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Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) Phase 1: Roadmap/Dashboard |
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Rockman et al worked with The EdVenture Group on a contract from the U.S. Department of Education’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program to conduct a feasibility study of a set of consulting services designed to help schools monitor and implement their school improvement plans more effectively and efficiently. The set of services, entitled The Educational Improvement Planning System (EIPS) has two components:
- It provides consulting services to schools targeted at (1) identifying actionable goals, (2) determining the most appropriate high-yield strategies to use in meeting the goals, and (3) finding relevant and meaningful ways to collect and report data on the progress and outcomes of the goals to key stakeholders.
- It also provides customized data collection and reporting tools that are simple and tailored to a school’s particular improvement plan needs, integrating the monitoring and reporting into the implementation strategies themselves. The technology and associated support enables schools to track data in real time, using Web-based relational databases, mobile technologies, and software customized to their needs.
In this pilot study, REA documented the experience of a sample of six pilot schools as they went through the process of determining their planning needs, gathering data to enter into the database, analyzing the data, and reporting back on implementation and outcomes of their improvement practices. REA also collected data from six comparison schools in each state, demographically matched to the six selected schools. By comparing schools using the EIPS technology platform and technical assistance to those that used a “business as usual” approach to school improvement plan implementation and monitoring, Rockman was able to see what value EIPS added to school planning. REA also determined the degree to which the process made the school improvement plan a dynamic plan rather than a required but rarely consulted document. Data collected from both groups of schools included interviews and focus groups with school improvement team members, administrators, and teachers; usability surveys related to the technology; and a review of the goal-specific data collected to demonstrate implementation and outcomes for each goal.
REPORTS:
Full Report (pdf)
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