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14 Apr 2016
Report

Case Studies of Schools Receiving School Improvement Grants: Final Report

Kerstin Carlson Le Floch, Jennifer O'Day, Beatrice Birman, Steven Hurlburt, Michelle Nayfack, Clare Halloran, Andrea Boyle, Seth Brown, Diana Mercado-Garcia, and Rose Goff, AIR
Linda Rosenberg and Lara Hulsey, Mathematica Policy Research
Thomas E. Wei, Project Officer, Institute of Education Sciences

With the passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, the federal School Improvement Grant (SIG) program underwent three major shifts; by increasing the level of funding, better targeting these funds to the persistently lowest-achieving schools, and requiring that schools adopt specific intervention models, the revamped SIG program aimed to catalyze more aggressive efforts to turn around student performance. This report focuses on a small sample of schools receiving SIG over the first three years of the revamped SIG program from 2010–11 to 2012–13.

Key Findings

  • A majority of the 25 core sample schools replaced their principal at least once in the year before (2009–10) or in Year 1 of SIG (2010–11).
  • About half of the 25 core sample schools replaced at least 50 percent of their teachers during the 2009–10, 2010–11, or 2011–12 school years.
  • According to teacher survey data, more teachers reported participating in professional learning on math, literacy, and data use than on ELL instruction, special education, or classroom management during Year 2 of SIG (2011–12).
  • Core sample schools reported receiving support from their district and external support provider(s) , but in some cases, respondents described shortcomings in their district or external support.
  • Among the 12 core subsample schools, those that appeared to engage in more efforts to build human capital in Years 1 and 2 of SIG were more likely to improve their organizational capacity (or sustain their already higher capacity).
  • Sustainability of any improvements may prove fragile.
Case Studies of Schools Receiving School Improvement Grants: Final Report
Research Summary: How Did Schools Receiving School Improvement Grants Change? (PDF)

Related Projects

Project

Study of School Turnaround

The U.S. Department of Education has invested substantial funds in turning around the nation’s lowest performing schools and has contracted with AIR to examine how schools’ receiving federal school improvement grants (SIGs) are changing over time.

Related Work

14 Apr 2016
News Release

Some Long-Struggling Schools That Received Federal Grants Saw Positive Changes, But Doubts about Sustainability of “Turnaround” Linger, AIR Researchers Find

Despite positive changes at low-performing schools that received federal grants to spark dramatic improvement, teachers from a diverse group of case-study schools question whether those changes are sustainable. That finding is part of a multiyear examination, led by AIR for the Institute of Education Sciences, of schools that receive School Improvement Grant funds from the U.S. Department of Education.
22 Mar 2016
Report

Case Studies of Schools Receiving School Improvement Grants: First Year Findings

Our nation’s lowest performing schools have traditionally struggled to offer students the instruction and supports they deeply need. The first phase of the federal School Improvement Grant Program targeted the goal of turning around these schools and improving learning for students. This report examines the first year of SIG implementation in a diverse sample of 25 schools from 13 districts and 6 states.
Topic: 
Education, District and School Improvement, English Learners
14 Apr 2016
Blog Post

Le Floch Kerstin.jpg

Kerstin Le Floch

Three Things We Learned from the Study of School Turnaround

The School Improvement Grant (SIG) program will expire as ESSA is implemented, but the challenges of low-performing schools have not. SIG provided some promising examples, as well as caveats that can challenge and inform those of us who believe our nation’s most disadvantaged students deserve better. In our latest blog post, Kerstin Carlson Le Floch shares what we’ve learned from case studies of 25 schools included in the Study of School Turnaround.
Topic: 
Education, District and School Improvement, Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA)

Further Reading

  • Case Studies of Schools Receiving School Improvement Grants: First Year Findings
  • Building Teacher Capacity to Support English Language Learners in Schools Receiving School Improvement Grants
  • Some Long-Struggling Schools That Received Federal Grants Saw Positive Changes, But Doubts about Sustainability of “Turnaround” Linger, AIR Researchers Find
  • Study of School Turnaround
  • Baseline Analyses of SIG Applications and SIG-Eligible and SIG-Awarded Schools
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Kerstin Le Floch

Kerstin Carlson Le Floch

Managing Researcher

Topic

Education
District and School Improvement

RESEARCH. EVALUATION. APPLICATION. IMPACT.

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