How does Paideia prepare students for their future educational endeavors? Can this teaching method address the needs and issues facing both rural and metropolitan school systems? Can this program be implemented in all North Carolina schools and, if so, at what cost?

To find the true impact of Paideia, The Center for Educational Research and Evaluation at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro evaluated Paideia and listed its findings in the 1999-2000 "Evaluating the Paideia Program in Guilford County Schools" report. The report takes a look at this teaching method - including its known successes and challenges - based on how well it can prepare students to be active learners, thinkers, and problem-solvers in a state system that largely uses standardized testing as a measure of student's overall skill and knowledge.

Results of classroom, school, and district level implementation, specifically how educators apply Paideia philosophy and instructional methods in real schools, have been captured most notably in a four-year study of Paideia implementation in Guilford County North Carolina. This four-year study has, to date, three years of descriptive results about Paideia implementation across grade levels and subject areas.

The "1999-2000 Evaluating the Paideia Program in Guilford County Schools" report makes the following conclusions:

"At a somewhat gross level of analysis, Paideia implementation does appear to be influencing scores on the North Carolina End of Grade tests." (Page 41)

"A slight increase in middle school mathematic scores was noted with the moderate implementation and a decrease was noted with high levels of implementation. This sporadic pattern suggests that there is no clear relationship between classroom level [Paideia] seminar implementation and middle school mathematics scores."

The first year report also concluded that:

"the achievement effects in schools committed to Paideia increased at a faster rate than the other schools."

"Teachers who implemented Paideia were considered better at explaining information, ensuring students had a good understanding, expected more effort at working, are more likely to make students think, taught in interesting ways, and showed by example that learning is fun."

"Implementation of Paideia was associated with classes with reduced friction: where there is little fooling around, students are calm and not mean, and students feels safe."

"The implementation of Paideia had positive effects on self-concept of ability, achievement, family self-concept, and confidence in self."

"Overall females have higher self-efficacy than males, but this difference decreased with higher levels of Paideia implementation-the female means are reasonably constant, but the male means increase as a consequence of implementing Paideia."

"Fully implementing Paideia can reduce the negative effects of social comparison, especially for minority students."

Earlier results regarding Paideia implementation focus on student writing. An 1997 article published in the Middle School Journal includes the following data:

"During the years 1994 to 1996, the number of students from Guilford County schools implementing Paideia seminars that passed the 4th grade writing test increased 27 percentage points. Student scores from non-Paideia school in Guilford County showed an increase of only 17 percentage points, which is roughly equal to the gain made in all North Carolina schools"

Finally, the first longitudinal, qualitative study (reported in 1995) of the effects of the program on individual children reported:

"Teachers at all sites reported that students improved in critical thinking and in their abilities to express themselves clearly. . . successful Paideia implementation requires a committed staff, a well-trained coordinator, and a consistent, multi-year administrative and district support."

-Taken from the National Paideia Center Web site
For more information please visit www.paideia.org