Accountability to School Improvement – Bridging the Gap to Support CSI Schools

• In Event: Are CSI (Comprehensive Support and Improvement) Schools Getting the Support They Need? Evidence From Research and Practice

Abstract

A seamless cycle of accountability and school improvement is critical to ensuring an effective support system for Comprehensive Support and Improvement (CSI) schools, particularly for data literacy and effective deployment of Title I, Part A, School Improvement funding. Yet, this can be challenging for states and districts with varying organizational layers and stakeholders, leading to unintended impact on schools and students. This presentation will feature a New England state’s initiative to evaluate and align its accountability and school improvement efforts, ultimately to better support districts and schools. A State Education Agency (SEA) representative will discuss how the accountability and school improvement offices collaborated to holistically examine the impact of their initiatives, enhance inter-office alignment, and collaboratively support continuous improvement for districts and schools.
The presentation will begin with a brief history of the state’s federal accountability system and an overview of the organizational structure and political landscape. Since the enactment of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) in 2015, the state has made incremental improvements to its accountability system to enhance its reliability and validity as well as data literacy of key stakeholders, all within the context of building new offices dedicated to accountability and school improvement. This section aims to provide a helpful context for the audience in understanding the state’s accountability and school improvement initiatives.
The SEA representative will then describe the specific strategies employed by the two offices to support CSI schools. For example, the accountability office offers a wide range of support in data literacy, including one-on-one data office hours and webinars to effectively utilize the state’s continuously evolving data transparency portal. The school improvement team offers guidance on developing effective school improvement plans in collaboration with external and internal partners. The two offices have also been increasing the number of joint trainings, school visits and office hours with a particular focus on helping schools effectively align accountability data with school improvement plans. The representative will discuss successes and challenges associated with these strategies. This portion of the presentation will include specific case studies of the state working successfully with districts and/or schools amid various challenges.
Lastly, the presentation will reflect on the overall effectiveness of the state’s accountability and school improvement initiatives. It will cite key findings from an ongoing statewide analysis/evaluation examining the overall effectiveness of its accountability system in driving school improvement. The representative will discuss topics such as the analysis’ alignment to OECD’s impact evaluation criteria, the role of the accountability and school improvement offices in the evaluation process, and the overarching trends in feedback from districts and schools. For example, s/he will provide quantitative data on the overall reliability and validity of the accountability system, along with qualitative reviews (i.e. interviews and document reviews) on how districts and schools have used accountability data to drive school improvement and to what extent such practices are deemed effective. The presentation will end with next steps in bridging the gap between accountability and school improvement to better support CSI schools.

Author

• Kyu-Ryung Hwang, New Hampshire Department of Education