With the Indicators of Distress early detection system, state and local education leaders of charter and traditional public schools will
- recognize data needed to inform decision-making related to implementing systemic improvements,
- examine past challenges to build a reliable model for school improvement that prevents future challenges, and
- integrate the Indicators of Distress strategically with accountability processes and procedures to sustain success.
Service Details
Indicators of Distress is an early detection system that helps you identify problematic school qualities and the data trends and patterns that can help you formulate plans to prevent school decline.
We help you design a system tailored to your needs by analyzing current and historical data from your state or district to determine what is working to promote better outcomes and what could benefit from improvement. Our expertise in school improvement and research and evaluation will grow your capacity to allocate resources based on what the data surfaces.
What Makes This Service Unique
Indicators of Distress can help you bridge the gap between accountability and school improvement with an approach grounded in research. As policymakers and practitioners work to support students more equitably, they must be able to identify and understand schools experiencing distress long before a state accountability grade designates a school as “failing.” Indicators of Distress can help focus on what matters.
Our approach is steeped in research on early warning system methodology, which identifies patterns and characteristics from previous events that led to failure or crisis, tests those patterns to identify specific risk indicators and thresholds, and then uses the characteristics systematically to predict risk and efficiently target interventions (Allensworth & Easton, 2005; Allensworth & Easton, 2007; Balfanz, Herzog, & Mac Iver, 2007; Neild & Balfanz, 2006; Silver, Saunders, & Zarate, 2008).
Our team also draws on WestEd’s Four Domains for Rapid School Improvement: A Systems Framework. This framework identifies four areas—turnaround leadership, talent development, instructional transformation, and culture shift—that research and experience demonstrate are central to a rapid and significant improvement to pull a school out of failure. We also work to identify the contextual challenges to schools that may support or impede progress—governance, operations, and financial systems and processes.
Guided by evidence, our team provides rigorous data analysis, self-diagnostic tools, and coaching to help you sustain high-quality teaching and learning experiences for years to come.
Cost
We provide custom quotes as services are tailored to meet state or district needs and goals.
Learn More
To learn more about Indicators of Distress, visit Student Centered School Improvement; to learn how you can partner with the team, contact Aimee Evan.
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