Sparks, S. D. (2017, December 13). These Three Mistakes Can Hamstring Improvement Even in Good Schools.

As states and districts work to refine their plans for school improvement under the federal Every Student Succeeds Act, a new study suggests that focusing on simple goals and building capacity for them can lead to more sustained success. The nonprofit AdvancED—which oversees a nationwide school improvement network of 34,000 schools and systems—analyzed some 5,000 accreditation reviews of schools during the 2015-16 school year. Each of the schools was scored based on a 400-point scale, which took into account seven areas of school quality: clear direction, resource management, healthy school culture, implementation capacity, effective engagement,…