Julie A. Marsh

Strategies to Promote Data Use for Instructional Improvement: Actions, Outcomes, and Lessons from Three Urban Districts.

The current high‐stakes accountability environment has created strong incentives for educators to systematically collect and use data to inform instructional decisions. This article examines the strategies employed by three urban school districts to promote data use for instructional improvement and their effect on administrator, principal, and teacher practice. Several factors are found to affect data use, including accessibility and timeliness of data, perceptions of data validity, training, and support for teachers with regard to data analysis and interpretation, and the alignment of data strategies with other instructional initiatives.

Standards-Based Accountability under No Child Left Behind: Experiences of Teachers and Administrators in Three States. MG-589-NSF.

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How Instructional Coaches Support Data-Driven Decision Making: Policy Implementation and Effects in Florida Middle Schools.

This article examines the convergence of two popular school improvement policies: instructional coaching and data-driven decision making (DDDM). Drawing on a mixed methods study of a statewide reading coach program in Florida middle schools, the article examines how coaches support DDDM and how this support relates to student and teacher outcomes. Authors find that although the majority of coaches spent time helping teachers analyze student data to guide instruction, data support was one among many coach activities. Estimates from models indicate that data analysis support, nevertheless, has a significant association with both perceived improvements in teaching and higher student achievement.

How leaders can support teachers with data-driven decision making A framework for understanding capacity building

As accountability systems have increased demands for evidence of student learning, the use of data in education has become more prevalent in many countries. Although school and administrative leaders are recognizing the need to provide support to teachers on how to interpret and respond to data, there is little theoretically sound research on data-driven decision making (DDDM) to guide their efforts. Drawing on sociocultural learning theory, extant empirical literature, and findings from a recent study, this paper develops a framework for understanding how to build teacher capacity to use data, specifically informing what practices administrators might employ, when in the DDDM process to employ these practices, and how these mechanisms may build teacher knowledge and skills. Given the global economic climate, administrators face difficult choices in how to invest scarce resources to support data use and once invested, how to ensure that teachers gain, and sustain, the needed capabilities once the supports are removed. The framework provided herein presents a set of concepts that may be useful in guiding these decisions. Implications for leadership practice, as well as suggestions to guide future research and theory development, are discussed.

The Role of Districts in Fostering Instructional Improvement Lessons from Three Urban Districts Partnered with the Institute for Learning.

as indicated in a notice appearing later in this work. This electronic representation of RAND intellectual property is provided for noncommercial use only. Permission is required from RAND to reproduce, or reuse in another form, any of our research documents. Limited Electronic Distribution Rights Visit RAND at www.rand.org Explore RAND Education View document details For More Information This PDF document was made available from www.rand.org as a public service of the RAND Corporation.

Linking Reading Coaches and Student Achievement: Evidence From Florida Middle Schools

Many policymakers suggest that school-based reading coaches can improve teachers’ practice, which consequently will improve students’ literacy skills. Although reading coaches are increasingly prevalent in schools nationwide, empirical evidence for their effects on student achievement is scarce. This article helps to address this gap by conducting an evaluation of a statewide reading coach program in Florida middle schools. Using achievement data from nearly 1,000 Florida middle schools from the 1997–1998 through 2005–2006 school years, we find that receiving a state-funded coach was associated with statistically significant improvements in average annual reading achievement gains for two of the four cohorts of schools analyzed. We examine implications for state and district policy and future research.

Chapter 2 Accountability and teaching practices: School-level actions and teacher responses

The design of the ISBA project was guided by an analysis of the SBA theory of action, its likely effect on educators’ work across levels of the educational hierarchy, and prior research on the impact of SBA policies on teachers’ work. We begin placing our work in the context of theoretical accounts of school organizations and the occupational norms of teaching.

Teachers’ Sensemaking of Data and Implications for Equity

This article examines an understudied aspect of teachers’ sensemaking of student learning data: the way in which teachers explain the causes of the outcomes observed in data. Drawing on sensemaking and attribution theory and data collected in six middle schools, we find that while teachers most often attributed outcomes to their own instruction, they also frequently focused on supposedly stable student characteristics. By citing these characteristics as explanations for the results analyzed, teachers may have inhibited reflection on their practice and reinforced low expectations for English language learners (ELLs) and students in special education. These findings yield implications for (a) the effectiveness of data use reforms and (b) equity in the education of ELLs and students in special education.

Recent Trends in Intergovernmental Relations The Resurgence of Local Actors in Education Policy

In this essay, the authors explore trends in intergovernmental relations (IGR) by analyzing recent education policies—No Child Left Behind Act, Common Core State Standards, and local empowerment policies. Identifying a resurgent role for local actors in education policy, the authors argue that recent federal efforts to exert more control have in many ways strengthened the influence of local actors by providing avenues for school districts and other local “non-system” players to challenge traditional governance arrangements. In a similar vein, because the federal government’s ability to achieve its goals rests primarily on actions of local players, federal policies have in the course of implementation strengthened the hand of many local actors. Based on their analyses, the authors stress that IGR is not a zero-sum game. As one level gains power in certain domains, other levels may simultaneously acquire power in the same or different domains. The authors further argue that relations among federal, state, and local governments are bidirectional. Federal policy often requires states and districts to alter local policies, and conversely, decisions made by states and districts can also influence federal decisions. The authors begin the essay with an overview of the intergovernmental landscape, followed by an analysis of current education policies to illustrate the ways in which local actors have retained and asserted significant control over schooling, despite the expanded federal role in education policy. The essay concludes with questions for future research and practice.

Portfolio district reform meets school turnaround : Early implementation findings from the Los Angeles Public School Choice Initiative

Purpose – Despite the popularity of school “turnaround” and “portfolio district” management as solutions to low performance, there has been limited research on these strategies. The purpose of this paper is to address this gap by exploring the strategic case of Los Angeles Unified School Districts Public School Choice Initiative (PSCI) which combined both of these reforms. It examines how core mechanisms of change played out in schools and communities during the first two years of implementation.Design/methodology/approach – The paper draws on a mixed methods study, combining data from surveys, case studies, leader interviews, observations, and document review. It is guided by a conceptual framework grounded in research on school turnaround and portfolio districts, along with the districts implicit theory of change.Findings – The paper finds early success in attracting diverse stakeholder participation, supporting plan development, and ensuring transparency. However, data also indicate difficulty establ...