Eric.ed.gov – The Learning School Approach and Student Proficiency in ELA and Math: Preliminary Findings. Catalyst Schools Research Study Report

The Learning School initiative completed its pilot testing in June 2016, with 28 schools, called catalyst schools, taking part. Catalyst schools were located in all eight regional education service agencies (RESAs) and were supported by RESA staff in implementing the Learning School approach. Five schools had been part of the program for 2 years and 23 schools for 1 year. The purpose of the Learning School initiative was to allow greater levels of teacher decision making with regard to their own professional learning in order to meet the learning needs of their students in a model of continuous school improvement. This brief report provides preliminary findings about possible positive associations between the Learning School initiative and student performance in catalyst schools. These findings should be viewed with caution, as they involve a small number of schools after a very brief intervention. Further, research has shown that benefits of a professional development program typically do not become evident in student performance until it has been in place for 2-3 years. Additionally, fidelity of implementation was highly uneven in catalyst schools across the state. [For the Technical Report, see ED569935.]