SIG: Part of the problem

A review from the National Education Policy Center of a report from the Center for American Progress about school turnarounds finds its claims and recommendations aren't founded in rigorous research. The report argues that available research indicates bold actions are necessary to improve low-performing schools measurably, advocating that the federal School Improvement Grant (SIG) program carries the most effective methods for turning these low-performing schools around. The reviewer feels SIG policies have superficial appeal, and given unsatisfactory outcomes, are based on unwarranted claims that are contradicted by empirical evidence. She points, for instance, to the claim that dramatic changes in staffing and management spur fast and sustainable improvement. In fact, such drastic disruptions generally lead to poor school performance, but readily available and plentiful research about this is not incorporated into the report. "In the end," the reviewer states, "schools, districts, and states that follow the report's advice stand only to reproduce the unequal conditions that have led, in part, to their need for dramatic turnaround in the first place." More

Source:  Public Education News Blast

Published by LEAP

Los Angeles Education Partnership (LAEP) is an education support organization that works as a collaborative partner in high-poverty communities.