McREL study of "beat-the-odds" schools finds leaders play key role
May 3, 2006
Denver
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New research from Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning (McREL), a Denver-based nonprofit education research organization, affirms both the complexity of and key role leaders play in schools that "beat the odds" by succeeding in helping high-needs students attain high levels of achievement.
The study, titled High-Needs Schools: What Does It Take to Beat the Odds? is based on McREL's survey of 1,053 teachers in 76 high-needs elementary schools (i.e., schools with more than 50% of their students receiving free or reduced-rate lunches). Of these, 49 were high-performing schools (i.e., scoring well above state averages) and 27 were low-performing schools (i.e., scoring well below state averages). McREL surveyed teachers regarding their perceptions of their schools in four key components and 13 sub-components, listed below:
Academic press for achievement (high expectations for all)
Professional community
Professional development (improving teacher practices)
Collaboration (sharing teachers' work and expertise)
Deprivatization of practice (teachers working across classrooms)
Support for teacher influence (leadership shared with teachers)
Leadership
Shared mission and goals (common vision & clear focus for resources)
Instructional guidance (monitoring teachers to ensure good instruction)
Organizational change (guiding changes to policy and culture)
McREL found that teachers in high-performing schools, as compared to teachers in low-performing schools, were more strongly favorable about their school environment, followed by instruction, and leadership. This finding suggests that all three components are important in creating schools that "beat the odds."
McREL also analyzed the relationships among these four components and found that the strongest relationships were between leadership and professional community and leadership and school environment. This finding suggests that the role of leadership is important in shaping professional community among teachers and creating an effective school environment (i.e., in establishing effective parent involvement and an orderly climate), and in supporting teachers in monitoring student progress and holding high standards for all students.
"These findings suggest that there are multiple components of effective schools," noted Helen Apthorp, the study's lead author. "But perhaps most important, the findings suggest that the heart of "beat the odds" schools are high expectations and a safe orderly climate for classroom learning. Effective leaders and teachers make this happen."
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McREL is a nationally recognized, private, nonprofit organization located in Denver, Colo., dedicated to improving education for all students through applied research, product development and service. In 2005, McREL provided research-based guidance to educators and policymakers in 45 states in the U.S. and 3 foreign countries.
