SEAs differentiate support to districts based on the number of CSI/TSI-identified schools, district capacity, and district willingness to engage.¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · qualitative r2 · q2
Currency · newest study 2019 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q2 i? SEA personnel tailor support intensity and autonomy to district characteristics, giving more attention and oversight to districts with more low-performing schools and less direct support to high-capacity districts. → 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

Interview finding from the 10-SEA study. The article reports that districts with more low-performing schools "are typically provided more attention" and that in Alaska the SEA provides less direct support to high-capacity districts, intervening as needed.

"SEA personnel described differentiating support based on factors such as the number of CSI/TSI-identified schools, district capacity, and district willingness to engage with the SEA."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• 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. — related
• SEA staff describe their role as providing both support and accountability to LEAs, and describe struggling to balance the two. — related
• SEAs take on multiple, malleable roles in their work with LEAs, shifting based on identified needs, capacity, and context. — a broader claim this one bears on
• SEAs are leveraging ESSA requirements and increased flexibility to specify SEA and LEA roles and push evidence-based, locally contextualized improvement strategies. — related
• 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. — related
• Use of data to guide and refine SEA school improvement supports is nascent, with additional work needed to assess whether supports have impact — related
• SEA administrators report shifting from compliance monitoring and grants management toward meaningful support and capacity-building for identified schools — related