Training Project: Using Place-Based Analyses to Understand Barriers to Teacher Recruitment, Hiring, and Retention in Low-Performing Schools and their Districts
To address the acute challenge of ensuring a strong teacher pipeline and stability in the teaching force for low-performing schools, and recognizing that the root causes for teacher shortages may vary by location, REL Northeast & Islands is working closely with DESE staff and two pilot districts with low-performing schools to build GIS (geographic information system) maps that include state, district, and school pipeline data on teachers, including data on recruitment, hiring, quality, retention, and migration.

Research Study: Relationship between State Annual School Monitoring Indicators and Outcomes in Massachusetts Low-Performing Schools
The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) has developed systems of support and monitoring for low-performing schools that include measuring schools on a Turnaround Practices and Indicators (TP&I) rubric. This study analyzed school indicator ratings data for school years 2014/15–2018/19 from all 91 low-performing schools in Massachusetts. The study examined how indicator ratings were related to two schoolwide student outcomes: mean student growth percentiles (in English language arts and math) and chronic absenteeism rates. Learn more.

Research Study: Relationships between Schoolwide Instructional Observation Scores and Student Academic Achievement and Growth in Low Performing Schools in Massachusetts
The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) recognizes that a key lever to turning around low-performing schools is the quality of instruction. DESE uses Teachstone's Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS) tool to assess the schoolwide quality of teacher and student interactions in three domains: emotional support, classroom organization, and instructional support. DESE and REL Northeast & Islands partnered to examine the relationships between schoolwide instructional observation scores and schoolwide student academic achievement and growth. Learn more.

Webinar: Building Evidence for a State System of Support: Massachusetts' Strategy for Improving Low-performing Schools (October 7, 2021)
In recent years, Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) has made a significant investment in developing a system for supporting and monitoring its lowest performing schools. DESE engaged REL Northeast & Islands to examine the association between monitoring system ratings and schoolwide student outcomes. This webinar presented findings from the two resulting studies: Relationships Between Schoolwide Instructional Observation Scores and Student Academic Achievement and Growth in Low-Performing Schools in Massachusetts and Relationship Between State Annual School Monitoring Indicators and Outcomes in Massachusetts Low-Performing Schools. It also supported other state education agencies and districts in considering elements of a monitoring program and a systemic continuous improvement approach for improving low-performing schools. View event details.