Grant Closed

School Forward Tracker: An Online Tool to Help Schools Implement and Monitor Action Plans for School Improvement

NCER

Program: Small Business Innovation Research

Award amount: $497,774

Principal investigator: Scott Burg

Awardee:

Rockman et al.

Year: 2005

Project type:

Phase II Development

Award number: R305S050040

Purpose

Rather than relying on tradition or anecdotal evidence, schools are now developing comprehensive school improvement plans to guide their academic programs. A challenge for schools in successfully carrying out such efforts is a lack of resources-both in technology and expertise-for personnel to collect and analyze appropriate data in order to use it to inform effective practice. This research team is developing the "SchoolForward Tracker" to facilitate comprehensive school reform by providing schools a web-based platform to formulate, implement, and evaluate the school improvement process.

Project Activities

Technological work includes the development of the web-based Tracker tool and supplemental resources. The evaluation will collect data through online surveys, phone interviews, and focus groups.

People and institutions involved

IES program contact(s)

Edward Metz

IES Research Scientist

NCER

Products and publications

Products: Products will include the Tracker website, to be used by administrators to store, maintain, and utilize school improvement plan data in a web-based format. The Tracker toolbar will provide four options, including: budget planning and allocation, monitoring of implementation, evaluation of results, and reporting.