Tracking the Trends: Whole School Designs

Bishop Carroll represents a growing trend towards comprehensive approaches to school improvement. Thousands of North American schools are using externally developed designs for whole school reform in an attempt to improve student outcomes. These school-wide programs vary widely in their particulars and are recognizable as distinct ‘brands’.

Designs Spreading

Success for All is the most prolific model. Developed by Robert Slavin of Johns Hopkins University, it has been implemented in more than 1,100 schools across 44 states. Henry Levin’s Accelerated Schools model is employed in over 1,000 schools. High Schools that Work, designed by James Comer, involves 600 schools. School-wide adoption of Direct Instruction and Ed Hirsch’s Core Knowledge program have rapidly expanded into hundreds of schools favouring a sequential approach to curriculum and mastery of foundational skills and knowledge. Other replicable models, especially those for groups of students with particular needs, exist in lesser numbers. A few examples of some designs may also be found in Canada.

The U.S. Department of Education has allocated over $145 million annually to the Comprehensive School Reform Plan, which will target mostly high poverty, low achieving schools. Participating schools receive annual grants of $50,000 for three years when they adopt whole school improvement models. No similar supporting funds are offered in Canada.

The Rationale

The packaged approach to school improvement is based on the rationale that successful practices are transferable. The models claim to provide coherent, replicable components of effective practice, allowing for appropriate modification for individual school needs and circumstances. It is hoped the adoption of successful ‘formulas’’ will expand the number of exemplary schools.

School change is a difficult and risky process. Most schools face a myriad of challenges and competing goals in developing their improvement plans. The best-intended reforms may be implemented in a piecemeal way without regard for how various initiatives might interact with each other. Even when agreement on goals has been reached, counterproductive practices may persist in the absence of coordinated professional development and resources to support new instructional strategies. Schools may also unwittingly adopt unproven or ineffective approaches to achieve their desired outcomes.

Proponents suggest that where a formula has been piloted and proven successful, it is efficient to encourage its reproduction in thousands of other schools, thus building on best practices already established. The intent is to reach where top-down mandates could not enter - through classroom doors to directly impact on teaching and learning.

Implementing Designs

The decision to adopt a particular school-wide approach should not be taken lightly, and the process of choosing a model is important to its successful implementation. The Success for All program requires a majority decision (80%) of teachers by secret ballot after opportunity to visit other schools in the program and review videos and written materials. This level of ‘buy-in’ ensures that the educators responsible for carrying out the reforms are deeply committed to their implementation. Experts recommend that parents and students must also endorse the plan.

Many school-wide designs are carefully structured and highly prescriptive. They have specific student materials, teacher manuals, training procedures and other requirements. According to Slavin, implementing Success for All "involves training teachers so they fully understand the ideas behind the design and the procedures and practices they will be following and adapting for their classrooms. It involves coaching and being coached and constant assessment of students to see if they are moving ahead or falling behind. It involves using parents as an important resource and…a network of schools to share ideas and solutions with people in other schools and work through problems."

Rating Whole School Designs

A new study released in June 1999 offers guidance to schools and districts looking for effective school-wide programs. An Educators’ Guide to School-wide Reform provides the most comprehensive rating available on the effectiveness of various designs, based on evidence that they raise student achievement. It also evaluates the assistance provided by the developers to the schools and compares the first-year costs of such programs. Five leading education groups, including the American Association of School Administrators, the American Federation of Teachers and the National Education Association commissioned the research.

Of the 24 programs included in this evaluation, only three were deemed to offer strong evidence through methodologically rigorous studies that they had significantly raised student achievement. The researchers concluded that Direct Instruction produced the largest gains in basic skills, thinking abilities and self-esteem. Two other models rated highly effective were Success for All and High Schools that Work.

Conclusion

School-wide designs have the potential to be a significant vehicle for creating many more exemplary schools and transforming learning experiences for thousands of students. In practice, selection and implementation of a model requires diligent research and strong stakeholder commitment, aided by additional financial support. The first wave of research points to the need for further independent evaluation of school-wide designs.