WWC review of this study

The Next Generation of State Reforms to Improve their Lowest Performing Schools: An Evaluation of North Carolina's School Transformation Initiative

Henry & Harbatkin (2019). The Annenberg Institute at Brown University.

  • Randomized Controlled Trial
     examining 
    39,423
     Students
    , grades
    4-11

Reviewed: October 2019

No statistically significant positive
findings
Meets WWC standards with reservations
Primary school academic achievement outcomes—Statistically significant negative effect found for the domain
Outcome
measure
Comparison Period Sample Intervention
mean
Comparison
mean
Significant? Improvement
    index
Evidence
tier

North Carolina state tests in math, reading, and science

North Carolina Transformation (NCT) Initiative vs. Business as usual

0 Days

Study year 2, fuzzy RDD analysis;
39,423 students

-0.17

0.00

Yes

-7
 
 
Show Supplemental Findings

North Carolina state tests in math, reading, and science

North Carolina Transformation (NCT) Initiative vs. Business as usual

0 Days

Study year 1, intent-to-treat analysis;
50,731 students

-0.03

0.00

No

--

North Carolina state tests in math, reading, and science

North Carolina Transformation (NCT) Initiative vs. Business as usual

0 Days

Study year 1, fuzzy RDD analysis;
50,731 students

-0.04

0.00

No

--

North Carolina state tests in math, reading, and science

North Carolina Transformation (NCT) Initiative vs. Business as usual

0 Days

Study year 2, intent-to-treat analysis;
39,423 students

-0.13

0.00

Yes

-6
 
 
Teacher retention at the school outcomes—Statistically significant negative effect found for the domain
Outcome
measure
Comparison Period Sample Intervention
mean
Comparison
mean
Significant? Improvement
    index
Evidence
tier

Teacher turnover at the school

North Carolina Transformation (NCT) Initiative vs. Business as usual

0 Days

Study year 2, fuzzy RDD analysis;
2,078 teachers

41.30

20.90

Yes

-22
 
 
Show Supplemental Findings

Teacher turnover at the school

North Carolina Transformation (NCT) Initiative vs. Business as usual

0 Days

Study year 1, fuzzy RDD analysis;
2,658 teachers

18.40

28.70

No

--

Teacher turnover at the school

North Carolina Transformation (NCT) Initiative vs. Business as usual

0 Days

Study year 1, intent-to-treat analysis;
2,658 teachers

21.20

28.70

No

--

Teacher turnover at the school

North Carolina Transformation (NCT) Initiative vs. Business as usual

0 Days

Study year 2, intent-to-treat analysis;
2,078 teachers

34.70

20.90

Yes

-16
 
 


Evidence Tier rating based solely on this study. This intervention may achieve a higher tier when combined with the full body of evidence.

Characteristics of study sample as reported by study author.


  • Rural, Suburban, Urban
    • B
    • A
    • C
    • D
    • E
    • F
    • G
    • I
    • H
    • J
    • K
    • L
    • P
    • M
    • N
    • O
    • Q
    • R
    • S
    • V
    • U
    • T
    • W
    • X
    • Z
    • Y
    • a
    • h
    • i
    • b
    • d
    • e
    • f
    • c
    • g
    • j
    • k
    • l
    • m
    • n
    • o
    • p
    • q
    • r
    • s
    • t
    • u
    • x
    • w
    • y

    North Carolina
  • Race
    Other or unknown
    78%
    White
    22%

Setting

The study takes place in North Carolina public schools. Of the 331 schools in the state that were eligible to receive the intervention, 78 were offered the intervention.

Study sample

The sample includes students and teachers in elementary, middle schools and high schools in the state of North Carolina. The state did not offer the intervention in the largest school districts. As a consequence, over 80 percent of the schools in the study are rural, approximately 10 percent are in small towns, and less than 10 percent are in cities or suburbs. Of the students assigned to the intervention group, 82 percent were economically disadvantaged. Of those in the comparison group 78 percent were economically disadvantaged. The study did not define the economically disadvantaged category. The study estimated that the sample at the cutoff included 76% minority students in the intervention group and 74% in the comparison group; 49% black and 15% Hispanic in the intervention group, and 48% black and 2% Hispanic in the comparison group; 34% novice teachers in the intervention group and 38% in the comparison group; 10.3 years of experience in the intervention group and 10.2 years in the comparison group.

Intervention Group

The North Carolina's School Transformation Initiative offered eligible low performing schools in the state additional support services. In 84 percent of the intervention schools a comprehensive needs assessment was conducted, which included observations, focus groups, and interviews with school staff. Following the comprehensive needs assessment, a school improvement plan was developed, which identified key features of school capacity building to focus on. The state then provided school transformation coaches and instructional coaches to work with principals and teachers to implement the school improvement plan. The North Carolina's School Transformation Initiative began in the 2015-16 school year and the state provided services over two school years.

Comparison Group

The comparison condition was business-as-usual. Schools in the comparison group did not receive school-turnaround services from the state.

Support for implementation

The State Department of Public Instruction provided schools with instructional and school transformation coaching support. The type and intensity of services received across schools varied. Not all schools received both school transformation and instructional coaching (65 schools had an instructional coach assigned to work with teachers; and 56 schools had a school transformation assigned) and there was wide variation in the number of coaches visits schools received.

 

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