P R O F E S S I O N A L

D E V E L O P M E N T

A N D

I M P L E M E N T A T I O N

S C H O O L S E L F - A S S E S S M E N TA N I N Q U I R Y- B A S E D A P P R O A C H T O S C H O O L I M P R O V E M E N T

P R O F E S S I O N A L D E V E L O P M E N T A N D I M P L E M E N T AT I O N O F S C H O O L S E L F A S S E S S M E N T 3

For more information please contact:

Alexandra Weinbaum, Ph.D

Project Director

School Self-Assessment Project

Academy for Educational Development

100 5th Avenue

New York, NY 10011

phone 212.243.1110

e-mail sweinbau@aed.org

website scs.aed.org/ssa.html

P R O F E S S I O N A L D E V E L O P M E N T A N D I M P L E M E N T AT I O N O F S C H O O L S E L F A S S E S S M E N T 3

Professional Development and Implementation of School Self Assessment

The Academy for Educational Development (AED) offers a rigorous program of professional development for schools participating in the School Self-Assessment (SSA) project, including school-based support as participants begin to practice SSA on-site.

In keeping with the best research and recommendations on professional development, the project offers ongoing coaching, suggests strategies to fit SSA into the regular work of the school, and helps schools focus on their core purpose: the continuous improvement of teaching and learning.

The program consists of a series of four workshops, which vary in length from one day for the orientation to three days for the professional development institutes. A school must send a team to every workshop, including the principal and two or more teachers. SSA also strongly encourages the participation of parents, community members, and district leaders in the workshops and school-based SSA activities. Regional SSA partners support schools in implementing key SSA activities.

Principles of School Self-Assessment

SSA professional development is based on the following

principles:

• SSA supports schools in developing a culture of

inquiry and reflection focused on the continuous

improvement of teaching and learning.

• SSA occurs within the context of a school’s

teaching and learning goals, not according to an

external checklist.

• SSA fosters an evidence-based approach that

identifies and describes the ways in which a school

is meeting its goals and encourages schools to

build on the areas in which they are already strong.

• SSA raises questions to help schools improve

teaching and learning; it does not give schools a

“recipe” for reform.

• SSA depends on the commitment and knowledge

of educators trained in the methodology of review

to make informed judgments about schools.

4 P R O F E S S I O N A L D E V E L O P M E N T A N D I M P L E M E N T AT I O N O F S C H O O L S E L F A S S E S S M E N T P R O F E S S I O N A L D E V E L O P M E N T A N D I M P L E M E N T AT I O N O F S C H O O L S E L F A S S E S S M E N T 5

1. Orientation to School Self-Assessment

The orientation is a school’s first exposure to SSA. AED, in collaboration with regional SSA partners, invites school teams to attend this orientation. Principals and teachers from schools experienced in SSA cofacilitate activities with AED staff during this orientation. The orientation includes:

• An introduction to the objectives and principles of SSA. • Presentations from participating schools on the steps they took to implement SSA

and changes they are seeing in teaching and learning. • Goal-setting activity that demonstrates approaches to gaining schoolwide consensus

on teaching and learning goals. • An introduction to the processes of internal and external review, and a year-long

timeline of activities for implementing the initial stages of SSA in new schools.

2. Professional Development Institute

Schools that decide to pursue self-assessment in greater depth share the main points of the orientation with their entire staff (and also parents, community members, and district representatives) and set collective goals as a school. They then send a team to attend this second workshop, during which participants gain a deeper understanding of the principles

of SSA and learn to conduct internal and external reviews. Similar to the orientation, principals and teachers from schools experienced in SSA cofacilitate activities with AED staff during this workshop. Activities include:

• Exploring the principles of SSA, such as the evidence-based approach of using the goals as a framework to “look for what is there.”

• Developing images of good practices for every goal area. • Reviewing student work using a “fishbowl” format, during which participants learn

to offer constructive feedback on an assignment and samples of student work with the goals as a framework.

• Conducting a simulated review through “observing” classrooms (videotapes of classes); reviewing a compilation of student work representing different subject areas

4 P R O F E S S I O N A L D E V E L O P M E N T A N D I M P L E M E N T AT I O N O F S C H O O L S E L F A S S E S S M E N T P R O F E S S I O N A L D E V E L O P M E N T A N D I M P L E M E N T AT I O N O F S C H O O L S E L F A S S E S S M E N T 5

and ability levels; and reading the vision, mission, and goal statements of a fictional school and its profile.

• Constructing a report that represents the collective perspective of the review team. • Constructing questions for reflection to leave with the school to use in future

reflection and action.

3. Advanced Professional Development and Senior Reviewer Institute

During this third institute school participants are prepared to become senior reviewers and conveners who guide the review team’s work and report writing. The institute is conducted by AED staff and consultants experienced in leading review teams. Regional SSA partners also participate and cofacilitate sessions. Participants gain in-depth training in the following:

• Reviewing student work.• Writing an effective report. • Playing the roles of the senior reviewer and convenor of a review team. • Resolving difficult issues in review team discussions and report writing.

4. Advanced Institute on Post-review Follow-up

Teams (including the principal and SSA partner) from schools that have experienced an external review and technical assistance partners attend this fourth institute, facilitated by AED staff and leaders of schools that have conducted effective follow-up activities after an external review. Activities include:

• Presentations by schools on their follow-up strategies to an external review. • Feedback on these strategies from facilitators and participants. • Development of action plans for follow-up that incorporate pertinent feedback from

institute participants.

6 P R O F E S S I O N A L D E V E L O P M E N T A N D I M P L E M E N T AT I O N O F S C H O O L S E L F A S S E S S M E N T P R O F E S S I O N A L D E V E L O P M E N T A N D I M P L E M E N T AT I O N O F S C H O O L S E L F A S S E S S M E N T 7

Hope Elementary/Middle School: A Case Study

AED offers SSA schools a rigorous program of professional development that builds their capacity to conduct the inquiry-based improvement of teaching and learning. The following is the experience of Hope Elementary/Middle School (a pseudonym) in Detroit, Michigan. Hope has participated in School Self-Assessment since 1997 and experienced an external review in spring 1998.

• Hope Elementary/Middle School serves over 600 students from Pre-K to grade 8. • Ninety-seven (97) percent of Hope’s students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. • The school draws students with special needs from all over the district, and these

students comprise 24% of Hope’s students.

AED documented Hope’s SSA implementation from 1998 to 2002. During this period, Hope took the following steps to facilitate an effective implementation of SSA:

• Developed a team of teachers to work with the principal to lead processes of inquiry into teaching and learning. • Participated in an orientation on SSA and gained schoolwide consensus for full-fledged participation in SSA. • Set schoolwide goals for improving student literacy, using SSA goal-setting activities.

• Participated in an internal review to assess practices in the school and their potential to improve student literacy.

• Participated in an external review to understand the

Hope’s Teaching and Learning Goals

1. All students will be literate (literacy as

cultural awareness, lifelong learning,

analytical and creative thinking, problem-

solving, and oral, visual, and textual

communication).

2. Create and maintain a nurturing

environment.

3. Staff will seek the cooperation and

participation of parents and others in

supporting and reinforcing school efforts.

6 P R O F E S S I O N A L D E V E L O P M E N T A N D I M P L E M E N T AT I O N O F S C H O O L S E L F A S S E S S M E N T P R O F E S S I O N A L D E V E L O P M E N T A N D I M P L E M E N T AT I O N O F S C H O O L S E L F A S S E S S M E N T 7

schools’ strengths and needs from the perspective of other educators trained in SSA review techniques.

• Conducted a retreat, attended by the majority of staff, and parent and community representatives, in which participants set priorities for future school improvement based on a report composed by the review team.

• Renewed their commitment to literacy across the curriculum as the primary goal of the school and aligned all school initiatives and funds to address this goal.

• Set in place professional development that facilitated the development of varied instructional strategies aimed at improving literacy.

These efforts helped Hope improve standardized test scores over the same period. Hope achieved a 21% increase in the number of students performing satisfactorily on the Grade 7 Reading MEAP1. Hope outpaced the change in district (-1.9%) and state (9.1%) reading scores for the same period.

Comparison of Changes in School, District, and State Reading Averages

Change (%) in Grade 7 MEAP Reading Average 1998-2001

25

20

15

10

5

0

-5Hope

21

District State

-1.9

9.1per

cen

t

8 P R O F E S S I O N A L D E V E L O P M E N T A N D I M P L E M E N T AT I O N O F S C H O O L S E L F A S S E S S M E N T P R O F E S S I O N A L D E V E L O P M E N T A N D I M P L E M E N T AT I O N O F S C H O O L S E L F A S S E S S M E N T 9

Hope applied for and received funding in 2000 to deepen its self-assessment processes through a regular review of teacher assignments and student work. Several Hope staff participated in reviews of other schools and developed into expert trainers in Self-Assessment for new schools. Hope continues to use Self-Assessment to guide hiring decisions, parent involvement strategies, and new grants that it pursues. In the principal’s words, “Self-Assessment has given me a clear map of where to go.”

Hope was recently included in a list of high-poverty, high-performing schools by Education Trust (2001) in a national study titled Dispelling the Myth Revisited: Preliminary Findings from an Analysis of ‘High-Flying’ Schools due to its impressive gains in student performance on standardized tests.

The Stages of Hope’s Implementation of SSA

Selection of a School TeamBefore attending SSA institutes, Hope staff selected a five-member team consisting of the principal, faculty, staff, parents and community members. The size of this team expanded to over 10 members during the school’s participation in the project. Orientation WorkshopTeam members attended the day-long orientation in fall 1996, along with staff from other schools participating in the SSA. As an introduction, they participated in a goals-sorting activity, in which they selected three to five goals for their school. As a next step,they described what these goals might look like in the classroom and school. Almost immediately participants understood that SSA was “non-threatening,” and “not trying to catch you doing something wrong.” They also saw that SSA differed from other modes of accreditation and evaluation because it was a form of peer review using a school’s own goals, rather than an externally mandated checklist, as the basis for review. Team members understood that the external review seeks evidence of how a school was fulfilling its goals. A participant stated: “Self-assessment involved critical friends who helped us break down barriers to doing what’s best for children.”

8 P R O F E S S I O N A L D E V E L O P M E N T A N D I M P L E M E N T AT I O N O F S C H O O L S E L F A S S E S S M E N T P R O F E S S I O N A L D E V E L O P M E N T A N D I M P L E M E N T AT I O N O F S C H O O L S E L F A S S E S S M E N T 9

School Self-Assessment InstituteThe Hope team expanded its membership by bringing in more staff, parents and community members to the first summer professional development institute. Prior to this, the Hope team implemented the goals-setting activity in the school and collaboratively developed school goals emphasizing literacy, a nurturing environment for students, and parent involvement in school efforts. At the institute, Hope’s team used their school goals as a framework within which to review a fictional school. AED facilitators set up a simulation of a review in which participants—organized in teams of 8 to 10—reviewed student work and “visited” classrooms (observed videotapes) for evidence that the fictional school under review was addressing its teaching and learning goals.

The teams worked under the guidance of a senior reviewer, discussed and weighed evidence, resolved differences of opinion, and developed a collective perspective on how well the school was fulfilling its goals.

The teams then wrote a report to mirror a school back to itself. They also posed questions for reflection to the school, which urged it to consider how it could address its goals by building on the resources that already existed within the school. At all times, AED facilitators urged review teams to adopt a constructive tone so that the school would find the report useful, without being prescriptive. A good report, AED senior reviewers advised,

lets a school know that the team has “gotten” the school; if the team has not done so, the report will not be useful.

Schoolwide trainingA teacher from Hope described the institute’s usefulness: “It has a clear purpose, and goes hand-in-hand with teaching and learning. I could come back to my school and confidently share it with the staff.” At this stage, the school also began its relationship with its SSA partner, the Michigan Coalition

1 0 P R O F E S S I O N A L D E V E L O P M E N T A N D I M P L E M E N T AT I O N O F S C H O O L S E L F A S S E S S M E N T P R O F E S S I O N A L D E V E L O P M E N T A N D I M P L E M E N T AT I O N O F S C H O O L S E L F A S S E S S M E N T 1 1

of Essential Schools. The school team and the SSA partner began a series of workshops involving the entire staff and school and community on internal and external review, including focusing on goals, reviewing student work, observing classrooms, developing a collective perspective, and framing questions for reflection. Internal ReviewAt the end of the schoolwide training workshops, Hope posted its goals all over the school. Teachers began to review their practices in the classroom through the lens offered by these goals. Some immediate steps that staff took to make their school a more nurturing environment were, “speaking less harshly to students” and “finding a way to guide kids without discouraging them.” To focus on the school’s literacy goal, teachers helped students improve their writing and speaking skills by creating a “walking museum” to celebrate Black History Month. Preparation for External ReviewThe school’s preparation for review fostered collaboration among the staff as they broke into teams and began preparing a school profile, compiling student work, and coordinating arrangements for the external team’s visit. It also sharpened the staff’s sense

of where their school was relative to the goals. The preparatory activities for external review greatly enhanced the momentum of self-assessment at Hope.

External Review The external review is both a culmination and a beginning, as seen in the experience of Hope and other schools. The review team consists of administrators, teachers, parents, and community members with training in SSA. During the week of the review at Hope, members of the external team shadowed

students, visited classrooms, and studied the school profile and student work samples compiled by Hope staff. They also interviewed staff, administrators, community members, and students, always keeping in focus the school’s goals. At the end of the week, the team presented an oral report to the school, along with questions for reflection. The senior reviewer, the leader of the external review, sent Hope a copy of the report in writing a few weeks after the review.

1 0 P R O F E S S I O N A L D E V E L O P M E N T A N D I M P L E M E N T AT I O N O F S C H O O L S E L F A S S E S S M E N T P R O F E S S I O N A L D E V E L O P M E N T A N D I M P L E M E N T AT I O N O F S C H O O L S E L F A S S E S S M E N T 1 1

Ongoing Follow-upWith the assistance of its SSA partner, the school embarked on follow-up planning and implementation to improve teaching and learning in ways that spoke to the goals. The immediate impact of the review was a schoolwide meeting to debrief the report. Principal and staff agreed that the questions raised in the report were pressing. They decided to base their school improvement plan on priorities that came from

the report and also formed faculty study groups to focus on instructional improvement. The principal said that it was the first time that the entire school participated in the development of the plan and that there was real ownership among teachers of the goals and strategies outlined in the plan. Advanced InstitutesIn addition to the activities described above, AED organized other opportunities throughout the year for participants to discuss follow-up strategies and refine the frameworks that guide self-assessment. A core team from Hope continued to attend these institutes, including a training for senior reviewers and a follow-up institute for reviewed schools. A teacher leader from Hope was the senior reviewer on an external review team in 2001, and the principal of Hope attended the advanced follow-up institute, during which reviewed schools developed an action plan to address instructional improvement.

Footnotes

1. AED selected the grade 7 test scores as they measured Reading and Writing and were most likely to reflect

Hope’s priority of improving student literacy.