The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education supports low-performing schools through a process that draws on qualitative and quantitative data from monitoring visits. The data are used to produce ratings for 26 turnaround indicators in four turnaround practice areas relating to school leadership, instructional practices, student supports, and school climate. This study analyzed data on school indicator ratings collected during school years 2014/15-2018/19 from 91 low-performing schools, with a focus on the distribution of the ratings among schools during their first year in the monitoring system and on the relationship of ratings to school outcomes. During the first year in which ratings data were available for a school, a majority of schools were in the two highest rating levels for 21 of the 26 indicators. Schools generally had lower rating levels for indicators in the student supports practice area than in the other three practice areas. Ratings for half the indicators were statistically significantly related to better schoolwide student outcomes and had a practically meaningful effect size of .25 or greater, and none was statistically significantly related to worse outcomes. Two indicators in the leadership practice area (school leaders' high expectations for students and staff and trusting relationships among staff) were related to lower chronic absenteeism rates. Ratings for five indicators in the instructional practices area were related to higher student academic growth in English language arts or math; two of these indicators (use of student assessment data to inform classroom instruction and school structures for instructional improvements) were related to higher growth in both English language arts and math. Ratings for four indicators in the student supports practice area (teacher training to identify student needs, research-based interventions for all students, interventions for English learner students, and interventions for students with disabilities) were related to higher student academic growth in English language arts or math. Two indicators in the school climate practice area (schoolwide behavior plans and adult-student relationships) were related to higher student academic growth in English language arts or math or lower chronic absenteeism rate. Eight indicators were not statistically related to any of the outcomes of interest.
