School Improvement

What It Is

Since the publication of the 1983 landmark report A Nation at Risk, states, districts, and schools nationwide have undertaken school improvement efforts, which are geared to making fundamental changes in how schools operate. School improvement efforts seek to put an end to fragmented, quick-fix solutions and adopt a more systemic approach. School improvement initiatives typically address the entire school or school system; put student achievement at the center of improvement activities; focus on aligning performance standards, instruction, and assessment; and involve people at all levels of the local educational system—district, school, and classroom.

Why It Matters

True change involves changing attitudes, habits, and the school’s culture, all of which depend on strong leadership, a shared vision, and an environment of trust, collaboration, and learning with a constant focus on student learning. Many schools and districts adopt multiple, and sometimes conflicting, improvement programs to tackle the job of increasing student achievement. Even worse, these improvement programs are often “quick-fix” approaches. The result is a patchwork or piecemeal approach to improvement and curriculum that results in inconsistencies in teaching and learning within schools and across the district. Most disappointingly, this approach yields very few gains in student achievement. Schools need a more systemic approach to improvement that produces sustainable outcomes in student achievement.

What We Do

SEDL developed the Working Systemically approach, which directly addresses issues that have the most impact on student achievement at all levels of the system and which builds the competencies of everyone involved in the improvement work. We help state departments of education, schools, and districts decide if this model is appropriate for their use and help them learn to implement it. We research barriers to high achievement and develop tools and strategies to assist low-performing schools.