Education leaders believe continuous improvement, when done well, can unearth issues of equity and reveal root causes of inequities in education systems¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · qualitative r2 · q2
Currency · newest study 2020 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q2 i? Interviewed California education leaders believe continuous improvement, if done well, unearths issues of equity and helps reveal the root causes of inequities in the system. → Valdez 2020

Evidence¶

Valdez 2020¶

Valdez, A., Takahashi, S., Krausen, K., Bowman, A., & Gurrola, E. (2020). Getting better at getting more equitable: Opportunities and barriers for using continuous improvement to advance educational equity. WestEd. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED606089

q2 · i? · qualitative · r2

Qualitative interview study of 21 California education leaders conducted in fall 2019. A leader stated that "if continuous improvement is done well, it actually unearths issues of equity," reflecting the strong belief among interviewees in its potential for advancing equity.

"For me, absolutely, con - tinuous improvement is a strategy, a tool, a mind - set, that has the potential to signifcantly change education if it's done well . . . We've seen that if continuous improvement is done well, it actually unearths issues of equity."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• Continuous improvement can fall short when it becomes a compliance-based checklist activity detached from purpose and equity — related
• Individual biases and narratives influence how systems are investigated in continuous improvement, potentially leading projects to address symptoms rather than root causes — related
• Leaders caution that disaggregating data by student demographics is only the beginning of using continuous improvement for equity, not its entirety — related
• Interviews with 13 education leaders from Kentucky and California, two states with contrasting teacher-evaluation approaches, provided the data for the collaborative grounded theory analysis — related
• Empathy interviews are among the most commonly discussed continuous improvement practices for advancing equity — a narrower finding that bears on this claim
• Commissioned evaluations found 21CSLA offerings influenced participants' knowledge, skills, and practices related to evidence-based practices, continuous improvement, and equity — related
• Equity-oriented leadership preparation through applied and reflective learning can deepen aspiring principals' understanding of bias and equitable practices — related
• Intensive remediation alone will not meet students' needs and, if segregating and stigmatizing, can deepen inequality and trauma — related
• 21CSLA's equity-forward work faces pushback from some educational leaders and difficulties recruiting a diverse coaching corps, yet has a strong reputation as an equity resource — related
• Launching RPP work with disaggregated student data highlighted equity issues without assigning blame — a narrower finding that bears on this claim
• Most School Improvement Plans do not guide staff efforts to tackle the root causes that prevent significant performance improvement — related
• District leaders can use a data-driven approach to understand and address opportunity gaps in advanced course-taking — related
• Most schools laid CI groundwork (72 percent root cause analysis), but fewer than two-thirds tied change ideas to their theory of practice improvement, and equity attention centered on achievement rather than access, identity, or agency — a narrower finding that bears on this claim