The 20 Non-Negotiable Characteristics of Higher Performing School Systems: Aligning District Practices to Support High-Quality Instruction

The 20 Non-Negotiable Characteristics of Higher Performing School SystemsThe 20 Non-Negotiable Characteristics of Higher Performing School SystemsReport Published: April 2011Authored by: National Center for Educational Achievement (NCEA) | ACT, Inc. Aligning District Practices to Support High-Quality Instruction The 20 Non-Negotiable Characteristics of Higher Performing School SystemsThe National Center for Educational Achievement (NCEA) is a department of ACT, Inc., a not-for-profit organization committed to helping people achieve education and workplace success. NCEA builds the capacity of educators and leaders to create educational systems of excellence for all students. We accomplish this by providing research-based solutions and expertise in higher performing schools, school improvement, and best practice research that lead to increased levels of college and career readiness. To learn more, please visit www.nc4ea.org. © 2011 by ACT, Inc. All rights reserved. The 20 Non-Negotiable Characteristics of Higher Performing School SystemsThe 20 Non-Negotiable Characteristics of Higher Performing School Systems1Learning from Successful School SystemsWhat lessons can we learn from schools and school systems that prepare higher percentages of students for college and careers? ACT’s National Center for Educational Achievement (NCEA) identifies higher performing schools–schools that have greater success at growing students towards college and career readiness than their comparable schools–and studies their practices. NCEA’s research extends across 20 states, 300 districts, and over 550 school systems. The detailed results of this research are organized into NCEA’s Core Practice Framework (see diagram below) and provides educators with guidelines for creating cohesive, aligned systems geared to all students mastering high standards. Rather than reinvent K-12 practices and processes, educators can turn to NCEA’s Core Practice Framework to learn what makes a higher performing school work, and then apply those core teaching and learning practices to their own systems.fffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffff The 20 Non-Negotiable Characteristics of Higher Performing School Systems2College and Career Readiness Requires a System-Wide ApproachHigher accountability measures are being implemented both at the national and state levels, and college and career readiness for students is no longer optional. As part of the Core Practice Framework, NCEA has identified 20 district-level actions strongly associated with students mastering higher standards. These actions support each “District Core Practice” within the framework (see diagram, page 1) and are categorized into five organizational themes. The actions express characteristics consistently found in over a decade of NCEA’s higher performing schools research. When implemented with fidelity, schools within the district are provided with a strong foundation for their own system-wide improvements. District leaders can use the characteristics provided below as a starting point to self-assess the fidelity of their practices. A careful internal review can reveal gaps in the district’s practices and help leaders readjust their efforts to support the end goal of preparing every student for life beyond high school. The Non-Negotiable CharacteristicsTheme 1: Student Learning : Expectations & GoalsWhat it is that we expect all students to know and be able to do in each course, grade, and subject? Characteristic 1: A Clear, District Curriculum Aligned to College and Career Readiness StandardsLeaders in higher performing school systems establish a written, district-wide curriculum that clearly identifies academic objectives on what students are to know and be able to do by grade and subject. The objectives are set at a high standard and are designed to prepare students for success in postsecondary learning. The state’s standards provide a foundation for the academic objectives of the The 20 Non-Negotiable Characteristics of Higher Performing School Systems3district’s written curriculum; however, educators in higher performing school systems believe that, even when the state standards are strong, they often need more clarity in order to use the standards as working documents. With state standards as the curricular base, the competencies measured on the state’s assessment are not seen as a digression from the “real” curriculum, but as an important component of it. Therefore, the district’s curriculum is tightly aligned with the expectations of the state’s criterion-referenced assessment. Alignment with the state test, however, is a minimal expectation and curriculum is geared toward students receiving an education that prepares them to have success in postsecondary learning. Characteristic 2: PreK-12 Alignment Is Determined by the Needs of GraduatesLeaders in higher performing school systems vertically align the district curriculum from PreK-12 through a backwards mapping pro