1. ELEMENTS OF AN IMPROVEMENT STRATEGY
SUSTAINING A MANDATE
BUILDING KNOWLEDGE AND SKILL
DEVELOPING LEADERSHIP C S T
BUILDING EFFICACY AND AND ACCOUNTABILITY
ORGANIZING THE WORK
DEVELOPING AND USING INFORMATION
© Richard F. Elmore, 2008, Use With Permission Only

2. ELEMENTS OF AN IMPROVEMENT STRATEGY
SUSTAINING A MANDATE
How do we build support for the work?
BUILDING KNOWLEDGE AND SKILL
DEVELOPING LEADERSHIP
Who leads the work?
What do people need to know to do the work? C S T
BUILDING EFFICACY AND AND ACCOUNTABILITY
ORGANIZING THE WORK
Who is accountable for what?
Who is responsible for doing the work?
How will we know we have been successful?
DEVELOPING AND USING INFORMATION
© Richard F. Elmore, 2008, Use With Permission Only

3. 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.
CONTENT
TASK
STUDENT
TEACHER

4. TASK PREDICTS PERFORMANCE

5. Problem of Practice: Classroom observations and reviews of student performance data indicate that a substantial fraction of high school students have difficulty responding to writing prompts that required marshalling evidence in the service of an argument in response to an open-ended writing prompt. What evidence do you see of students practicing these skills in our classrooms?

6. The Standard: Students will demonstrate understanding of the role of the United States in relation to other countries during in the Post-World War II period, 1948 to present.

7. IF YOU WERE A STUDENT IN THESE CLASSROOMS AND YOU DID WHAT THE TEACHER ASKED YOU TO DO, WHAT WOULD YOU KNOW HOW TO DO?

8. ANALYZE THIS TASK
THE TEACHER ANNOUNCES THAT THE UNIT OF STUDY WILL BE THE STUDY OF AMERICAN FOREIGN POLICY. SHE ASSIGNS READING FROM THE TEXTBOOK AS HOMEWORK. SHE LECTURES FROM AN OUTLINE PROVIDED BY THE TEXTBOOK PUBLISHER, KEYED TO THE STATE STANDARDS FOR SOCIAL STUDIES. HE LECTURE COVERS THE THE HISTORY OF FOREIGN POLICY IN THE U.S. FROM THE PERIOD IMMEDIATELY PRECEDING WORLD WAR TO THE END OF THE COLD WAR. THIS LECTURE TAKES TWO FULL PERIODS. SHE ASKS STUDENTS TO OUTLINE THE CHAPTER IN THE TEXTBOOK THAT DEALS WITH THE SUBJECT, AND TO ANSWER QUESTIONS AT THE END OF THE UNIT.
SHE REVIEWS STUDENT OUTLINES AND ANSWERS TO UNIT QUESTIONS, PROVIDES FEEDBACK ON HOW WELL STUDENTS HAVE CAPTURED THE MAJOR THEMES, AND ADMINISTERS A UNIT TEST, TAKEN FROM THE SUPPORTING MATERIALS PROVIDED BY THE TEXTBOOK PUBLISHER, AND ASSIGNS GRADES.

9. ANALYZE THIS TASK
THE TEACHER EXPLAINS THE PURPOSE OF THE LESSON: TO DEVELOP A FOREIGN POLICY FOR THE U.S. FOR THE NEXT DECADE. STUDENTS ARE ASSIGNED TO FIVE GROUPS ACCORDING TO VARIOUS “FUTURES” FOR AMERICAN FOREIGN POLICY, AND ONE GROUP IS ASSIGNED THE ROLE OF THE SENATE FOREIGN RELATIONS COMMITTEE, WHICH WILL REVIEW AND CRITIQUE THE PROPOSALS OF THE OTHER GROUPS. THE TEACHER PRESENTS EACH GROUP WITH A BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF ALTERNATIVE FUTURES– E.G., THE U.S. AS GUARANTOR OF HUMAN RIGHTS, THE U.S. AS THE CUSTODIAN OF DEMOCRACY IN THE WORLD, THE U.S. AS AGENT OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, ETC.– ACCOMPANIED BY A LIST OF POSSIBLE SOURCES THE STUDENTS MIGHT USE TO GET STARTED. THE ASSIGNMENT IS FOR EACH GROUP TO PRODUCED A WELL-RESEARCHED PROPOSAL, PRESENT IT TO THE SENATE FOREIGN RELATIONS COMMITTEE AND DEFEND IT IN PRESENCE OF QUESTIONS FROM THE COMMITTEE. STUDENT PRESENTATIONS ARE PUBLISHED AND DISTRIBUTED TO STUDENTS IN OTHER CLASSES.
THIS WORK OCCURS OVER A FIVE-DAY PERIOD. THE STUDENTS’ WORK IS EVALUATED BY THEMSELVES, BY THEIR PEERS, AND BY THE TEACHER ACCORDING TO A RUBRIC THAT THE TEACHER HAS PREPARED.

10. BUILDING A SYSTEM IMPROVEMENT STRATEGY FROM THE GROUND UP
WHAT DO PEOPLE NEED TO KNOW TO DO THE WORK?
WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR DOING THE WORK?
HOW WILL WE KNOW WE HAVE BEEN SUCCESSFUL?
WHO IS ACCOUNTABLE FOR WHAT? HOW?
WHO LEADS THE WORK?

11. IMPROVEMENT PROCESSES
[A]
P/Q
[B] T

12. ELEMENTS OF AN IMPROVEMENT STRATEGY
SUSTAINING A MANDATE
BUILDING KNOWLEDGE AND SKILL
DEVELOPING LEADERSHIP C S T
BUILDING EFFICACY AND AND ACCOUNTABILITY
ORGANIZING THE WORK
DEVELOPING AND USING INFORMATION
© Richard F. Elmore, 2008, Use With Permission Only

13. CONNECTING STRATEGY AND ACTION
VISION
IMPROVEMENT STRATEGY
THEORY OF
ACTION
PROBLEM OF PRACTICE