![[PDF]](/pb-assets/Icons/adobe-pdf-icon-1498649896243.png){kind=icon}
Abstract
Policy makers’ attempts to improve low-achieving schools through reform measures are not new to the 21st century. Research asserts that this policy churn has done little, if anything, to change student achievement levels. Based on the research, I assert that policy reforms such as teacher evaluations and test-based assessment, and school improvement cannot occur without an integration of organizational components. Furthermore, through a theory of action analysis of the School Improvement Grant (SIG) program, I suggest that the link between what we know about school improvement and what is put forth in policy is tenuous at best. Continuing to pass reform simply for political reasons is not a viable option if our schools are to produce sustainable, positive change in student outcomes.
References
Section:
|
Bell, J. (2001). High performing, high poverty schools are distinguished by their strength of leadership and their understanding of how children learn. Leadership, 31(1), 8-11. Google Scholar | |
|
Bogat, G. A., Jones, J. W., Jason, L. A. (1980). School transitions: Preventive intervention following an elementary school closing. Journal of Community Psychology, 8, 343-352. Google Scholar | Crossref | |
|
Bryk, A. S. (2010). Organizing schools for improvement. Phi Delta Kappan, 91(7), 23-30. Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | ISI | |
|
Bryk, A. S., Camburn, E., Louis, K. S. (1999). Professional community in Chicago elementary schools: Facilitating factors and organizational consequences. Education Administration Quarterly, 35, 751-781. Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | |
|
Bryk, A. S., Schneider, B. (2003, March). Trust in schools: A core resource for school reform. Educational Leadership, 60(6), 40-45. Google Scholar | ISI | |
|
California Department of Education . (2011, May 9). School Improvement Grant. Retrieved from http://www.cde.ca.gov/sp/sw/t1/sig09.asp Google Scholar | |
|
Carnoy, M., Jacobsen, R., Mishel, L., Rothstein, R. (2005). The charter school dustup: Examining the evidence on enrollment and achievement (Economic Policy Institute). New York, NY: Teachers College Press. Google Scholar | |
|
Center on Education Policy . (2008). A call to restructure restructuring: Lessons from the No Child Left Behind Act in five states. Washington, DC: Author. Google Scholar | |
|
Center on Education Policy . (2010). Improving low-performing schools: Summary of a forum. Washington, DC: Author. Google Scholar | |
|
Center on Education Policy . (2011). Early state implementation of Title I School Improvement Grants under the Recovery Act. Washington, DC: Author. Google Scholar | |
|
Cohen, D. K. (1995). What is the system in systemic reform? Educational Researcher, 24(9), 11-17. Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | |
|
Copland, M. (2003). Leadership of inquiry: Building and sustaining capacity for school improvement. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 25, 375-395. Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | ISI | |
|
Cuban, L. (1990). Reforming again, again, and again. Educational Researcher, 19(1), 3-13. Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | |
|
Darling-Hammond, L. (2004). Inequality and the right to learn: Access to qualified teachers in California’s public schools. Teachers College Record, 106, 1936-1966. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
Dembo, M., Gibson, S. (1985). Teachers’ sense of efficacy: An important factor in school improvement. The Elementary School Journal, 86, 173-184. Google Scholar | Crossref | |
|
Ed-Data . (2011, 15-March). State of California education profile 2009-2010: Schools. Retrieved from http://www.ed-data.k12.ca.us/Navigation/fsTwoPanel.asp?bottom=%2Fprofile.asp%3Flevel%3D04%26reportNumber%3D16 Google Scholar | |
|
Eisner, E. W. (1988). The ecology of school improvement. Educational Leadership, 17(5), 24-29. Google Scholar | |
|
Finnigan, K., O’Day, J. A. (2003). External support to schools on probation: Getting a leg up? Philadelphia: Consortium for Policy Research in Education, University of Pennsylvania. Google Scholar | |
|
Foote, C. J., Cook-Cottone, C. P. (2004). Field experiences in high-need, urban settings: Analysis of current practice and insights for change. The Urban Review, 36, 189-210. Google Scholar | Crossref | |
|
Fullan, M. (2000). The three stories of education reform. Phi Delta Kappan, 81, 581-584. Google Scholar | ISI | |
|
Fullan, M. (2010). All systems go: The change imperative for whole system reform. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE. Google Scholar | |
|
Ginwright, S. (2000). Identity for sale: The limits of racial reform in urban schools. The Urban Review, 32, 88-103. Google Scholar | Crossref | |
|
Hargreaves, A., Shirley, D. (2008). Beyond standardization on: Powerful new principles for improvement. Phi Delta Kappan, 90(2), 135-143. Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | |
|
Harr, J., Parrish, T., Socias, M., Gubbins, P. (2007). Evaluation study of California’s High Priority School Grants Program: Final report. Sacramento: California Department of Education. Google Scholar | |
|
Hess, A. G. (2003). Reconstitution—Three years later: Monitoring the effect of sanctions on Chicago high schools. Education and Urban Society, 35, 300-327. Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | |
|
Horvat-McNamara, E., Weininger, E. B., Lareau, A. (2003). From social ties to social capital: Class differences in the relations between schools and parent networks. American Educational Research Journal, 40, 319-351. Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | |
|
Koschoreck, J. W. (2001). Accountability and educational equity in the transformation of an urban district. Education and Urban Society, 33, 284-304. Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | |
|
Lankford, H., Loeb, S., Wyckoff, J. (2002). Teacher sorting and the plight of urban schools: A descriptive analysis. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 24, 37-62. Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | ISI | |
|
Lareau, A. (2002). Invisible inequality: Social class and childrearing in Black families and White families. American Sociological Review, 67, 747-776. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
Lee, V. E., Burkam, D. T. (2003). Dropping out of high school: The role of school organization and structure. American Educational Research Journal, 40, 353-393. Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | ISI | |
|
Lee, V. E., Smith, J. B. (1996). Collective responsibility for learning and its effects on gains in achievement for early secondary school students. American Journal of Education, 104, 103-147. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
Leonard, L. J., Leonard, P. E. (2005). Achieving professional community in schools: The administrator challenge. Planning and Changing, 36(1), 23-29. Google Scholar | |
|
Lippman, L., Burns, S., McArthur, E., Burton, R., Smith, T., Kaufman, P. (1996). Urban schools: The challenge of location and poverty (NCES 96-184). Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. Google Scholar | |
|
Lipsky, M. (1980). Street-level bureaucracy: Dilemmas of the individual in public services. New York, NY: Russell Sage. Google Scholar | |
|
Little, J. W. (1981). Norms of collegiality and experimentation: Workplace conditions of school success. American Educational Research Journal, 19, 325-340. Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | |
|
Mackenzie, D. (1983). Research for school improvement: An appraisal of some recent trends. Educational Researcher, 12(4), 5-17. Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | |
|
Malen, B., Croninger, R., Muncey, D., Redmond-Jones, D. (2002). Reconstituting schools: “Testing” the “theory of action.” Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 24, 113-132. Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | ISI | |
|
Masumoto, M., Brown-Welty, S. (2009). Case study of leadership practices and school community interrelationships in high-performing, high-poverty, rural California high schools. Journal of Research in Rural Education, 24(9), 1-18. Google Scholar | |
|
McLaughlin, M. W. (1987). Learning from experience: Lessons from policy implementation. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 9, 171-178. Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | |
|
Mills, S. C., Ragan, T. J. (2000). A tool for analyzing implementation fidelity of an integrated learning system. Educational Technology Research and Development, 48(4), 21-41. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
Mintrop, H., Trujillo, T. (2007). The practical relevance of accountability systems for school improvement: A descriptive analysis of California schools. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 29, 319-352. Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | ISI | |
|
National Center for Education Statistics . (2009). NAEP trial urban district assessment snapshot reports: Los Angeles unified school district, grades 4 and 8, reading and mathematics. Washington, DC: Author. Google Scholar | |
|
Nave, B., Miech, E., Mosteller, F. (2000). A lapse in standard: Linking standards-based reform with student achievement. Phi Delta Kappan, 82(2), 128-132. Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | |
|
Newmann, F., Wehlage, G. (1995). Successful school restructuring. Madison, WI: Center on Organization and Restructuring of Schools. Google Scholar | |
|
O’Day, J., Bitter, C. (2003). Evaluation study of the immediate intervention/underperforming schools program and the high achieving/improving schools program of the Public Schools Accountability Act of 1999. Sacramento: California Department of Education. Google Scholar | Crossref | |
|
Paik, S. J., Wang, D., Walberg, H. J. (2002). Timely improvements to learning. Educational Horizons, 80(2), 69-71. Google Scholar | |
|
Peters, G. (2007). Structural and curricular design: What changes when an essential school commits to exhibitions. Horace, 23(1), 1-4. Google Scholar | |
|
Purkey, S. C., Smith, M. S. (1983). Effective schools: A review. The Elementary School Journal, 83, 427-462. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
Raywid, M. A. (1990). The evolving effort to improve schools: Pseudo-reform, incremental reform and restructuring. Phi Delta Kappan, 72(2), 139-143. Google Scholar | |
|
Rice-King, J., Malen, B. (2003). The human costs of education reform: The case of school reconstitution. Educational Administration Quarterly, 39, 635-666. Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | |
|
Rothman, R., Elmore, R. (1999). Testing, teaching, and learning: A guide for states and school districts. Washington, DC: National Academy Press: Committee on Title I Testing and Assessment, Board on Testing and Assessment, Commission on Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education, National Research Council. Google Scholar | |
|
Rubie-Davies, C., Hattie, J., Hamilton, R. (2006). Expecting the best for students: Teacher expectations and academic outcomes. The British Journal of Educational Psychology, 76, 429-444. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | |
|
Rumberger, R., Palardy, G. (2005). Does segregation still matter? The impact of student composition on academic achievement in high school. Teachers College Record, 107, 1999-2045. Google Scholar | ISI | |
|
Sahlberg, P. (2007). Education policies for raising student learning: The Finnish approach. Journal of Education Policy, 22, 147-171. Google Scholar | Crossref | |
|
Sebring, P. B., Bryk, A. S. (2000). School leadership and the bottom line in Chicago. Phi Delta Kappan, 81(6), 440-443. Google Scholar | ISI | |
|
Simon, M. (2010). Assessment versus achievement: Winner takes all! Florida Journal of Educational Administration & Policy, 3, 73-85. Google Scholar | |
|
Smith, B., Roderick, M., Degener, S. C. (2005). Extended learning time and student accountability: Assessing outcomes and options for elementary and middle grades. Educational Administration Quarterly, 41, 195-236. Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | ISI | |
|
Suárez-Orozco, C., Pimentel, A., Martin, M. (2009). The significance of relationships: Academic engagement and achievement among newcomer immigrant youth. Teachers College Record, 111, 712-749. Google Scholar | ISI | |
|
Timar, T., Chyu, K. K. (2010). State strategies to improve low-performing schools: California’s high priority schools grant program. Teachers College Record, 112, 1897-1936. Google Scholar | |
|
U.S. Department of Education . (2011). School improvement fund: Laws, regs, & guidance. Retrieved from http://www2.ed.gov/programs/sif/legislation.html Google Scholar | |
|
U.S. Department of Education . (2009). School Improvement Grants. Washington, DC: Author. Google Scholar | |
|
Weinstein, R. S. (2002). Reaching higher: The power of expectations in schooling. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Google Scholar | |
|
Weiss, H., Little, P., Bouffard, S. M., Deschenes, S. N., Malone, H. J. (2009). Strengthen what happens outside school to improve what happens inside. Phi Delta Kappan, 90(8), 592-596. Google Scholar | SAGE Journals |
