Facing the Challenges of Whole-School Reform New American Schools After a Decade (2002)

by Berends, Mark; Bodilly, Susan J.; Kirby, Sheila Nataraj

• ISBN13: 9780833031334
• ISBN10: 0833031333
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2002-05-07
• Publisher: RAND Corporation

Summary

After a decade of studies, this report draws together RAND's research on New American Schools, highlighting the organization's significant contribution to comprehensive school reform and noting the challenges that came with implementing whole-school designs.

Table of Contents

Preface	iii
Figures	xi
Tables	xiii
Summary	xv
Acknowledgments	xli
Acronyms	xliii
Introduction	1	(30)
An Overview of NAS	2	(3)
RAND's Purpose and Analytic Tasks	5	(3)
Conceptual Framework for Understanding Implementation and Performance in NAS Schools	8	(9)
External Change Agents and School Improvement	8	(3)
RAND's Conceptual Framework	11	(6)
RAND's Program of Studies of New American Schools	17	(10)
Development and Demonstration Phase	17	(7)
Scale-Up Phase	24	(3)
Ongoing Research	27	(1)
Caveats and Limitations	27	(1)
Organization of This Study	28	(3)
Afterword	29	(2)
The Development of New American Schools	31	(28)
NAS's Whole-School Design Concept	32	(1)
Request for Proposals	33	(4)
NAS Design Team Selections	37	(4)
Development Phase and the Decision to Reduce the Number of Teams	41	(4)
The Demonstration Phase and Further Reduction in the Teams	45	(2)
Lessons and the Strategy for Scale-Up	47	(3)
Selection of Scale-Up Partners	50	(2)
Scale-Up Experiences, 1995--1998	52	(2)
Comprehensive School Reform and the New NAS	54	(3)
The New NAS	55	(2)
Summary	57	(2)
Changes in NAS Designs	59	(12)
General View of Why Education Interventions Change Over Time	60	(3)
Findings	63	(4)
Intervening Experiences	63	(4)
Summary and Policy Implications	67	(4)
Implementation of NAS Designs During the Scale-Up Phase	71	(24)
An Overview of NAS Schools	71	(3)
Studies of Implementation: Research Questions, Methodology, and Limitations	74	(3)
Limitations of the Study	75	(2)
Implementation Levels in NAS Schools	77	(8)
Measuring Implementation in the Case Study Analysis	77	(1)
Constructing a Core Implementation Index	77	(2)
Findings	79	(6)
Factors Affecting Implementation in NAS Schools	85	(6)
Designs and Design-Based Assistance	85	(2)
School Capacity	87	(1)
School Context	88	(1)
Selection Process	89	(1)
District Context	90	(1)
Factors That Contributed to the Decision to Drop the Design	91	(2)
Summary and Policy Implications	93	(2)
Level of Implementation	93	(1)
Factors Affecting Implementation	93	(2)
Implementation of NAS Designs in a High-Poverty District	95	(28)
Research Questions	95	(1)
Methodology	96	(1)
Limitations	97	(2)
Choice of District	99	(1)
San Antonio Context	100	(4)
Pressures to Improve State Test Scores	101	(3)
NAS's Essential Role in the District's Reform Strategy	104	(2)
Findings	106	(8)
Adoption of Designs	106	(2)
District Assistance for Design Implementation	108	(1)
Professional Development	109	(3)
Teacher Support for the NAS Designs in San Antonio	112	(2)
Instructional Practices	114	(7)
Conventional Instructional Practices	115	(1)
Reform-Like Instructional Practices	116	(5)
Summary and Policy Implications	121	(2)
NAS Designs and Academic Achievement	123	(20)
Background of the Analysis	124	(1)
Monitoring Academic Progress with School-Level Test Scores	125	(5)
Comparing NAS Schools with District Averages: Setting Expectations	128	(1)
Sample of NAS Schools for Performance Trend Analyses	128	(1)
Differences in School Performance by Jurisdiction	129	(1)
Differences in School Performance by Design Team	129	(1)
The Link Between Implementation and Performance at the School Level	130	(3)
Monitoring Academic Progress with Student-Level Test Scores	133	(6)
Student Achievement in San Antonio	134	(2)
Student Achievement in Memphis	136	(3)
Findings from Case Studies	139	(1)
Summary and Policy Implications	140	(3)
Evidence from Other Studies	141	(2)
The Future of Whole-School Designs: Conclusions, Observations, and Policy Implications	143	(12)
Uniqueness of the RAND Approach	143	(2)
The Contribution of New American Schools	145	(1)
Implications for the External Change Agent Theory of Action	146	(5)
Implications for Current Policy: A Cautionary Note	151	(4)
Afterword	155	(16)
Appendix: Methodology for the Studies on Implementation and Performance	171	(38)
References	209