An analysis of 23 state ESSA plans identified four main categories of SEA and LEA roles in school improvement: LEA Independence, SEA Oversight, SEA Resource, and SEA–LEA Collaboration.¶
Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · qualitativer2·q2
Currency · newest study 2019 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person · overdue for a recheck since 2024: baselines and conditions change
Subclaims¶
Reading the evidence codes
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q2 i? Document analysis of 23 approved state ESSA plans yielded four overarching role categories describing how SEAs and LEAs divide school improvement work. → Dunn 2019
Evidence¶
Dunn 2019¶
Dunn, L., & Ambroso, E. (2019). Balancing act: State and district roles in school improvement under ESSA. San Francisco, CA: WestEd. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED602966
q2 · i? · qualitative · r2
Document analysis by CST staff of 23 state ESSA plans approved in 2017–18 and 2018–19. The authors report that roles "fell into four main categories" covering autonomy, oversight, resource provision, and collaboration.
"The SEA and LEA roles described in the state ESSA plans fell into four main categories: LEA Independence, SEA Oversight, SEA Resource, and SEA–LEA Collaboration."
Discussion¶
Related Claims¶
- Most state ESSA plans emphasized the district's role in school improvement over the state agency's role, a shift from No Child Left Behind. — related
- The SEA-as-resource-provider role was the most commonly emphasized approach, named in 10 of 23 state ESSA plans. — a narrower finding that bears on this claim
- SEAs take on multiple, malleable roles in their work with LEAs, shifting based on identified needs, capacity, and context. — related
- SEAs are leveraging ESSA requirements and increased flexibility to specify SEA and LEA roles and push evidence-based, locally contextualized improvement strategies. — related
- SEA staff describe their role as providing both support and accountability to LEAs, and describe struggling to balance the two. — related
- SEAs differentiate support to districts based on the number of CSI/TSI-identified schools, district capacity, and district willingness to engage. — related
- SEA administrators report shifting from compliance monitoring and grants management toward meaningful support and capacity-building for identified schools — related
Page metadata
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
type |
claim |
id |
four-sea-lea-role-categories-essa-plans |
title |
An analysis of 23 state ESSA plans identified four main categories of SEA and LEA roles in school improvement: LEA Independence, SEA Oversight, SEA Resource, and SEA–LEA Collaboration. |
description |
An analysis of 23 state ESSA plans identified four main categories of SEA and LEA roles in school improvement: LEA Independence, SEA Oversight, SEA Resource, and SEA–LEA Collaboration. |
status |
review |
evidence_strength |
moderate |
newest_evidence |
2019 |
recheck_by |
2024 |
generated |
by process:wiki-ingest on 2026-10-09 |
trust |
unverified — no one has confirmed this page's content |
sources |
1 — dunn-2019 |
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