Turning Around the Nation’s Lowest-Performing Schools

Federal Race to the Top and School Improvement Grant funding has renewed focus on turning around the nation’s lowest-performing schools. Many state, district and school leaders have long been working to improve persistently low-performing schools, but their results are mixed. The issue brief, published online in January 2011 by the Center for American Progress, outlines steps schools can take to raise student achievement.

According to the brief, reform efforts produce mixed results because districts are quick to apply one-size-fits-all interventions that neglect to account for a school’s unique environment. Custmoizable steps toward turnaround include: assessing the needs of each school, quantifying what each school gets, investing in the most important changes first, developing strategies unique to each school and implementing changes at the district-level in addition to the school-level.

The brief draws upon the successes and failures of school reforms within large urban districts to illustrate how school leaders can implement changes that could lead to sustainable success.

The Center for American Progress is a nonprofit that seeks to address 21st century challenges through progressive ideas.
 

Read the Report.