Learning from Leading States

Key Commonalities from Leading States

Improving early literacy outcomes for Michigan students will take a sustained, aligned and comprehensive approach that leverages multiple strategies for improvement.

But changing our education trajectory goes far beyond simple adoption of specific policy strategies on their own. While essential, what we’ve learned from leading states is that to truly change our educational trajectory, a clear commitment must be put on quality implementation, learning from what is working and what is not, then using that feedback to get smarter about improving the system. At the end of the day, quality implementation is everything: just as it is difficult to produce rapid changes without dollars to support change, simply throwing dollars at an issue without a mindful strategy for success doesn’t work either.

Leading states demonstrate a commitment to quality implementation, undergirded by a set of key conditions:

Committed and Responsible Leadership

Committed leaders who believed the system would not or could not improve without external capacity building and intervention — and who not only hold others in the system accountable for creating sustained, positive results for students, but also holding themselves accountable.

 

Sound & Strategic Policy-Making Systems

Understanding when to be “tight” and “loose” in terms of state policy and regulations — using “carrots” (incentives) and “sticks” (accountability). That is, these states understand how to shape policy and budget decisions strategically, including when to be more prescriptive, and when to leave it to districts and schools to decide.

Data-Centric Focus

Leveraging the power of college- and career-ready standards and aligned data and assessment systems to inform policy and practice at the classroom and state levels.

 

Educator Capacity-Building Systems

Using new models — typically with external support — to train educators to improve instruction, based on research-based best
practices. Revamping professional development delivery systems to be more efficient and accountable.

 

Cross-sector Alliances

Building alliances and champions across different sectors, because they are fundamental to long-term success. In addition to generating broad-based support for improvement, cross-sector alliances bring together the expertise, skills, political capital
and leadership necessary for innovating and sustaining change.

Strategic Capacity-Building and Systemic Support Leveraged by Leading States

Massachusetts – Systemic Reforms

• Adoption of higher standards and aligned data.
• Support for educators:
  • Mentorship for new educators
  • Statewide training for principals
  • Educator evaluation and support
• Targeted investments for the state’s most vulnerable students.
• Accountability for districts, with statewide supports for struggling schools and districts.

Florida – Systemic + Targeted Reforms

• Adoption of more rigorous, scientifically-based reading research instructional standards.
• State reading office (Just Read, Florida!) coordinates the state’s efforts and holds districts accountable.
• Statewide professional development in reading.
• Targeted dollars to districts for reading instruction ($130 million annually).

Strategic Capacity-Building and Systemic Support Leveraged by Leading States

Tennessee – Systemic Reforms

• Adoption of higher standards and aligned data.
• Support for educators:
  • Comprehensive, data-driven educator support and evaluation systems for continuous and deep professional development
  • Nation’s largest teacher training around standards through expert external vendor
  • Accountability for ISDs (CORE districts), so that they actually meet the needs of local schools.

 

Alabama – Targeted Reform

• Statewide reading coach strategy, started with a pilot of sixteen schools, expanded to 1,000
  coaches at its peak.
• Targeted use of data to monitor students’ progress.
• Coaches receive training and instructional support from regional coordinators around the state.
• Accountability from governor and state reading office, along with regional coordinators.