Beyond Prescriptive Reforms: An Examination of North Carolina's Flexible School Restart Program

• In Event: Education Reform and Equity

Abstract

While many studies have examined the impact of school turnaround, less is known about school reforms developed under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). Filling this gap, we examine a novel reform policy: North Carolina’s Restart (NCR) model. NCR aligns with ESSA’s emphasis on local autonomy by allowing low-performing schools to develop their own improvement plans. However, NCR differs from previous restart models because NCR schools remain under the governance of their local district instead of being turned over to an external management organization. Using comparative interrupted time series models, we find that NCR schools improved student achievement in math. These results contribute new evidence to illuminate ESSA’s new theory of action for school reform.

Authors

• Lam D. Pham, North Carolina State University
  Presenting Author

• Gage Matthews, North Carolina State University
  Presenting Author

• Timothy Drake, North Carolina State University
  Non-Presenting Author