THE LEADERSHIP OF INSTRUCTIONAL IMPROVEMENT Richard F. Elmore Harvard University Colorado Association of School Executives January 2009

OUR PROBLEM

MEMORIZE THIS PROPORTION OF VARIANCE IN STUDENT GAIN SCORES-- READING, MATH-- EXPLAINED BY LEVEL-- PROSPECTS STUDY CLASS 60% READING 52-72% MATH STUDENTS 28% R 19% M SCHOOLS 12% R M ROWAN, ET AL., “...PROSPECTS...” TEACHERS COLLEGE RECORD (2002).

MANAGING THE INSTRUCTIONAL CORE

TEACHER STUDENT CONTENT THE INSTRUCTIONAL CORE Principle #1: Increases in student learning occur only as a consequence of improvements in the level of content, teachers’ knowledge and skill, and student engagement. Principle #2: If you change one element of the instructional core, you have to change the other two. Principle #3: If you can’t see it in the core, it’s not there. Principle #4: Task predicts performance. Principle #5: The real accountability system is in the tasks that students are asked to do. Principle #6: We learn to do the work by doing the work. Principle #7: Description before analysis, analysis before prediction, prediction before evaluation.

HOW IMPROVEMENT OCCURS

IMPROVEMENT PROCESSES [A] [B] [C] P/Q T SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT [AYP]

THE WORK OF IMPROVEMENT

TECHNICAL CULTURAL THE WORK OF IMPROVEMENT: FROM TECHNICAL TO CULTURAL © Richard F. Elmore Use by Permission only

THE WORK OF IMPROVEMENT: FROM TECHNICAL TO CULTURAL SCHEDULES Structures roles Types of professional development, when Protocols, rubrics Assessments Accountability systems Beliefs about student learning Pedagogical content knowledge Norms for group work Discourse about practice Mutual accountability Distributed leadership TECHNICALCULTURAL © Richard F. Elmore Use by Permission only

TECHNICAL CULTURAL THE WORK OF IMPROVEMENT: FROM TECHNICAL TO CULTURAL LEARNING THE WORK USING THE WORK TO CHANGE THE CULTURE LETTING THE CULTURE DRIVE THE WORK © Richard F. Elmore Use by Permission only