d d it io n , the use o f quick assessment and
c r i t e r i o n referenced te s ts expanded th e options a v a ila b le
. f o r assessing student progress in re ad in g . Of th e many
innovations the use o f p o s it iv e reinforcem ent appears to
have had the g re a te s t la s t in g impact upon p u p ils and te a c h e rs .

B.

Although management o f in s t r u c t io n through i n d i v i d u a l i z a t i o n
became a r e a l i t y , p u p ils were o fte n placed in la rg e groups
w ith s im ila r s k i l l needs. Since grouping is sometimes as­
sociated w ith l a b e l i n g , these p ra c tic e s may be q u estio n ab le.

C.

Computers and teaching machines, because o f fre q u en t mechanical
f a i l u r e s , were not p a r t i c u l a r l y useful f o r teaching re a d in g .
M a te ria ls and ideas superseded hardware f o r re o rg a n iz a tio n
o f curriculum and management o f in s t r u c t io n .
Consequently
teachers and lo c a l school s t a f f became the innovators w ith
g re a te s t p o te n tia l f o r r e s tr u c tu r in g educational programs.
Suggestions f o r Future Research

The t h r u s t o f t h is study was to i d e n t i f y e f f e c t s from school
performance c o n tra c tin g p ro je c ts upon c h ild re n involved in the e x p e r i­
ment.

A modified s tru c tu red in te rv ie w design s i m i l a r to t h a t developed

f o r t h is study could be used to f u r t h e r analyze the achievement o f
co n trac tin g i d e n t i f i e d in t h is study.

110

F urther research o f th e e f f e c t s o f c o n tra c tin g might include
the fo llo w in g :
1.

Design an experimental study comparing f o u r t h , f i f t h and

s ix th graders w ith f i r s t ,

second, and t h i r d grade p u p ils .

This would

enable a comparison o f the e ffe c tiv e n e s s o f an in d iv id u a liz e d reading
program between beginning and concluding students.
2.

Compare in random sampling studies th e r e s u lts o f Michigan

S ta te Assessment te s ts o f student achievement o f c o n tra c t p up ils w ith
n o n -co ntract students.

I f s i g n i f i c a n t d iffe re n c e s occurred between

the two groups on a common e v a lu a tio n in stru m ent, a study o f the cause
would seem f r u i t f u l .
3;

Develop a coo perative s c h o o l-u n iv e r s ity in s e r v ic e p r o je c t

designed to improve s e lf-c o n c e p t and achievement o f p u p ils w ith a
focus upon in d iv id u a l classrooms and schools.

S c h o o l-u n iv e rs ity

" lin k a g e s ," c o o p e ra tiv e ly designed f o r th e c e n tra l purpose o f developing
a "clim a te " s tim u la tin g so c ia l w e ll-b e in g and academic growth, can best
be implemented by educators c lo s e s t to the in s tr u c t io n a l processes
and who u lt i m a t e l y c a rr y th e r e s p o n s ib i li t y f o r curriculum develop­
ment.
4.

Implement a fo llo w -u p study o f a random sample o f c o n tra c t

p u p ils to p r o je c t t h e i r achievement and social a p titu d e p r o f i l e over a
span o f th re e to fo u r ye ars.

This may help to e s ta b lis h r e la tio n s h ip s

between achievement and use o f "s o c ia l approval" as an e f f e c t i v e r e i n ­
forcement concept in a s s is tin g c h ild re n to v a lid a t e p o s itiv e behavior
p a tt e r n s .

m
5.

Economic, so cial and even more su b tle forms o f groupings

appear to be a fundamental educational problem r e s u ltin g in d etrim e n ta l
la b e lin g e f f e c t s .

T h e re fo re , studies need to be designed to d e lin e a te

a t t r a c t i v e a l t e r n a t i v e s f o r changing an educational system t h a t enhances
s e l f - f u l f i l l m e n t f o r few o f i t s p u p ils .
Im p !ic atio n s
This study r e f l e c t s im p lic a tio n s which are presented f o r f u r t h e r
d e lib e r a t io n .
1.

Results o f th is study gave c o n s is te n t low marks to the use

o f remedial reading programs and the remedial reading s p e c i a l i s t in
co n tra c t teaching.

Yet s ta te and lo c al c e r t i f i c a t i o n programs are

in c re a s in g ly re q u irin g more p res ervice work in reading.

The study

re s u lts are p o in tin g to the need f o r q u a li t y classroom in s tr u c tio n
ra th e r than q u a n tity o f teacher exposure in reading methodology— the
l a t t e r so fre q u e n tly c ite d as the in g re d ie n t needed fo r promotion or
q u a li f i c a t io n f o r s p e c ia liz a t io n .
2.

In d iv id u a l students lab eled f a i l u r e s , re ta rd e d , or slow

readers o fte n recorded s t r ik i n g gains in reading.

Therefore should

educators e ra d ic a te forms o f n egative la b e lin g and the stigma o f
rem ediation, v a lid a t io n o f each c h i l d 's f i n e r q u a l i t i e s through p o s itiv e
reinforcement could bring about a desired reversal e f f e c t .

F u rth e r,

caution should be exercised in grouping p up ils by c r i t e r i a t h a t may
perpetuate s o c ia l, academic, and economic segregation o r la b e lin g .
3.

P r io r to performance c o n tra c tin g compensatory education

was g e n e ra lly c r i t i c i z e d f o r having had l i t t l e

impact upon c h ild re n .

112

In c o n tra s t th e re were p o s itiv e " e ffe c ts " o f c o n tra c tin g which were
not c h a r a c t e r is t ic o f previous compensatory programs.

T h e re fo re ,

since f o r many c o n tra c tin g was t h e i r f i r s t "touch o f success," th is
form o f compensatory education c l e a r l y was o f s i g n i f i c a n t help to
many disadvantaged p u p ils .

Consequently u n t il more e f f i c i e n t models

o f in s tr u c tio n are discovered, compensatory education o r r e -e v a lu a tio n
o f educational p r i o r i t i e s to b e n e fit t h is t a r g e t population seems more
than d e fe n s ib le .
4.

Although tokens, sk in s , and special p r iv ile g e s seemed i n ­

i t i a l l y to spark l a t e n t c a p a c itie s o f c h ild r e n , social ap p ro va l, a
group process in co n tra s t to an i n d i v i d u a l l y administered monetary
behavior m o d ific a tio n system appeared to be a more d e s ira b le a l t e r n a t i v e
f o r a f f e c t i n g behavior.

To i l l u s t r a t e , since increased achievement

and diminished absenteeism were f r u i t f u l r e s u lts o f an o v e ra ll p ro je c t
" c lim a te ," i t is possible th a t group social and academic success
experiences were the v a ria b le s a f f e c t in g behavior ra th e r than a
system o f e x t r i n s i c rewards.

I t may be f o r educators seeking an

answer to the question o f what can make the d iffe r e n c e f o r pupils in
need f o r catching up, t h a t resources f o r development o f a school
"clim ate" in d ic a tiv e o f re s p e c t, d i g n i t y , and expectations f o r
achievement could make the d iffe r e n c e .
5.

U n iv e r s itie s and p r iv a te firm s involved w ith in s e rv ic e

education fo r c o n tra c t p a r t ic ip a n t s , found teachers re c e p tiv e to ideas
o f f e r in g hope f o r improving educational experiences f o r c h ild re n .
Nevertheless several major m o d ificatio n s which improved co n trac tin g
p rac tice s were suggested by p rin c ip a ls and teachers.

Therefore

113
educational agencies should make i t p ossible f o r in d iv id u a l b u ild in g
personnel to i n i t i a t e development o f cooperative " lin k a g e s 11 w ith
u n iv e r s it ie s and o ther in s e rv ic e resource agencies f o r the purpose
o f focusing upon curriculum improvement a t the b u ild in g l e v e l .
6

. There appeared to be a r e la t io n s h ip between the use

of

programmed reading m a te ria ls and the r a t e o f achievement in reading
f o r many stu d en ts, which was much higher than in comparison to pre­
co n tra c t ye ars.

Therefore since programmed m a te ria ls designed to

assure "mastery" o f s k i l l s did make a d iffe r e n c e f o r t a r g e t c h ild r e n ,
th ere is an im p lic a tio n fo r adopting more s tru c tu re d programs f o r
students who have had serious d i f f i c u l t y w ith reading.
7;

G reater gains were reported f o r students scoring low in

p r e - te s t in g than f o r those c lo s e r to grade l e v e l .

Since in most

p ro je c ts the t a r g e t population was students measuring two o r more years
below grade le v e l

in read in g , i t is p ossible th a t g re a te r e f f o r t s were

d ire c te d toward the success o f the lower a c h ie ve rs .

Although specu­

l a t i v e , i f the higher scoring pupils were made the t a r g e t , comparable
i f not r e s u lt s exceeding t h a t f o r lower p e r c e n t ile students could be
achieved.
8

.

Since most students e n ro lle d in p ro je c ts made gains

in

reading th e re is the p o s s i b i l i t y o f the experim ent's treatm ent having
had a "halo" e f f e c t or o v e rt impact upon the experimental groups' p er­
formance.

F u rth e r, i f the gains in co n tro l o r re g u la r classrooms as

well as those o f experimental classrooms were considered, i t is possible
th a t mere in c lu s io n in a program had a b e n e fic ia l e f f e c t .

Thus in

a d d itio n to the Hawthorne e f f e c t th ere may have been a John Henry

114
e f f e c t , t h a t I s , an impact upon the control o r re g u la r classrooms close
to the experiment in which the experimental group was perceived as
competing w ith o r th re a te n in g to surpass or re p la ce the control groups.
T h e re fo re , i f schools were to su b ject more o f t h e i r curriculum to
performance c o n tra c tin g , achievement gains s i m il a r to those produced
in reading could be expected to be influenced by these fa c t o r s .
9.

Experimental p ro je c ts focused upon very prescribed s k i l l

a c q u is itio n through c lo s e ly s tru c tu re d in d iv id u a liz e d reading programs,
supported by an e x t r i n s i c reinforcem ent system.

As a r e s u l t most

p a r t i c ip a t i n g students appeared to b e n e f it w ith increased achievement
in reading s k i l l s .

As teachers gained experience w ith t h is approach

they tended to balance focus upon s k i l l a tta in m e n t w ith g r e a te r emphasis
upon a f f e c t i v e pupil behaviors, b e lie v in g th a t s e lf -m o t iv a t io n is the
key to academic progress.

Therefore i f a school were to place o th e r

areas o f i t s curriculum on a c o n tra c t basis i t could expect improvement
in subjects o th e r than reading to be r e la te d to the c a p a c ity o f teachers
to bridge the gap o f educational d e fic ie n c ie s w ith a p p ro p ria te r e in f o r c e ­
ment p a tte rn s .
The performance in c en tiv es in education experiment se t the
stage f o r many students lab eled f a i l u r e s to gain t h e i r f i r s t experience
o f success in a c o n tra c t p r o je c t.

Teachers, a id e s , p r i n c ip a ls , and

p r iv a t e f i r m consultants co n trib u ted much to t h i s success through
development o f a f f i r m a t i v e reinforcem ent techniques and r e s tr u c tu r in g
o f in d iv id u a liz e d reading systems.

Nevertheless as a r e s u l t o f the

rapid m o d ific a tio n o f c o n tra c tin g the performance c o n tra c tin g concept
has lo s t much o f i t s appeal, but the reading programs and reinforcem ent
concepts i t used have p o t e n t ia l f o r d if f u s io n in Michigan schools.

APPENDICES

APPENDIX A
INTERVIEW SCHEDULE

116

APPENDIX A
INTERVIEW SCHEDULE

A STUDY OF THE EFFECTS OF PERFORMANCE CONTRACTING
IN MICHIGAN

Contents
I.
II.

In te rv ie w In tro d u c tio n
Q uestionnaire
A.

Background info rm ation

B.

Review o f p r o je c t 's success

C.

Reward " in c e n tiv e s " system

D.

In d iv id u a liz e d in s tr u c tio n

E.

In s e rv ic e education a l t e r n a t i v e s

F.

Decision-making

G.

Changes r e s u lt in g from c o n tra c tin g

H.

Closing the in te rv ie w

117

118
I.

INTERVIEW INTRODUCTION:
A.

(Read A to the in t e r v ie w e e .)

The purpose o f t h is study is to examine the e f f e c t o f p er­
formance c o n tra c tin g as a change agent upon the teach ers,
a d m in is tra to rs and in s t r u c t io n a l programs in p a r t i c ip a t i n g
schools. To gain a c le a r p ic tu r e o f the e f f e c t s o f c o n tra c tin g
as a change agent in Michigan, I am in te rv ie w in g c o n tra c t
p a r tic ip a n t s t h a t have been c lo s e ly involved in o p e ra tio n ­
a l i z i n g a c o n tra c t p r o je c t.
I am e s p e c ia lly in te re s te d in
those areas o f co n trac tin g w ith which you are most f a m i l i a r .
A ll info rm ation w i l l remain anonymous.
I t w i l l d e f i n i t e l y be
anonymous since n e ith e r your name, the name o f your school nor
the p r iv a t e f i r m 's name w i l l be i d e n t i f i e d . A ll taped responses
w i l l be destroyed.
The time f o r each in te rv ie w is to be kept uniform. Therefore
I w i l l a p p re ciate your endeavor to give equal tim e to each
question , keeping in mind th a t "time" is a f a c t o r .
There w i l l
be time a t the end o f the in te rv ie w f o r a d d itio n a l couments.
Your assistance is g r e a t ly ap p re ciate d . Also should you
a p p re ciate a b r i e f summary o f t h is study, I w i l l be pleased
to forward a copy to you.

II.

B.

(Reconfirm permission to tape in te r v ie w ; and give assurance
t h a t in te rv ie w w i l l remain anonymous.)

C.

This symbol s ig n a ls the in te rv ie w e r to probe and tape.
Prephrased probes are i l l u s t r a t i v e and are to be used i f
a p p ro p ria te , however th ere may be s itu a tio n s where an
extemporaneous o r no probe w i l l be more a p p ro p ria te .

Q uestionnaire:
I would l i k e to begin the in te rv ie w by o b tain ing
background f a c t s ; then I would a p p re ciate your review o f the success
o f your p r o je c t ; and then I would l i k e to gain your fe e lin g s about
several c o n tra c t fe a tu r e s .
As we progress through c o n tra c t fe a tu re s th e re w i l l be occasions
where I w i l l ask you to c l a r i f y your re a c tio n to c e r t a in questions.
In te rv ie w Number ________________
A.

Background info rm ation :
in te rv ie w .)
Tape number

(This form to be completed f o r each

; side 1

or 2____ ; order 1____ , 2____ , o r

3____
Time s ta rte d

; time ended

; Date o f in te rv ie w ______________

4

119
Location o f in te rv ie w _________________________
1.

Name_______________________________________

2.

P o sitio n __________________________________

3.

Name o f school system____________________

4.

Name o f p ro je c t school___________________

5.

Name o f c o n tra c tin g firm _________________

.

Name o f p ro je c t___________________________

7.

D escriptio n o f student population served

6

8

.

On what date did the p r o je c t begin?
Yes

9.

, No

.

Is i t s t i l l

o p e rative?

I f n o t, on what date did i t end?_____________

How many students were involved in the program in the f i r s t
year?
4

19__ ; elementary grades

; o ther le v e ls

; in the second

year 19__ ; elementary grades__ ; o th e r le v e ls ________________
10.

Was Federal or S tate funding involved?
S tate

, $

.

Federal

, $________,

I f so what is the name o f the

program?_______________________________________________________

I f the program is s t i l l
Yes

, No

.

o p e r a tiv e , is funding s t i l l

present?

Other funding? (S ta te source and program.)

120
B.

Review o f p r o je c t 's success:
1.

Were c r i t e r i a f o r e v a lu a tin g the program e s tab lis h e d before
the program began?
Yes
*

I f so was an e v a lu a tio n made?
Yes

*
2.

No___

No___

What does the data t e l l you?

Did p r iv a t e firm s produce achievement grade u n its in
reading o r math a t a more " e f f i c i e n t " r a te "cost" than
control classroom?
Reading:

Yes____ No___

Math:

Yes____ No___

*

3.

Do you th in k p r iv a te firm s set t h e i r performance le v e ls
too high?
Yes
*

4.

If

No___
too high how do you th in k i t should have been?

What evidence would you p o in t t o , to show t h a t t h is p r o je c t
was r e a l l y successful?
*

Would you c i t e in d iv id u a l

instances o f student successes?

*

Would you c i t e group instances o f successes?
*
5.

Was performance c o n tra c tin g more successful than t r a d i t i o n a l
classroom methods f o r improving reading and math s k i l l s o f
disadvantaged students?
Reading:

Yes____ No___

Math:

Yes____ No___

★

i

127
.

6

Would you i d e n t i f y humanizing fe a tu re s o p e ra tin g in c o n tra c t
classrooms th a t improved th e le a rn in g clim ate?

Do you b e lie v e t h a t any c h ild can le a rn regardless
o f his past record?
Yes
*
7.

Why do you th in k t h a t is so?

Were th e re fe a tu re s o p e ra tin g in your p r o je c t t h a t were
o nly unique to c o n tra c tin g classroom p rac tice s?
Yes
*

8

,

No

No

I f y e s , would you i d e n t i f y those fe a tu re s ?

Why d id the Federal government r a p id ly dim inish i t s support
f o r co ntracting?
*

C.

Reward " In c e n tiv e s " system: Please in d ic a te your f e e lin g to
the reward system used f o r m o tiv a tin g students.
For the
fo llo w in g statements s e le c t th e code l e t t e r t h a t best describes
your agreement w ith each statem ent.
S trongly Agree "SA"; Agree "A"; Neutral

M M II
"N

.

Disagree"D"; S tro n g ly Disagree "SD."
1.

2.
3.
4.

5.

The a t t i t u d e toward school in c e n tiv e students
was b e t t e r than t h a t o f students in non­
in c e n tiv e classrooms.

SA

A

N

D SD

In c en tiv es were e f f e c t i v e in modifying
student behavior.

SA

A

N

D SD

In c en tiv es used were a p p ro p ria te f o r
rewarding student beh avio r.

SA

A

N

D SD

Students were ab le to atte n d to a given
task f o r a s u b s t a n t ia lly longer period
o f tim e.

SA

A

N

D SD

In cen tives were e f f e c t i v e in s tim u la tin g
achievement.

SA

A

N

D SD

i

122

.

6

7.
*
D.

P a r t i c i p a t in g teachers favored th e use o f
in c e n tiv e s w ith disadvantaged stu d en ts.

SA A

N

D SD

The " fr e e room" o r "RE" room had a p o s itiv e
e f f e c t upon stu d en ts' a t t i t u d e s .

SA A

N

D SD

Are in c en tiv es f o r students being used t h is year? Yes

No__

In d iv id u a liz e d in s t r u c t io n :
Please in d ic a te the " e ffe c tiv e n e s s "
o f in d iv id u a liz e d management techniques and concepts t h a t have
improved in d iv id u a liz e d i n s t r u c t i o n , by s e le c tin g the code
l e t t e r th a t best describes your agreement w ith the fo llo w in g .
S trongly Agree "SA"; Agree "A"; Neutral "N".
Disagree "D"; S tro n g ly Disagree "SD."
1

.

Charting progress "charts"

SA

A

N

D

SD

2

.

Diagnostic procedures

SA

A

N

D

SD

3.

D iffe re n tia te d s ta ffin g

SA

A

N

D

SD

4.

Aides

SA

A

N

D

SD

5.

Center manager

SA

A

N

D

SD

C e r t i f i e d teachers

SA

A

N

D

SD

P riv a te f ir m le a rn in g manager

SA

A

N

D

SD

Math s p e c i a l i s t

SA

A

N

D

SD

9.

B u ild ing p rin c ip a l

SA

A

N

D

SD

10.

Reading s p e c i a l i s t

SA

A

N

D

SD

11.

L e a rn e r-c o n tro lle d m a te r ia ls

SA

A

N

D

SD

12.

Learner learns

SA

A

N

D

SD

13.

M onitoring progress

SA

A

N

D

SD

14.

Performance p re s c rip tio n s

SA

A

N

D

SD

15.

Programmed m a te ria ls

SA

A

N

D

SD

15.

Provision f o r "cooperative" peer i n t e r a c t io n

SA

A

N

D

SD

17.

Student o p p o rtu n itie s to work
independently

SA

A

N

D

SD

6

.

7.
8

.

123
Student o p p o rtu n itie s to improve
s e lf-c o n fid e n c e

SA

A

N

D

SD

Student o p p o rtu n itie s to work w ith o u t f e a r
o f s t a f f c r itic is m

SA

A

N

D

SD

Student importance as evidenced by room
r u l l o f m a t e r ia ls , s t a f f and machinery

SA

A

N

D

SD

Student o p p o r tu n itie s to i n t e r a c t more
w ith m a te ria ls than w ith teachers and
aides

SA

A

N

D

SD

22.

Teaching machines

SA

A

N

D

SD

23.

Grouping p ra c tic e s

SA

A

N

D

SD

24.

S e lf-p a c in g

SA

A

N

D

SD

25.

T each er/p up il co n tracts

SA

A

N

D

SD

18.
19.
20.

21.

Are th e re o th e r fe a tu re s o f in d iv id u a liz e d in s t r u c tio n t h a t
were e s p e c ia lly e f f e c t iv e ?
In what ways would in d iv id u a liz e d in s tr u c t io n be e f f e c t i v e
f o r mobile student populations?
E.

In s e rv ic e education: There are numerous in s e rv ic e education
a lt e r n a t iv e s open to tea ch ers, w ith p r iv a t e firm s adding another
source.
I am in te re s te d in knowing which o f several a l t e r n a t i v e s
you fe e l are the most e f f e c t i v e .
Please s e le c t th re e from the
fo llo w in g l i s t t h a t you f e e l are most e f f e c t i v e and rank them
in order o f p reference from one " 1 " to th re e " e ," w ith one
being the most p re fe rre d form o f in s e r v ic e .
1.

Local school s t a f f

2.

Local school s t a f f — p r iv a t e firm

3.

Local school s t a f f — pro fession al

4.

Local school s t a f f — u n iv e r s ity

5.

Professional teachers a s s o c ia tio n

teachers a s s o c ia tio n

.

Professional teachers a s s o c ia tio n — lo c al school s t a f f
p r iv a te f ir m

7.

Professional teach er a s s o c ia tio n — lo c al school s t a f f p r iv a t e f i r m — u n iv e r s it y

6

124

F.

_8 .

Professional teachers a s s o c ia t io n - - u n iv e r s i t y — local
school s t a f f

_9.

Professional teachers a s s o c ia tio n — u n iv e r s ity

10.

Other

Decision-making: The fo llo w in g questions are designed to
determine the decision-making re la tio n s h ip s t h a t developed
through c o n tra c tin g .
Please respond to each question by
in d ic a tin g "yes" o r "no" to the various a l t e r n a t i v e s .
1.

2.

What e f f e c t has the Federal government's "management support
system" had upon lo c a l school/community decision-making?
a.

D i f f e r e n t people made decisions

Yes__ No___

b.

Development o f F e d e r a l/lo c a l
p artn ersh ip

Yes__ No___

c.

More in n o v a tiv e programs______________________ Yes___ No.

d.

Less lo c a l control

No

To what e x te n t was the lo c a l te a c h e r's as so c ia tio n involved
in developing contracting?
a.

3.

Yes

Local te a c h e r's a s s o c ia tio n was involved
in developing c o n tra c tin g

Yes__

b.

In itia l

Yes___ No.

c.

Operational phase

Yes

d.

Association support

Yes__ _ No.

planning

No

No

C e r t i f i e d teachers played which o f the fo llo w in g roles?
a.

P ro je c t d ir e c t o r

Yes

No_

b.

Math s p e c i a l i s t

Yes

No.

c.

Center manager

Yes

No.

d.

Reading s p e c i a l i s t

Yes

No_

e.

Only a te c h n ic ia n

Yes

No.

125
f.

P a r t ic ip a t o r in curriculum decisions

Yes___ No

g.

Only a f a c i l i t a t o r

Yes

No

The p r iv a te f i r m 's le a rn in g manager played the fo llo w in g
ro le (s ).
a.

A d m in is tra to r o f co n trac tin g program

Yes___ No

b.

D ire c to r o f the p r o je c t 's curriculum

Yes___ No

c.

Consultant to s t a f f

Yes___ No

The b u ild in g p r in c ip a l played the fo llo w in g r o l e ( s ) .
a.

D ire c to r o f curriculum

Yes

No

b.

A d m in is tra to r o f c o n tra c tin g p ro je c t

Yes

No

c.

Consultant to c o n tra c tin g s t a f f

Yes

No

d.

A u th o rity over the p r iv a t e f i r m 's
personnel

Yes

No

Technician f o r co o rd in atin g in d iv id u a liz e d
in s tr u c tio n

Yes

No

b.

Record keeper

Yes___ No

c.

Tutor

Yes

No___

d.

Supervisor o f "free-room"

Yes

No___

e.

Contingency manager

Yes

No

f.

A second teacher

Yes

No

The teacher aide played the fo llo w in g r o l e ( s ) .
a.

*

7.

Were th e re s i m i l a r i t i e s between the r o le o f an aid e and a
c e r t i f i e d teacher?
Yes

No

126
8

.

Do you consider empowering p r iv a t e firm s w ith d e c is io n ­
making a u th o r ity a productive a l t e r n a t i v e f o r improving
educational programs?
Yes

G.

No

Changes r e s u ltin g from c o n tra c tin g . The fo llo w in g changes
have become a p a rt o f the re g u la r school program as a r e s u l t
o f c o n tra c tin g .
1.
2.

B u ild ing budgeting
Decision-making a t school b u ild in g le v e l

Yes

No_

Yes_

No_

3.

Curriculum decision-making by teachers

Yes_

No_

4.

Use o f e x t r i n s i c in c e n tiv e s

Yes

No_

5.

Use o f i n t r i n s i c in c e n tiv e s

Yes_

No_

Commitment to concept o f " p o s itiv e
reinforcement"

Yes_

No_

B e l i e f t h a t a l l c h ild re n can lea rn
regardless o f t h e i r past record

Yes_

No_

8.

A b i l i t y grouping

Yes_

No_

9.

Grouping by s k i l l needs

Yes_

No_

10.

In d iv id u a liz e d in s tr u c tio n

Yes_

No_

11.

Sequencing o f o b je c tiv e s

Yes_

No_

12.

Pre and post t e s tin g

Yes

No_

13.

C r it e r io n referenced te s ts

Yes_

No_

14.

Use o f programmed m a te ria ls

Yes_

No_

15.

Use o f teaching machines

Yes_

No_

16.

D i f f e r e n t ia t e d s t a f f i n g

Yes_

No_

17.

Computerized grading

Yes_

No_

18.

Continuing in s e r v ic e by a p r iv a t e f ir m

Yes_

No_

19.

Local teacher as so c ia tio n involvement

Yes

No

20.

Other

6

.

7.

127
H.

Closing the in te rv ie w :
1.

Would you be w i l l i n g to p a r t i c ip a t e in another y e ar o f
performance co ntracting?
Yes_

No___

*Why p a r t ic u la r ly ?

2.

Would you l i k e a b r i e f summary o f t h is study?
Yes

3.

No___

Is th ere anything f u r t h e r about which you would l i k e to
comment?

APPENDIX B
LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL

128

APPENDIX B

March
Dear

, 1973

:

Thank you f o r permission to v i s i t your schools f o r the purpose o f
gathering info rm ation about your d i s t r i c t ' s experiences w ith p er­
formance c o n tra c tin g .
An in te rv ie w instrument has been designed to gain in fo rm ation about
the fo llo w in g areas:
( a ) Demographic in fo rm a tio n , (b ) Review o f
p r o je c t 's success, (c ) Reward “in c e n tiv e s " system, (d) In d iv id u a liz e d
in s t r u c t io n , (e ) In s e rv ic e ed ucation, and ( f ) Decision-making p atterns
th a t developed as a r e s u l t o f c o n tra c tin g .
Design o f the study c a l l s f o r in te rv ie w in g the fo llo w in g personnel o f
an in d iv id u a l performance c o n tra c t school— a school t h a t p re s e n tly
has an operatin g p r o je c t , (a ) su p erin ten den t, (b ) b u ild in g p r i n c i p a l ,
(c) school p r o je c t d i r e c t o r , (d ) K- 1 2 d ir e c t o r o f cu rricu lu m , (e ) two
performance c o n tra c t tea ch ers, ( f ) p res id e n t o f the lo c al tea ch ers'
a s s o c ia tio n , (g ) performance c o n tra c to r o n - s it e manager, and (h ) th ree
a d d itio n a l in te rv ie w s , two w ith te a c h e rs , and one w ith a p r i n c i p a l ,
selected a t random from o th e r c o n tra c t p ro je c ts w ith in the d i s t r i c t .
Each in te rv ie w w i l l be 40 minutes in le n g th .
Names o f educators and
schools interview ed w i l l remain anonymous. Also I w i l l tak e the
i n i t i a t i v e to contact the p r iv a t e f ir m and the p res id e n t o f the lo c al
teachers' a s s o c ia tio n .
I w i l l plan to be in your d i s t r i c t on March
and
.
dates be necessary, please c a l l c o l l e c t , 516-828-5355.
S in c e re ly ,

Donald 0. Martz
Central Michigan U n iv e rs ity
Mt. P lea sa n t, Michigan

129

Should a l t e r n a t e

APPENDIX C
STUDENT PROFILE CHART

130

A P P E N D I X

Student's Name_________________
Date____________ Age____ Grade________
(entered program)

C

INDIVIDUAL STUDENT PROFILE CARD
Basic Reading Skills
ESEA TITLE I

School

Developmental Levels
Reading Units

II

L
1 2 3 1 2 3
4 5 6 7 8 9
12 13
16 17

IV

V

VI

■VII

V III

IX

X

XI

X II

X III

1 2

1 2
3 4

XV

XVI

1 2

1 2
3 4

1 2

XIV

4 5 6
10 11
14 15
18

VIS.
D1SCR.

01

AUD.
DISCR.

02

REL. TO
RDG.

03

1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5
4 5 6
7

VOCAB.
DEVEL.

04

1

PHONETIC
ANALY.

05

STRUCT.
ANALY.

06

FACT.
COMPR.

07

INFER.
COHPR.

08

RESEARCH
SKILLS

09

12 3 4 5 6

1 2 3

III

12 3 4
5 6 7 8 9
1 2

12 3 4

12 3 4
5 6

1 2

1 2 3
4 5

1 2 3

12 3 4

1 2 3 4

1 2 3 1 2 3
4
4

12 3 4
5 6 7 8
9 10 11
12 13

12 3 4
5 6 7 8
9 10 11

12 3 4 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2
5 6 7 8 4 5 6 4 5 6
7
9 10 11 7

1 2

1 2 3

1 2 3

1 2 3 1 2 3 12 3 12 3 4 12 12
4 5 6 4 5 6
4
3 4
7 3 9 7 8

1 2
3

1 2

1 2 1 2 3
3 4 4 5
5

1 2

1

1 2

1 2 3
4 5

12

12 3

1 2

12 3 12

12 3

12 3 4
5 6 7 8
9

12 3 4
5‘

1 2 3 4

1 2 3
4

1 2 3

1 2 3

12

1 2 3 4 5

1 2 3

12

12 3 4
5 6 7 8
9 10 11

1 2 3 1 2 3
4 5
4 5 6

1 2 3

1 2 3 1 2 3 4 1 2 1 2 3
4 56567
34456
7 8 9
7 8

1

1234

1 2 3 4 1 2 3

12

12 12 3
3 4

1 2 3
4 5

1 2 1 2 3 12 1 2 3
3 4 4 5 6 3 4 4 5
5' 6 7
5 6

1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 1 2 1 2 3 1 2
45
4 5 6 5 6 7 8 3
4 5 6 3
9 10
7 8

1 2 3 1 2 1 2 3
4
3 4 4 5 6
5
7 8

BIBLIOGRAPHY

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C ro ft

___________. "0E0 Abandons Performance C o n tra c tin g , Voucher Plan
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Reporter

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"A Demonstration o f In cen tives in
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___________ . "Case Studies in Educational Performance C ontracting:
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Vruggink, Elmer.
"A Study o f th e C o n trib u tio n o f Compensatory Programs
in a Large Urban School System." Unpublished Ph.D. d i s s e r t a t i o n ,
Michigan S ta te U n iv e r s it y , 1970.
Webster, Joan M.
"Cost E f f e c t iv e Analysis o f Selected Reading Programs
in th e Grand Rapids Public Schools." Unpublished Ph.D. d is s e r t a t io n ,
Michigan S ta te U n iv e r s it y , 1972.
Unpublished Works
Statements by P a tric k Dolan, personal in te r v ie w , Professional Development
C onsultant, Michigan Education A s s o c ia tio n , December 13, 1971.
Statements by Martha Golden, personal in te r v ie w , In s tr u c tio n a l
C onsultant, Alpha Learning Systems, January, 1972.
Statements by Richard H a li k , personal in te r v ie w , D ire c to r o f Federal
Programs, Lansing P ublic Schools, December 14, 1971.
P o rte r, Otha L.
"Contracted School, An Instrument o f Educational
Change," School C ity o f Gary, 1972.
T r ic e , Edward D.
"Performance C o n trac tin g : Harbinger o f Things to
Come," Texarkana Superintendent o f Schools, 1972.
Weinheimer, Norman P.
"Performance C o n tra c tin g ," Paper Presented to
American Association f o r the Advancement o f Science, Conrad
H ilto n H o te l, Chicago, December 28, 1970.
Statements by Normal P. Weinheimer, personal in te r v ie w , Executive
D ir e c t o r , Michigan Association o f School Boards, Lansing,
January 4 , 1972.