Building and Sustaining Innovative High Schools: Findings from the Opportunity by Design Study

Building and Sustaining Innovative High Schools: Findings from the Opportunity by Design Study. RAND Corporation. Elizabeth D. Steiner et al. December 17, 2020

The Carnegie Corporation of New York’s (CCNY) Opportunity by Design (ObD) initiative provided support for 16 small schools of choice in seven large, urban districts across the United States to adopt a set of design principles intended to ensure students are prepared for college and careers. CCNY engaged the RAND Corporation in 2014 to conduct a comprehensive study of the ObD initiative. This final report summarizes implementation and outcomes findings from this five-year study and is intended to provide lessons and implementation guidance for the field.

The authors estimate the effects of the ObD initiative on student academic, behavioral, and college-readiness outcomes and describe implementation of innovative instructional practices (personalization of learning, mastery-based instruction, and positive youth development) in the final year of the initiative. Enablers of implementation included alignment of school and district grading policies in some districts and autonomy from district curriculum and professional development (PD) requirements. Barriers to implementation in ObD schools included limited district support for selecting or developing curriculum and PD materials and inflexible district policies.

The study compared ObD teachers’ instructional practices to those of high school teachers nationally. ObD teachers reported more extensive use of instructional practices related to mastery-based learning, personalization, and positive youth development.This research did not find much evidence that ObD’s principles-based design process and supports led to more effective schools, but limitations of the study design and available data may not have adequately captured ObD’s effects. [Note: contains copyrighted material].

[PDF format, 78 pages].

Illustrating the Promise of Community Schools: An Assessment of the Impact of the New York City Community Schools Initiative

Illustrating the Promise of Community Schools: An Assessment of the Impact of the New York City Community Schools Initiative. RAND Corporation. William R. Johnston et al. January 28, 2020.

With the launch of the New York City Community Schools Initiative (NYC-CS) in 2014, the New York City Department of Education (NYCDOE) has increased its focus on the implementation of a holistic strategy of education reform to address the social consequences of poverty as a means to improving student outcomes. NYC-CS is a strategy to organize resources in schools and share leadership among stakeholders so that academics, health and wellness, youth development, and family engagement are integrated into the fabric of each school. New York City is implementing this strategy at a scale unmatched nationally.
In this study, the authors assessed the impact of the NYC-CS through the 2017–2018 school year. The authors assessed the effects along seven outcome domains and explored the extent to which there is heterogeneity in programmatic impact based on student- and school-level characteristics. The authors leveraged innovative quasi-experimental methodology to determine whether students in the community schools are performing better than they would be had their schools not been designated as Community Schools.
The findings of this report will contribute to the emerging evidence base on the efficacy of the community school strategy and will be useful for other school district– and state-level policymakers interested in developing or refining similar interventions that support students’ and communities’ academic, social, and emotional well-being. [Note: contains copyrighted material].

[PDF format, 105 pages].

What Other States Can Learn from Louisiana’s Ambitious Efforts to Reshape Its Education System

What Other States Can Learn from Louisiana’s Ambitious Efforts to Reshape Its Education System. RAND Corporation.  Matthew D. Baird et al. June 11, 2019.

Historically, the state of Louisiana has earned low marks when it comes to K–12 academic achievement. Low kindergarten readiness rates, low national assessment scores, low college attainment rates, and high unemployment rates among high school graduates have defined the state’s education system for decades. Since 2012, however, the Louisiana Department of Education has taken bold strides toward making systemic shifts in the state’s education system. Some changes—such as restructuring the early childhood education system and graduation requirements for high school students—have been extensive. Others—such as changes to curricula for English language arts (ELA), mathematics, social studies, and science—have been structurally modest but have big implications for teaching and learning. Regardless of their scope and area of focus, all reforms have been designed with one goal in mind: to improve outcomes for all Louisiana public school students. [Note: contains copyrighted material].

[PDF format, 8 pages].

Raising the Bar: Louisiana’s Strategies for Improving Student Outcomes

Raising the Bar: Louisiana’s Strategies for Improving Student Outcomes. RAND Corporation.  Julia H. Kaufman et al. June 28, 2018.

 Louisiana has received recent attention for some of its new education policies and promising early results. In this report, RAND researchers provide an in-depth description of Louisiana’s approach to improving student outcomes since 2012. The authors examine how the state has used various policy levers — including mandates, resource alignment, incentives, and communication and planning processes — to pursue reform strategies in four areas: early childhood education, K–12 academics, K–12 teacher preparation, and graduation pathways.

This report sets the stage for more in-depth analyses of Louisiana’s policy implementation, challenges, and student outcomes that might be linked to its reform efforts. Reports detailing these analyses will also provide recommendations on how Louisiana’s and similar efforts might be improved. [Note: contains copyrighted material].

 [PDF format, 140 pages].