AVID

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article is about the AVID educational program. For the Avid editing system, see Avid Technology.

AVID (meaning Advancement Via Individual Determination) is a college-preparatory program designed to aid economically disadvantaged, and academically average first-generation students of both elementary and high schools into college. Originating at the high school level, the program now serves fourth grade through twelfth grade students (roughly, ages 10-18).

1 Background
2 Methodology
3 Note-Taking
4 Statistics and results
5 References
6 External links

[edit] Background

AVID was developed in 1980 by Mary Catherine Swanson, who was an English teacher in Clairemont High School at San Diego, California, in order to assist an influx of academically less prepared students following court-ordered desegregation. As of the 2005-06 academic year, AVID figures showed that the program had grown from the original one-school model to serving nearly 2,300 schools worldwide. Ramona High School AVID program of Riverside, California, is currently the largest AVID program in the world.

On October 27, 2003 the British Columbia Ministry of Education established a partnership between the Canada Millennium Scholarship Foundation (CMSF) and AVID Center in San Diego, California and the Ministry. Under the terms of this partnership, CMSF will province over $5 million in funding for a five year AVID research project in B.C. The purpose of the research is to study the implementation of AVID with grade nine students considered to be “students in the middle.”

A number of schools throughout the province were selected to participate in research based on a random assignment study and a few schools were selected to participate in a case study. These schools began training in August of 2004 with their first AVID classes starting in September, 2005. Chilliwack School District has been contracted by the Ministry to provide leadership and support for this initiative. AVID was first implemented in Canada by Chilliwack School District at Chilliwack Senior Secondary and Vedder Middle in September 2001. Subsequently, Sardis Senior Secondary, Chilliwack Middle and Mt. Slesse Middle implemented AVID programs in September 2003.^[1]

[edit] Methodology

In addition to offering challenging coursework, the program strives to improve students' study skills (e.g., time management and note-taking) and their metacognitive abilities. As one writer described the approach, "AVID programs focus not on factual questions — "Who commanded the Union Army at the first Battle of Bull Run?" — but on process-related questions — "How can I remember things like the name of the commander, Brig. Gen. Irvin McDowell?"^[2] Students also receive tutoring, and are given a tutorial log to record what they're having trouble with, what they learned, and what they have gained from the session. College students are hired to assist the students, all within the classroom environment.

[edit] Note-Taking

Note-taking plays a vital role in succeeding in the AVID program. High school students are required to take Cornell Notes in each of their core classes.

[edit] Statistics and results

As of 2006, nearly half of enrolled students (49.4%) were Latinos, and the organization has experienced particular success with that subgroup in increasing participation in the Advanced Placement (AP) testing program. Sixty-one percent of Latino/a students in the AVID program took AP tests in 2004-05, compared to a national rate of 11%.^[3] (The table referenced does not indicate whether national figures include the AVID participants.)

The program also measures results by examining the percentage of students applying & being admitted to four-year colleges, rates of admission to the competitive University of California and California State University systems, completion of the entry requirements to those systems, high school graduation rates, and rates of eighth grade students taking and passing algebra courses (necessary to most advanced math and science study). By all of these criteria, the program has been judged as successful, though more so with some ethnic groups than with others.^[4]