Identifying highly effective urban schools: comparing two measures of school success

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to provide an empirical comparison of two measures of school success – a value‐added assessment system and the federally‐mandated system of adequate yearly progress (AYP) – to identify highly effective urban schools in the USA and to explore the predictive relationship between evidence‐based decision‐making and school improvement.Design/methodology/approachA total of 204 urban schools with 6,684 teachers and 149,665 students in grades 1 through 10 participated in the study. Data included teacher survey and students’ standardized reading and math scores from 2002 through 2005. Analyses included factor analysis, growth modeling, and multiple logistic regression analyses.FindingsAYP status was strongly predicted by student and school demographics rather than by organizational climate and instructional practices. In contrast, school growth as measured by the district's value‐added assessment system was unrelated to the demographics of the student population and related strongly to specific school practices. Specifically, high growth schools exhibited strong evidence‐based decision‐making practice where teachers used the district's benchmark assessment to reflect on instructional practice, used the core curriculum to guide instruction, and received frequent and high quality professional development on reading and math instruction.Practical implicationsAs states gravitate away from relying on AYP status as a measure of school success, districts will benefit from integrating measures of growth and using school data management systems that integrate benchmark assessment capabilities and provide teachers with the training and tools needed to use the information in their daily practice.Originality/valueThis study provides a direct comparison of evaluation models using a variety of current methods within a single district that has played a central and highly‐visible role in the education reform movement in the USA.

Okul Müdürlerinin Etkili Liderlik Davranışları ile Okul Etkililiği Arasındaki İlişki

“…This has resulted in intensively research on the effectiveness of schools (Day, Gu and Sammons, 2016). While some of the studies on school effectiveness focus on the effectiveness levels of schools or on determining the characteristics of effective schools (Hofman and Hofman, 2011;Wang et al, 2013), some studies have focused on factors affecting school effectiveness (Bolanle, 2013;Tatlah and Iqbal, 2012). The results of the various studies have shown that school principals' leadership behaviors are an important factor affecting school effectiveness (Tatlah and Iqbal, 2012).…”

“…Trujillo, 2013). Okul etkililiği üzerine yapılan birçok çalışmada etkili okulun; 1) güçlü öğrenme çevresi, 2) güçlü öğretimsel liderlik, 3) yüksek personel morali, 4) delile dayalı karar verme, 5) yüksek öğretmen yeterliği şeklinde beş özelliğinin olduğu ortaya çıkmıştır (Hofman ve Hofman, 2011;Sammons, Gu, Day ve Ko, 2011;Wang, Walters ve Thum, 2013). Bununla birlikte etkili bir okul, öğretmenleri çalışmaya teşvik edici bir vizyona, açık ortak amaç ve hedeflere, etkili bir iletişime, çocukların görüşlerini ifade edebilme ve öğretmenlerle etkileşimi kurabilmeyi destekleyen, çocukların kişisel ve sosyal gelişimini besleyen, nitelikli personel ve iyi uzmanlara sahip olan iyi bir çevredir (Purkey ve Smith, 1993).…”

Teacher Rated School Ethos and Student Reported Bullying—A Multilevel Study of Upper Secondary Schools in Stockholm, Sweden

“…The concept is part of a more comprehensive theory of school effectiveness, claiming that certain schools are more successful than others in creating the shared meaning and common goals needed in order to introduce adolescents into adulthood and to counteract negative effects of external factors. Important features of effective schools are a pedagogy that focuses on clear goals, constructive feedback to the students, providing a safe and orderly environment, a strong academic focus, and positive home-school relations [ 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 ]. Empirical studies have shown that schools with such features are characterized by higher school performance [ 24 , 25 ], lower levels of delinquency [ 31 ] and less alcohol and drug use among their students [ 32 ].…”

El Liderazgo Distribuido para la Mejora Educativa: Análisis de Redes Sociales en Departamentos de Escuelas Secundarias Chilenas

“…Este considera un amplio conjunto de indicadores de resultados de los establecimientos del país, y ha sido utilizado con éxito en otros estudios focalizados en la educación primaria chilena (Bellei, Valenzuela, Vanni y Contreras, 2014). La selección de escuelas efectivas da cuenta del objetivo general del estudio más amplio y recoge la evidencia empírica que muestra, entre otros aspectos, que estas se caracterizan por un liderazgo pedagógico fuerte, docentes con altos niveles de auto eficacia y comprometidos con la mejora escolar (Wang, Walters y Thum, 2013).…”