Leverage Points: Examining How Districts and Schools Vary on Non-Test-Based Measures of School Quality

• In Event: Marriott Roundtable Session 12
  In Roundtable Session: Organizational Learning and Improvement

Abstract

While a number of studies have established the importance of staff, structures, and processes on school outcomes (Bryk, et al, 2010; Hattie, 2008), other research has demonstrated that much of the variance between schools is strongly associated with student background variables like race, income, and home language (Koretz, 2008; Reardon, 2011). Additionally, though all school outcomes do not correspond with student demography, theory suggests that schools often operate similarly due to statewide policy and institutional isomorphism (DiMaggio & Powell, 1983). Analyzing over 30,000 student and teacher survey responses, this study identifies non-test-based school quality measures on which schools and districts differ, as well as those for which performance does not appear to be the product of student demographics.

Authors

• Rachel Sue White, Old Dominion University

• James Noonan, Salem State University

• Jack Schneider, University of Massachusetts Lowell