Answer Sheet

Why collaboration is vital to

creating effective schools
By Valerie Strauss May 2, 2013

Collaboration in schools is not a big topic in the national education discussion, and thats unfortunate, because its a key
to effective schools. Heres a post on how and why by Greg Anrig, vice president for policy and programs at The Century
Foundation, a nonprofit public research organization based in Washington D.C. He is the author of the new e-book,
Beyond the Education Wars: Evidence That Collaboration Builds Effective Schools, which looks at how struggling schools
make improvements by collaboration between labor and management.

ByGregAnrig
Agreatironyisemergingfromtheprolongededucationwarsbetweenteachersunions
andsupportersofmarketbasedreformsthatrelyheavilyonmotivatingschoolpersonnel
bythreateningthem:Thelowincomedistrictsandschoolsthathavedemonstratedthe
greatestimprovementinstudentoutcomesaregenerallycharacterizedbydeep
collaborationbetweenadministratorsandteachers.
Itisbecomingincreasinglyevidentthatconflictoverreforminitselfhasbeenimpeding
educationalprogressquantifiableprogressthathasbeenachievedinsettingswhere
educatorshavemanagedtomovebeyondunproductivebattles.
Recentresearchexaminingeffortstoenhancecollaborationindistrictsandschools
stronglyindicatesthatpurposefullybuildingtrustworks.StudiesbytheConsortiumon
ChicagoSchoolResearchandtheNationalCenterforEducationalAchievement(a
divisionofthefirmthatdevelopstheACTcollegeadmissiontests)bearthisout,asdothe
examplesoftheCincinnati,UnionCity,NewJersey,andSpringfield,Massachusetts

publicschooldistricts.Theweightofthisaccumulatingevidencesuggeststhatitistimeto
reversecoursefromtheineffectiverelianceonthecoercivesticksthathavedominated
educationpolicymakingtoanewsetofapproachesthatwouldpromoteeffective
teamworkandintensivelycollaborativepractices.
Researchershavelongtriedtoidentifywhatmakeseffectiveschoolstick,butonlyin
recentyearshavetheirmethodologiesbecomesophisticatedenoughtoprovideconcrete,
actionableinsights.Whatisespeciallyexcitingaboutthesestudiesisthattheyhave
reachedverysimilarconclusionswhileexaminingthequestionindifferentwaysinvaried
settings.
ThemostrigorousofthesestudieswasconductedbytheConsortiumonChicagoSchool
Research,whichgathereddemographicandtestingdatafrom1990through2005on
morethan400Chicagoelementaryschoolswhilealsoconductingextensivesurveysof
stakeholdersinthoseschoolstogaininformationabouttheirinstitutionalpractices.By
usingadvancedstatisticalmethods,theconsortiumwasabletodeterminewithahigh
degreeofreliabilitytheorganizationalcharacteristicsandprocessesthatcanpredict
whetheraschoolislikelytoshowaboveaverageimprovementinstudenttestscores.
LedbyAnthonyS.Bryk,thepresidentoftheCarnegieFoundationfortheAdvancementof
Teaching,theconsortiumsoverarchingfindingwasthatthemosteffectiveschoolshad
developedanunusuallyhighdegreeofrelationaltrustamongitsstakeholders.In
particular,itidentifiedfiveorganizationalfeaturesofschoolsthatitdeemedtobecentral
toadvancingstudentachievement:
1.acoherentinstructionalguidancesystem,inwhichthecurriculum,studymaterials,
pedagogicalstrategies,andassessmentsarecoordinatedwithinandacrossgradeswith
meaningfulteacherinput
2.aneffectivesystemtoimproveprofessionalcapacity,includingmakingteachers

classroomworkpublicforexaminationbycolleaguesandexternalconsultantstoenable
ongoingsupportandguidancetoteachers
3.strongparentcommunityschoolties,whichcloselyintegratethenetworkofpeople
focusedonenablingeachstudenttolearn
4.astudentcenteredlearningclimatethatidentifiesandrespondstoparticular
difficultiesanychildmaybeencounteringand
5.leadershipfocusedoncultivatingagrowingcadreofstakeholders(teachers,parents,
andcommunitymembers)whobecomeinvestedinsharingoverallresponsibilityforthe
schoolsimprovement.
Thesepillarsofsuccessfulschoolsmaysoundsomewhatabstractandunrealistictobring
aboutinschoolsthataredysfunctional.Butotherresearchandcasestudiesaffirmthe
consortiumsconclusionswhileaddingconcretedetailaboutactualpracticesand
strategiesthathaveeffectivelyproducedpositiveresultsevenafterconditionshadreached
rockbottom.
Forexample,theNationalCenterforEducationalAchievementsentteamsofresearchers
to26publicschoolswithahighproportionoflowincomestudentsinfivestates,where
studentswerebeatingtheoddsonmathandsciencetestsoverathreeyearperiod.Among
thecommonpracticestheyfoundinthoseschools:teachersareactivelyinvolvedin
developingandselectinginstructionalmaterials,assessmentsandpedagogicalstrategies
collaborationtimeamongteachersfocusedonsharingideasforimprovinginstructionis
embeddedintheworkweek,withabroadrecognitionoftheimportanceofbreakingoutof
selfcontainedclassesteachersareopentobeingobservedandadvisedadministrators
andteachersfocuscloselyonmonitoringtestingdata,notasacudgeltoevokefear,butas
adiagnostictooltoidentifyareaswherestudentsarestrugglingsotheycanreceive
additionalsupportandschoolsconductunusuallyextensiveandsystematicoutreachto

parentsandcommunitygroups.
Itisimportanttonotethatresearchinotherinstitutionalsettingshasalsoshownthat
highdegreesofcollaborationfocusedonrespondingtoproblemsidentifiedbydata
producesimprovedoutcomes,suchashigherproductivityandbetterqualityoutput.That
approachtomanagementderivesfromtheinsightsofW.EdwardsDeming,whospent
decadesworkingwithJapanesemanufacturersafterWorldWarIItodevelopmore
effectiveproductionsystems.
Inthe1980s,manyU.S.manufacturersthathadfallenbehindJapanadoptedDemings
ideaswithsignificantlyimprovedresults.Indeed,Demingsworklaidthefoundationfor
muchofwhatAmericasleadinggraduateschoolsofmanagementnowteachabouthigh
performanceworksystemsandlearningorganizations.ItisworthnotingthatDeming
wasfiercelyopposedtomanagementpracticesthatrankedindividualworkersandpaid
themaccordinglythesortofapproachcentraltotodayseducationalreformagenda
becausethosekindsofincentivesinducefear,discourageteamwork,andinhibitcreativity.
Canresearchconnectingcollaborationinschoolstohighertestscoresleadtoa
fundamentaltransformationineducationpolicy?Thehistoryofthehealthcaredebate
providessomereasonforoptimism.Oneofthemostsignificantdevelopmentsinbreaking
decadesofstalemateoverproposalsforuniversalmedicalcoveragewastheaccumulation
ofstudiesshowingwidevariationsinthecosteffectivenessofU.S.medicalcareproviders.
AsevidencemountedthatKaiserPermanente,theClevelandClinic,Intermountain
Health,andtheU.S.VeteransAdministrationwereachievingbetteroutcomeswhile
spendinglessperpatient,policymakersbegantofocusonreformsthatwouldhelp
encourageotherproviderstoorganizethemselvesmorelikethehighlycosteffectiveones.
Notincidentally,thosetopmedicalprovidersadheretohighperformanceorganizational
practicesconsistentwithDemingsideas.ElementsoftheAffordableCareActsupporting
accountablecareorganizations,coordinatedcare,electronicmedicalrecords,and

comparativeeffectivenessresearchderivedfromthedesirabilityofexpandingbest
practicesbuiltonmoreeffectivecollaboration.
TheU.S.publicschoolsystemobviouslydiffersinfundamentalwaysfromourmedical
system,buttheparallelsnonethelessaremeaningfulbetweenthetwosectorswithrespect
tothepracticesandcultureofthemosteffectiveinstitutions.Oncepoliticiansatalllevels
ofgovernmentcometorecognizethatthebesthopetheyhaveofbeingabletotakecredit
forimprovedpublicschooltestscoresistopromotedatadrivencollaborationratherthan
conflict,wejustmightexperiencethelongoverduetransformationineducationthathas
finallybegunundertheAffordableCareAct.

Valerie Strauss covers education and runs The Answer Sheet blog.