What Makes School Districts Effective?

Session Type: Symposium

Abstract

School districts are theorized on one hand to provide opportunities for robust educational reform and to improve outcomes for low-income communities and students of color, and on the other hand a possible hindrance for the “street-level bureaucrats” who enact policy changes in schools and classrooms. This session presents original research – both qualitative and quantitative – examining the multiple possible roles of school districts, with a goal for presenters and attendees to collaboratively examine what it means for a district to be effective or ineffective. The authors and attendees will consider and discuss what is known and what remains unknown about districts, their organization, and opportunities to improve student outcomes and reduce educational inequality.

Sub Unit

• SIG-Districts in Research & Reform

Chair

• Julie A. Marsh, University of Southern California

Papers

• Why Do School Districts Matter? An Interdisciplinary and Empirical Review - David Blazar, University of Maryland - College Park; Beth Schueler, University of Virginia

• Redesigning the School Improvement Planning Process Into an Instrument of Educational Equity: The Case of a Research-Practice Partnership - Lydia Rainey, University of Washington; Meredith I. Honig, University of Washington

• From "School System" to a "System of Schools": A Comparative Case Study of District Governance - René Espinoza Kissell, University of Colorado - Boulder

• Evaluating Education Governance: Does State Takeover of School Districts Affect Educational Inputs and Outcomes? - Beth Schueler, University of Virginia; Joshua Bleiberg, Brown University

Discussant

• Meredith I. Honig, University of Washington