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School & District Management Collection

Continuous Improvement

A Closer Look

Continuous school improvement is a cyclical process intended to help groups of people in a system—from a class to a school district or even a network of many districts—set goals, identify ways to improve, and evaluate change in a sort of continuous feedback loop. It has quickly become a buzzword in K-12 policy and practice, as states, districts, and schools strive for systemic, long-term gains in student achievement, instead of looking for the next, shiniest silver bullet. In 2018 Education Week took a close look at what it is and how it was playing out in several places around the country.

Dan Gordon
Dan Gordon
Every Student Succeeds Act Q&A Q&A: Making the Most of 'Continuous Improvement' in State ESSA Plans
Policy expert Dan Gordon talks with Education Week about how a continuous improvement approach can help states support low-performing schools, improve achievement across the board, and bolster the work of their own education agencies.
Alyson Klein, June 27, 2018
5 min read
Assistant Principal Jolene Grimes, left, talks with new students during a family night for incoming freshmen at Nathan Hale High School in Seattle.
Assistant Principal Jolene Grimes, left, talks with new students during a family night for incoming freshmen at Nathan Hale High School in Seattle.
Ian Bates for Education Week
School & District Management Tackling Two 'Danger Zones' of Freshman Year: Attendance and Homework
A Seattle partnership between researchers and practitioners is using a continuous improvement approach to improve outcomes for students making the rocky transition from 8th to 9th grades.
Catherine Gewertz, June 19, 2018
7 min read
Lead teacher Melanie McLaughlin gets a hug from her student, Daleyza Gaona, 4, as Caidyn Smith, 4, works with “slime” in their classroom at Early Childhood Development Center Reed, a Head Start program in Tulsa, Okla. The center used statistical modeling to reduce the number of “no show” students from 38 in 2016 to 11 in 2017.
Lead teacher Melanie McLaughlin gets a hug from her student, Daleyza Gaona, 4, as Caidyn Smith, 4, works with “slime” in their classroom at Early Childhood Development Center Reed, a Head Start program in Tulsa, Okla. The center used statistical modeling to reduce the number of “no show” students from 38 in 2016 to 11 in 2017.
Brandi Simons for Education Week
Federal How Data Helped Head Start Centers Tackle a 'No Show' Problem
Getting a more accurate enrollment count for the start of the school year is just one way that Head Start centers use data to improve operations.
Christina A. Samuels, June 19, 2018
7 min read
Best-selling author and researcher John Hattie
Best-selling author and researcher John Hattie
School & District Management Q&A Getting Feedback Right: a Q&A With John Hattie
Providing students or teachers with actionable critiques essential for any kind of continuous improvement process, says John Hattie.
Sarah D. Sparks, June 19, 2018
6 min read
BRIC ARCHIVE
Getty/Getty
Every Student Succeeds Act 'Continuous Improvement' Model Woven Into State ESSA Plans
Although the federal K-12 law doesn't explicitly ask for it, a systemic and data-informed approach to long-term student achievement is part of the mix for many states as they implement the Every Student Succeeds Act.
Alyson Klein, May 8, 2018
11 min read
School & District Management Educators, Finance Officers Team Up to Build a Better Budget
A network of districts finds that in order for their schools to 'continuously improve,' a more integrated approach to budgeting is in order.
Sarah D. Sparks, March 20, 2018
6 min read
Louis GomezUCLA Professor
<b>Louis Gomez</b><br>UCLA Professor
School & District Management 69ý Struggle to Use Data to Spark Improvement
While K-12 schools focus primarily on using student achievement data for accountability purposes, experts contend that it can be a catalyst for daily improvement.
Benjamin Herold, March 20, 2018
7 min read
Every Student Succeeds Act A Primer on Continuous School Improvement
What is continuous improvement and why are schools and districts jumping on that bandwagon?
Sarah D. Sparks, February 6, 2018
7 min read
Science teacher Julie Poetzel works with 7th graders in Menomonee Falls, Wis. She said having students track their own growth has led to "better attitudes" in class.
Science teacher Julie Poetzel works with 7th graders in Menomonee Falls, Wis. She said having students track their own growth has led to "better attitudes" in class.
Narayan Mahon for Education Week
School & District Management Tinkering Toward Better 69ý
Educators in Menomonee, Wis., are going all in on "continuous improvement," a strategy that combines constant feedback, experimentation, and problem-solving.
Sarah D. Sparks, February 6, 2018
11 min read