Component One: Effective, Research-Based Methods and Strategies
Component One
A comprehensive school reform program employs innovative strategies and proven methods for student learning, teaching, and school management that are based on reliable research and effective practices and have been replicated successfully in schools with diverse characteristics.
Introduction
The success of comprehensive school reform as a strategy for improved student achievement depends in part on whether a model has been developed on a scientific research base with reliable methodology. This section takes the reader through a process to assist school and district personnel in evaluating school reform programs.
Comparing Programs
A process of comparison and contrast is desirable when researching new programs for possible implementation. This could include gathering and documenting the information called for in Table 1 for each program considered.
The summary of data or research for item 13 in Table 1 might address the following questions:
- What evidence is there that this program increases student achievement? For which students? In which subject areas?
- How was achievement gain defined? Was there a minimum amount of instruction required for students and schools to be included?
- Were demographic characteristics of students similar to the demographics of this school?
- How were the project schools chosen to be included in the research study? Were there special training or implementation requirements for project schools? How were comparison schools chosen?
- Were school results not reported for some schools that participated in the project, and, if not, why not?
- Which features of the program reflect current studies on effective practices and educational issues?
| Additional Links for Comparing Programs
|
Researching the Research
The
best evidence of a model's effectiveness would include data obtained
using only the most rigorous and professionally acceptable research
and evaluation approaches or methods. However, in developing or
considering models to use as the basis for comprehensive reform
programs, schools, districts, and states often have had only the
evidence provided by the reform models. Unfortunately, for a variety
of reasons, wide-ranging and in-depth information is not available
for many of the models. One of the reasons is that consensus has
yet to be established on the most appropriate instruments for
measuring and comparing student achievement. Another reason is
that it is difficult and expensive to conduct long-term, systematic
research across multiple sites using rigorous experimental/control
group research designs. It is expected that this problem will
be alleviated in the near future partially due to the Comprehensive
School Reform (CSR) program and the data it provides.
When considering the adoption of commercial programs, the school staff should obtain information sources other than the developers to ensure objectivity. Information is available from state departments of education, Regional Educational Laboratories, and other technical assistance centers. Additionally, staff may wish to contact schools currently using models in which they are interested to gain a perspective on the model in practice. In its guidance on selecting comprehensive school reform models, the U.S. Department of Education provides the following categories of research:
The theoretical (basic) or research foundation for the program: Theories or research findings explain why a comprehensive model and the practices included in the model work together to produce gains in student performance.
Evaluation-based evidence of improvements in student achievement: Evidence of educationally significant improvement is shown through reliable measures of student achievement in major subject areas before and after model implementation.
Evidence of effective implementation: Implementation is a description of what it takes to make the model fully operational in schools.
Evidence
of replicability: Replicability means that the model has been
successfully implemented in more than one school.
| Additional links for researching the research
|
Table
2 from the U.S. Department of Education Guidelines for
the CSR Request for Grant Proposals, provides a method for
determining the quality of a description of a product's research
base.
Assuring Quality
The Quality Assurance Checklist for a Program (Table 3) incorporates the U.S. Department of Education's dimensions and provides criteria to identify the quality of the programs studied.
| Additional resources for model selection
|
|
