Research on school improvement has accumulated an extensive list of factors that facilitate turnarounds at underperforming schools. Given that context or resource constraints may limit the possibilities of putting all of these factors in place, an important question is what is necessary and sufficient to turn a school around. We use qualitative…

Since at least the publication of "A Nation at Risk" (1983), the United States has used competition and top-down approaches in seeking student achievement in the country. Twenty years ago, to create a pathway for the lowest achieving schools in the country to have a clear path for improvement, the turnaround school movement was…

The demands placed on principals to meet the wide range of needs present within the learning community continue to expand within the context of school reform. While there is some research on the ideals of successful turnaround school reform strategies, there is a lack of research on the essential key levers it takes to reform a school and district…

In this systematic review, we examine research from 2009 to 2022 to identify and classify the unintended effects of turnaround in the United States. We develop a conceptual framework classifying three types of side effects--spillover effects, systemic side effects, and internal side effects--and differentiate these side effects from unintended…

Principals are responsible for planning school improvement efforts at the school level to leverage increases in student achievement. Recent research underscores how principals engage in satisficing behaviors that result in low-quality school improvement plans (SIPs). To disrupt compliance-based planning practices and produce high-quality SIPs,…

This qualitative phenomenological study uncovered the essence or invariant lived experiences of school leaders who currently or formerly directed sustained school turnaround, a relatively unexplored phenomenon. A purposive sample of four school leaders included principals in suburban, urban, and rural settings from three distinct geographic…

Since the mid-20th century, Massachusetts has been a leader in vocational-technical education. This is due to legislative requirements and research-based best practices, but most importantly to combining occupational education and high-quality academics, school autonomy, and partnerships with industry. However, despite the high number of quality…

The purpose of this study was to determine the specific competencies found in turnaround principals that lead to student achievement. The target population was school principals who have effectively turned around low-performing schools that were designated as priority schools in the state of Tennessee. Three forms of data were used for this study:…

Public charter schools lack research that determines what makes them successful. Charter schools are relatively new, existing for around 30 years in the United States. The depth and breadth of research focusing on public education rarely includes charter schools. The research focusing on charter schools specifically is quite limited. Like…

Limited research examines the impact of accountability interventions on outcomes beyond test-based measures of short-term academic achievement. We examine the effects of the 2012 state takeover and districtwide turnaround of Massachusetts' Lawrence Public Schools--a district serving a majority-low-income, majority-Hispanic student population--on…

Portfolio schools have become increasingly prevalent in urban school districts across the United States. These schools exemplify a model where school autonomy is integrated with district oversight, promoting a controlled form of autonomy. This study examines the impact of portfolio schools in Indianapolis on student achievement. To ensure balanced…

Turnaround schools represent a strategy for swiftly revitalizing underperforming educational institutions. This study examined how teachers perceived the role of teacher leadership within one urban turnaround high school. The study addressed the following research questions: 1. How do teachers within an urban turnaround high school conceptualize…

School turnaround efforts have had limited success in prior research, largely due to their grounding in deficit narratives about schools, communities, and families and singular focus on academics. Community school approaches have promise, and are increasingly used by state and local education authorities, as not just a means to engage communities…

Schools used to be the center of a community, serving as a hub for empowering students, staff, and community members. As our public school and political landscapes are constantly changing, this qualitative, phenomenological study researches school stakeholders in the midst of turnaround efforts, exploring the role of inclusive engagement on…

Under the Every Student Succeeds Act, college and career readiness became the central focus of education policy in the United States. Career academies (CAs) are a popular way to support students in their postsecondary transitions, but little causal evidence exists about whether this model of schooling is effective in promoting learning and…