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21 Sep 2016
Report

Evaluation of Level 4 School Turnaround Efforts in Massachusetts - Part 1: Implementation Study

Laura Stein, Susan Therriault, Alexandra Kistner, Amelia Auchstetter, and Karen Melchior

In April 2010, the Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education adopted regulations to formalize the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education’s approach to engaging with all schools, and to the lowest-performing schools in particular, to improve student performance. Using a scale of 1 to 5, Level 4 represents the state's most struggling schools not under state control.

AIR conducted a mixed-methods evaluation of how Level 4 schools use School Redesign Grants (SRGs) and other supports to catalyze improvement and how SRGs, specifically, impact student achievement. This report summarizes findings from our qualitative analyses of how Level 4 schools implement key turnaround practices. (A separate report analyzes the impact of SRGs on school turnaround, using comparative interrupted time series analyses.)

Our current work builds upon previous efforts to understand how Level 4 schools use SRGs and other supports to catalyze rapid improvement and to understand the impact of SRGs on student achievement. The work extends previous efforts in the following key ways:

  • Highlights specific strategies implemented by both schools showing improvement and already exited schools and illustrates the connections between real strategies and the key turnaround practices and indicators codified in the Massachusetts Turnaround Practices Indicators and Continuum document
  • Identifies common challenges, or pitfalls, associated with implementing key turnaround practices
  • Considers how turnaround strategies can be sustained over time, after exiting Level 4 or after SRG funds have expired

The findings presented in the report are organized by the nine overarching areas that emerged as the key elements of turnaround work in these schools and serve as the organizing structure for the findings contained in this report:

  • Autonomy
  • Communication Culture
  • Instructional Foci and Expectations
  • Classroom Observation Feedback and Data Use
  • Multitiered Systems of Support
  • Nonacademic Student Supports
  • Schoolwide Student Behavior Plan
  • Expanded Learning Opportunities
  • Family Engagement
PDF icon Evaluation of Level 4 School Turnaround Efforts in Massachusetts - Part 1: Implementation (PDF)

Related Work

21 Sep 2016
Report

Evaluation of Level 4 School Turnaround Efforts in Massachusetts - Part 2: Impact of School Redesign Grants

In April 2010, the Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (ESE) adopted regulations to formalize the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education’s approach to engaging with all schools to improve student performance. This impact study found that the disbursement of federal Title I School Improvement Grants in the process designed by ESE have consistently positive effects on student academic achievement.
Topic: 
Education, District and School Improvement
12 Aug 2015
Report

Evaluation of Massachusetts District and School Turnaround Assistance: Impact of School Redesign Grants (SRG)

Examining whether students in schools receiving School Redesign Grants (SRG) experienced better academic outcomes and attendance than non-SRG students, this evaluation done for the Massachusetts Office of District and School Turnaround Assistance found consistently positive and generally robust effects on student academic achievement, particularly on standardized state assessments. Results also suggest, however, that SRG receipt does not affect student attendance.
Topic: 
District and School Improvement
7 Mar 2016
Blog Post

Ghandi,_Allison_new.jpg

Image of Allison Gandhi

What Can Massachusetts’ Wraparound Zones Teach Us About School Turnaround?

The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) gives states the authority and flexibility to turn around their lowest performing schools. In this blog post, Allison Gandhi asks if states can succeed where federal policy requirements have run into walls, using the success of the Massachusetts Wraparound Zone initiative as an example.
Topic: 
Education, District and School Improvement, Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), Trauma-Informed Care

Further Reading

  • Lessons Learned in Massachusetts High School Turnaround: A Resource for High School Leaders
  • Evaluation of Level 4 School Turnaround Efforts in Massachusetts- Part 2: Impact of School Redesign Grants
  • Supporting English Learners and Students with Disabilities: Strategies from Turnaround Schools in Massachusetts
  • Student Outcomes Improve in Massachusetts Schools Receiving School Redesign Grants
  • Evaluation of Massachusetts District and School Turnaround Assistance: Impact of School Redesign Grants (SRG)
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Susan Bowles Therriault

Managing Researcher

Topic

Education
District and School Improvement

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