Improving America's Schools The Role of Incentives (1996) / Chapter Skim
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5 The Effects of School-Based Management Plans
5 The Effects of School-Based Management Plans
Pages 75-96
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From page 75... ...
JOHNSON The Institute for Research on Higher Education, University of Pennsylvania Virtually every school district in the United States is actively reviewing the concept of increasing the decision-making autonomy of individual schools -- developing school-based management (SBM) plans.
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From page 76... ...
In exchange for increased autonomy, schools are usually required to report the results of SBM efforts to the central administration. The term "school-based management" has many variations -- school-site management, school-site autonomy, shared decision making, shared governance,
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From page 77... ...
Authority Delegated The cornerstone of school-based management is delegating greater authority to the local school site. The nature of this increased authority is defined by three elements: the areas of decision making to which the increased authority applies, the constraints limiting exercise of that authority, and the collection of individuals who receive the new authority.
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From page 78... ...
. Developing school improvement plans without significant authority for curriculum, budget, and personnel decisions, merely making recommendations to the central administration; or merely designing disciplinary policies and instructional strategies does not mean that the traditional governance structure has been altered.
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From page 79... ...
Of the 70 sources, only 20 exhibited a systematic approach to evaluation, and only seven included a measurable assessment of student outcomes based on actual student performance. At the same time, selected superintendents, researchers in the field, and educational organizations were contacted in an effort to identify other SBM evaluations that specifically included student achievement indicators.
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From page 80... ...
The studies were designed, however, to look at the effects of SBM on governance processes, not educational outcomes, just as SBM efforts are designed to alter stakeholder relationships via governance changes, not to change student performance. Essentially, the large literature on the effectiveness of SBM ignored the effects on student achievement, either because the SBM advocates do not regard achievement as an important output measure or because there is faith that increased school discretion will increase student learning.
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From page 81... ...
Even in the 20 studies where it was mentioned, improved student achievement received relatively little attention. Outcomes Six of the studies reported decisively that there was enhanced teacher and principal empowerment and other stakeholder involvement, seven reported evidence of some increase in autonomy, and the remaining seven had either no significant results or negative ones in terms of these criteria.
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From page 82... ...
The results of SBM, then, appear to be some greater sense of empowerment and involvement of the stakeholders, although not uniformly so, but there is virtually no evidence that such changes produce improvements in student performance. Of particular concern is that the four evaluations using hard data on student achievement as outcomes and adequate controls in the evaluation1 showed negative results or no significant benefits from SBM (Table 5.1)
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From page 83... ...
Suspension rates were significantly lower in SBM middle and senior high schools in comparison to non-SBM schools, as were dropout rates. Dade County's evaluation offers some support for the proposition that increased school-site discretion may improve student performance.
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From page 84... ...
C-3* FL 33 pilot schools in 1 1 1 2- Additional staff Dade County: Consultants 16 restructured schools Financial awards and 17 comparison State funding schools Training Student Outcomes Compared with all Dade County public school students, SBM students performed no differently on Stanford and state student tests, maintained slightly higher attendance over pilot period, had significantly better suspension figures, and showed a significant decline in dropouts.
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From page 85... ...
THE EFFECTS OF SCHOOL-BASED MANAGEMENT PLANS 85 Objectives Measurement Statistical Statistical for Students Instrument Techniques Problemsb Improved achievement Student interviews Ethnographic procedures C, D Test scores Survey percentages Teacher surveys Regression analysis Greater educational focus Student surveys Data reduction techniques B, C, D Programs responsive to Survey percentages students' needs Increased participation Superintendent's None A, C, D Improved educational perceptions quality Improved achievement SBM committee surveys Survey scores B, C, D Concentration on basic skills Improved achievement Committee perceptions None A, C, D Improved attendance Improved achievement Test scores Tests of significance D More evaluation of Student data Comparison of SBM schools instruction with non-SBM schools continued
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From page 86... ...
Parents felt that their children are sufficiently challenged academically: 1 of 3 stakeholders had stronger agreement with this statement in 1991-1992 than in 1989-1990; the average rating scale score in 1991-1992 over all stakeholders surveyed was 2.4. D-2 OH Cleveland public schools 1 1 1 1 Additional staff Increased length of paid service for principals Training Student Outcomes None stated.
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From page 87... ...
THE EFFECTS OF SCHOOL-BASED MANAGEMENT PLANS 87 Objectives Measurement Statistical Statistical for Students Instrument Techniques Problemsb Specific benchmarks for Student interviews Survey percentages C, D student achievement Student data Improved attendance Improved graduation rates Improved performance Administrator, parent, Survey scores B, C, D and staff surveys None stated None Correlation matrix B, C, D Averages and standard deviations of questionnaire results Specific benchmarks for Test scores Summary of test results C, D student gains in reading, and math, and attendance Improved learning SBM committee None A, C, D Program change to interviews meet needs Change in discipline procedures Improved attendance Student data Summary of data results C, D Improved retention Student interviews Improved credit accumulation Improved achievement continued
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From page 88... ...
S-2* FL Monroe County 1 2- 1 2 Additional staff school district Consultants Increased pay for principals Local funding State funding Substantial training Student Outcomes Reading: county 3rd grade scores showed no change while state scores improved slightly, equal improvement for 5th grade, greater improvement in 8th grade, and less decline than state in 10th grade.
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From page 89... ...
THE EFFECTS OF SCHOOL-BASED MANAGEMENT PLANS 89 Objectives Measurement Statistical Statistical for Students Instrument Techniques Problemsb Improved learning Staff surveys Means and standard deviations B, C, D over time Regression analysis for nonachievement outcomes Survey scores Improved achievement Staff and parent Survey percentages B, C, D Increased participation surveys Improved attitudes Staff surveys Survey percentages B, C, D Improved attendance Improved behavior Increased collaboration Improved achievement Student data Specific evaluation instruments D Test data Tables on student performance Comparison of SBM schools with non-SBM schools Improved achievement Student data Principal component analysis D Improved attendance Test data Correlation matrix Improved behavior Multivariate analysis of variance Comparison of SBM schools with non-SBM schools continued
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From page 90... ...
W-3 CA Riverside Unified 1 1 1 0 Increased principal and school district teacher involvement Student Outcomes Greater opportunities for individualized instruction were reported. There was a generalized impression of increased test scores.
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From page 91... ...
reading scores increased slightly more in the state than in Monroe County for third-grade students, showed the same level of increase for fifth-grade students, were less for eighth-grade students, and declined less in Monroe County than in the state for tenth-grade students; (2) writing scores increased for third graders in the state, although in the county they declined; for fifth graders they stayed virtually unchanged for both; scores for county eighth graders increased, while state scores declined; and for tenth graders, county scores declined less than scores for the state overall; (3)
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From page 92... ...
in math scores, national averages increased one point, in Florida increased four points, and Monroe County declined four points. All in all, comparisons on K-12 statewide testing showed no clear evidence of higher student performance in Monroe County than in the rest of the state.
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From page 93... ...
WHAT'S NEXT? To merit support, the concept of decentralizing authority in America's public schools needs to be fully evaluated, especially for its effects on student performance.
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From page 94... ...
Office of Educational Account ability. Dade County Public Schools, Miami, Fla.
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From page 95... ...
1985. The Implementation of the Salt Lake City School District's Shared Governance Policy: A Study of School Site Councils.
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From page 96... ...
1990. "The end of the traditional model of school -- and a proposal for using incentives to restructure our public schools." Phi Delta Kappan 71(5)
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