Latest News
January 25, 2021
In the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, States are struggling to reopen and keep open, most, if not all, of their 138,000 K-12 schools. Given this level of uncertainty, it is critical to track data that will help schools identify problems quickly, assess their nature, and respond in timely and effective ways to safeguard the health of students and education staff while providing a quality education. This Wing Institute dashboard will on track issues regarding the reopening of schools under the Covid-19 pandemic.
Citation: American Academy of Pediatrics. (2021). Children and COVID-19: State-Level Data Report. 2021. Available in: https://downloads.aap.org/AAP/PDF/AAP%20and%20CHA%20-%20Children%20and%20COVID-19%20State%20Data%20Report%201.14.21.pdf
Link: https://www.winginstitute.org/covid-19-impact
January 21, 2021
Planning for the Future: Leadership Development and Succession Planning in Education. School Superintendents face immense challenges in recruiting and retaining high-quality principals and district leaders. As a result, superintendents continually recruit and hire new assistant principals and district-level leaders. This article looks at the research and best practices on succession planning in education and other sectors.
Citation: Fusarelli, B. C., Fusarelli, L. D., & Riddick, F. (2018). Planning for the future: Leadership development and succession planning in education. Journal of Research on Leadership Education, 13(3), 286-313.
Link: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1942775118771671
January 19, 2021
The Next Generation of State Reforms to Improve their Lowest Performing Schools: An Evaluation of North Carolina’s School Transformation Initiative. Over the past 20 years, significant resources have been spent to raise low-performing schools’ performance. This research examines the impact of federally mandated school reforms under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) on North Carolina schools. The revised education legislation allows states more discretion in reforming their lowest-performing schools, removes requirements to disrupt the status quo, and does not allocate substantial additional funds. This study relies on a regression discontinuity design to evaluate North Carolina’s turnaround initiative aligned with ESSA requirements. The results reveal no significant growth in student test performance and decreased performance in year two. Schools also continued to experience high teacher turnover despite the school reform intervention.
The study authors suggest current reform interventions that do not disrupt the status quo of how schools go about instruction are likely to fail. The paper also highlights the need for school leaders to embrace implementation science to ensure that adequate resources are available to implement initiatives as designed.
Citation: Henry, G. T., & Harbatkin, E. (2020). The Next Generation of State Reforms to Improve their Lowest Performing Schools: An Evaluation of North Carolina’s School Transformation Intervention. Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness, 13(4), 702-730.
Link: https://www.edworkingpapers.com/sites/default/files/ai19-103.pdf
January 12, 2021
Using State-Level Policy Levers to Promote Principal Quality: Lessons from Seven States Partnering with Principal Preparation Programs and District. States play a role in fostering an environment that develops and supports effective school principals. This report identifies key levers that states can pull to try to improve the principal performance: standards for the job; recruitment; oversight of principal preparation programs; principal licensure; evaluation of principals; professional development; and development of “leader tracking systems”.
Citation: Gates, S. M., Woo, A., Xenakis, L., Wang, E. L., Herman, R., Andrew, M., & Todd, I. Using State-Level Policy Levers to Promote Principal Quality. Santa Monica, CA: Wallace Foundation. https://www.wallacefoundation.org/knowledge-center/Documents/Using-State-level-Policy-Levers-to-Promote-Principal-Quality.pdf
Link: https://www.wallacefoundation.org/knowledge-center/Documents/Using-State-level-Policy-Levers-to-Promote-Principal-Quality.pdf
January 11, 2021
Barriers to Strategic Leadership in Education. The concept of strategic leadership has been in the discourse of corporate governance and management but in recent days, strategic leadership has become a concept in education literature. Strategic leadership is also relevant in education more especially in a PK-12 educational setting. This chapter focuses on the barriers that hinder strategic leadership in education. Overcoming the challenges will not only help PK-12 school leaders to become very effective but also will make them more efficient in their work as school leaders.
Citation: Cobbinah, J. E. (2020). Barriers to Strategic Leadership in Education. In Strategic Leadership in PK-12 Settings (pp. 82-93). IGI Global.
Link: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/338300396_Barriers_to_Strategic_Leadership_in_Education
January 11, 2021
The effect of educational leadership on students’ achievement: a cross‐cultural meta‐analysis research on studies between 2008 and 2018. This meta-analysis examines different leadership approaches and student achievement. The results of the analyses reveal that educational leadership has a medium-level effect on students’ achievement. The study finds educational leadership has a greater effect on student achievement in vertical-collectivist cultures (e.g., in Asian) than horizontal-individualistic cultures (e.g., in USA).
Citation: Karadag, E. (2020). The effect of educational leadership on students’ achievement: a cross-cultural meta-analysis research on studies between 2008 and 2018. Asia Pacific Education Review, 21(1), 49-64.
Link: Effects of educational leadership
January 11, 2021
Implementation Science: Fidelity Predictions and Outcomes. This paper examines the importance of science in the effective implementation and sustainability of new practices and initiatives. The authors provide examples of significant attempts to remedy critical social issues over the past 50 years and how the failure of systematic implementation and, in particular, the lack of implementation fidelity has hindered progress in the use of practices found useful in research but have failed in the general application in the community.
Citation: Fixsen, D. L., Van Dyke, M., & Blase, K. A. (2019). Implementation Science: Fidelity Predictions and Outcomes. Retrieved from Chapel Hill, NC: Active Implementation Research Network: www.activeimplementation.org/resources.
Link: https://www.activeimplementation.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Implementation-Science-FidelityPredictionsOutcomes.pdf
December 14, 2020
School Teams. Distributed leadership and collaborative school cultures have a strong base of research support, and school teams represent these concepts “in action.” School teams today are ubiquitous; however, their effectiveness in enhancing school outcomes is not automatic and they must be intentionally and carefully designed, implemented, and supported. Collaborative school cultures are enabled when high trust levels and a culture of shared practice among staff are present, and leadership capacity building for teachers is provided. School leadership teams, which include the principal and teacher leaders, are tasked with addressing school improvement, and often analyze learning data and determine professional learning needed for staff. These teams need ample planning time and professional development (e.g., in methods of data analysis) to guide their work. Instructional teams, which may include grade-level or subject-area groups of teachers, often take the form of professional learning communities, which develop curriculum and instructional strategies, review student performance data, and adjust practice as necessary. Principals support these teams effectively when they establish a direction for their work, identify and/or develop teacher leaders to lead teams, and provide sufficient time for the collaborative work to take place. Multidisciplinary, or problem-solving teams, include specialists (e.g., special education teachers) and general educators working together to plan programming for students who need specialized supports to be successful. Research shows these teams can be effective when training and organizational supports are in place to foster collaboration. For successful implementation, all types of school teams will benefit from school leaders who can instill a collaborative school culture, and ensure that team members have the resources and support to work together effectively.
Citation: Donley, J., Detrich, R., States, J., & Keyworth, (2020). Teams. Oakland, CA: The Wing Institute. https://www.winginstitute.org/leadership-models-teams
Link: https://www.winginstitute.org/leadership-models-teams
December 8, 2020
The Big Test: The Future Of Statewide Standardized Assessments. Standardized testing has been a cornerstone of school reform for two decades. But a bipartisan backlash against testing in recent years and the suspension of statewide testing in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic have left the future of state assessments in question. Standardized testing has a vital role to play in building effective schools. Unfortunately, the purpose of testing is misunderstood to the detriment of schools, teachers, parents, and students. The report examines the evolution of the testing backlash, the current landscape, and how state testing systems must change to survive.
Citation. Olson, L. & Jerald, C. (2020). The Big Test: The Future Of Statewide Standardized Assessments. Future Ed. Georgetown University. https://www.future-ed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/TheBigTest_Final.pdf
Link: https://www.future-ed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/TheBigTest_Final.pdf
December 4, 2020
Learning as We Go: Principles for Effective Assessment During the COVID-19 Pandemic. This paper summarizes the findings from a panel of assessment experts on diagnostic assessments and their role in helping educators and parents support student learning due to covid-19. Schools struggle with finding solutions on how to meet the needs of students who encounter dramatically different models of instruction due to the 2020 pandemic. It is becoming clear that students will need various academic and nonacademic interventions and supports as schooling resumes. The panel’s task was to advise the field on the state of diagnostic testing: which types of assessment are best for what purposes, and which produce more noise than useful guidance.
Citation: Lake, R., & Olson, L. (2020). Learning as We Go: Principles for Effective Assessment during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Center on Reinventing Public Education.
Link: https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED606373.pdf
