Statewide Systems of Support
Characteristics of Improved School Districts: Themes from Research
This report was based on the analysis of more than 80 research reports and articles, many on districts that have shown improvement at the elementary level. The analysis identified 13 common themes clustered into four broad categories: Effective Leadership, Quality Teaching and Learning, Support for Systemwide Improvement, and Clear and Collaborative Relationships. The report also sets forth questions for districts related to each characteristic and includes an extensive bibliography. (Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction in Olympia, Washington, 2004)
Authors: G. Sue Shannon and Pete Bylsma
Corrective Action in Low Performing Schools: Lessons for NCLB Implementation from First-generation Accountability Systems
Exploring lessons we can learn from the experiences of states that instituted NCLB-like accountability systems before 2001, the authors looked at the experiences of three smaller states (Kentucky, Maryland, North Carolina), four larger ones (California, Florida, New York, Texas), and two large districts (Chicago and Philadelphia). Their analysis of evaluative reports and policy documents as well as interviews with state officials and researchers generated eight lessons: sanctions are not the fallback solution; no single strategy has been universally successful; staging should be handled with flexibility; intensive capacity building is necessary; a comprehensive set of strategies seems promising; relationship-building needs to complement powerful programs; competence reduces conflict; and strong state commitment is needed to create system capacity. (Education Policy Analysis Archives, 2005)
Authors: Heinrich Mintrop and Tina Trujillo
Educational Architects: Do State Education Agencies Have the Tools Necessary to Implement NCLB?
The second report in a series of Center on Education Policy publications on the implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) examines the capacity of state education agencies to carry out the requirements of NCLB. An analysis of survey data from all 50 states and interview data of 15 high-ranking state education officials from 11 states revealed four major capacity challenges: (1) limitations in staffing and infrastructure; (2) inadequate federal and state funding; (3) a lack of sufficient guidance and technical support from the U.S. Department of Education; and (4) barriers in NCLB and within state education agencies. (Center on Education Policy, 2005)
Authors: Angela Minnici and Deanna D. Hill
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Evaluating Supplemental Educational Service Providers: Suggested Strategies for States
This guidebook is designed to help state educational agencies (SEAs) create an effective system to evaluate state-approved supplemental educational service (SES) providers. The guidebook will help readers to determine evaluation measures, identify possible evaluation methodologies, and address the technical and practical considerations associated with an evaluation. Although this guidebook is of primary interest to states, it can also help school districts and SES providers understand their roles in the evaluation process. (Center on Innovation and Improvement, 2006)
Authors: Steven M. Ross, Allison Potter, and Jennifer Harmon
Handbook on Restructuring and Substantial School Improvement
The purpose of this handbook is to present modules that will assist states, districts, and schools in establishing policies, procedures, and support to successfully restructure schools. The handbook is informed by leading experts on restructuring and school improvement. (Center on Innovation and Improvement, 2007)
Author: Herbert J. Walberg
Restructuring (PowerPoints)
What Works When (Hassel)
Change and Including Stakeholders (Perlman)
Sustaining Change (Redding)
Statewide Systems of Support (Rhim)
Restructuring Tools (Rhim-Hassel)
Handbook on Statewide Systems of Support
This handbook is for state leaders who are designing or revising statewide systems of support for schools identified as low-performing, and for district and school leaders who are seeking to improve school performance. The handbook surveys the research related to statewide systems of support, presents the experience and insights of educational leaders in how such support can be organized, and suggests actionable principles for improving schools. Articles within the handbook provide a conceptual framework for thinking about a state system, profile activities in selected states, and tools that may be used to strengthen a statewide system of support. (Center on Innovation and Improvement, 2007)
Authors: Sam Redding and Herbert J. Walberg
Learning Disabilities Resource Kit: Specific Learning Disabilities Determination Procedures and Responsiveness to Intervention
This kit helps schools and districts navigate changes related to specific learning disability (SLD) determination and responsiveness to intervention (RTI). Included in the kit is general information on SLD determination and RTI, tools for getting started, PowerPoint presentations, and resources for parents. In particular, the School-Based RTI Practices section provides information from elementary schools around the country that are implementing RTI. Topics include school-wide screening, progress monitoring, tiered service delivery models, data-based decision-making, parent involvement, and fidelity of implementation. (National Research Center on Learning Disabilities, 2007)
Meeting the Needs of Significantly Struggling Learners in High School: A Look at Approaches to Tiered Intervention
This report provides information on Response to Intervention (RTI) and its implications for use at the secondary school level. It defines RTI models, provides a description of two RTI approaches, shares a snapshot of implementation at the high school level, outlines eight issues related to RTI at the high school level and provides many resources to support this work. (National High School Center, 2007)
Author: Helen Duffy
New Roles in Response to Intervention: Creating Success for Schools and Children
This resource, a collection of position papers from a myriad of professional organizations, provides general information about Response to Intervention (RTI) and various school personnel's roles in RTI. (Center on Instruction, 2006)
Non-Regulatory Guidance for Designing Schoolwide Programs
This March 2006 document offers a renewed vision for schoolwide programs, both as a reform strategy and as a means of realizing the high standards for student achievement envisioned by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB). It is intended as a companion document to the statute and regulations and a technical assistance resource. (U.S. Department of Education, 2006)
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Reaching Capacity: A Blueprint for the State Role in Improving Low Performing Schools and Districts
Drawing on research with principals and superintendents in struggling, urban districts, this Rennie Center report makes recommendations for enhancing state intervention capacity in areas where school administrators cite the greatest need. (Rennie Center for Education Research & Policy, 2005)
Reaching New Heights: Turning Around Low Performing Schools – A Guide for Governors
This paper supports the idea that states should improve low performing schools through partnerships with districts. A coherent district system of instructional support and a unified district vision that drives continuous improvement is essential. Furthermore, with increasing numbers of schools identified for improvement, states should customize their accountability systems to identify the lowest-performing schools and concentrate resources on the schools most in need. (National Governors Association Center for Best Practices, 2003)
Authors: Christopher Mazzeo and Ilene Berman
The School District Role in Educational Change: A Review of the Literature
Evidence suggests that successful school districts use a large repertoire of strategies to mobilize and support system-wide success in student learning, and that the impact of the strategies depends on their comprehensive use in a coordinated way, not the selective enactment of some over others or in isolation. (International Centre for Educational Change at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, 2003)
Author: Stephen E. Anderson
School Districts and Educational Improvement Bibliography: An Annotated Bibliography of Research, 1988 to the present
Current annotated bibliography of research on school and district improvement. (Annenberg Institute for School Reform, last updated May 2007)
School Restructuring Under No Child Left Behind: What Works When? A Guide for Education Leaders
This guide provides users with a step by step approach to restructuring, from organizing a district team and assessing the district's capacity to govern restructuring decisions to conducting a school-by-school analysis and implementing a restructuring plan. The text of the guide is supplemented with templates, checklists, and other practical tools. This series of four papers is designed to help district leaders understand their options when a school is identified for restructuring under NCLB. Each one summarizes what is known about when and under what circumstances each of these restructuring options works to improve student achievement. (The Center for Comprehensive School Reform and Improvement, 2006)
The following links take you to each of the four papers:
Turnarounds With New Leaders and Staff
Contracting With External Education Management Providers
State Takeovers of Individual Schools
School Turnarounds: A Review of the Cross-Sector Evidence on Dramatic Organizational Improvement
Under the No Child Left Behind Act, schools are required to restructure after five consecutive years of inadequate progress. Yet, while the process of turning around a failing school is fundamental to NCLB, there is a limited literature base documenting successful turnarounds in the education sector. This evidence review synthesizes the literature from the education sector and across multiple other sectors – public, nonprofit, and private – related to successful restructuring of low-performing schools. (Center on Innovation and Improvement, 2007)
Strengthening the Statewide System of Support: A Manual for the Comprehensive Center and State Education Agency
Strengthening the Statewide System of Support is a technical assistance manual and a companion to the Handbook on Statewide Systems of Support. These two documents, with additional resources at the Center on Innovation and Improvement, enable a state education agency (SEA), with technical assistance from a Comprehensive Center, to self-assess its system of support and plan for its improvement. (Center on Innovation and Improvement, 2007)
Authors: Sam Redding and Herbert J. Walberg
Turnaround Challenge Reports
Mass Insight offers several resources from the completion of the first phase of its work on school turnaround design, among them an executive summary, main report (with supplement), and PowerPoint presentation. (Mass Insight Education and Research Institute, to date)
Turning Around Chronically Low-Performing Schools
This guide identifies practices that can improve the performance of chronically low-performing schools—a process commonly referred to as creating "turnaround schools." The four recommendations in this guide work together to help failing schools make adequate yearly progress. (U.S. Department of Education, 2008)