School turnaround is a gradual process rather than an immediate event triggered by replacing staff or leadership¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · causal r2 · q2
Currency · newest study 2013 · checked against its sources 2026-10-20 (automated, 1 of 1 entry) · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q2 i? The study's results suggest turning around chronically low-performing schools occurs over time rather than immediately when staff, leadership, or governance structures are replaced. → de la Torre 2013

Evidence¶

de la Torre 2013¶

de la Torre, M., Allensworth, E., Jagesic, S., Sebastian, J., & Salmonowicz, M.; with Meyers, C., & Gerdeman, R. D. (2013). Turning Around Low-Performing Schools in Chicago. University of Chicago Consortium on Chicago School Research. https://consortium.uchicago.edu/publications/turning-around-low-performing-schools-chicago-full-report

q2 · i? · causal · r2

Authors' interpretive conclusion drawn from the study's pattern of gradual elementary gains and absent high-school effects. The report states it "cannot determine whether the improvements came about because of the changes in staff, concerted planning, or extra resources."

"The results of this study suggest that turning around chronically low-performing schools is a process rather than an event. It does not occur immediately when staff or leadership or governance structures are replaced, but it can occur over time."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• Reformed elementary schools made significant test-score improvements versus matched comparison schools, with gains growing gradually over four years — a narrower finding that bears on this claim
• Closure and Restart, AUSL, and OSI models rehired fewer than 10 percent of prior teachers, and post-reform workforces were younger, less experienced, more likely white, and more likely provisionally certified — related
• High schools that underwent reform showed no significant improvement in absence rates or ninth-grade on-track rates compared with matched schools — related
• Turnaround schools generally served the same students after reform, except Closure and Restart schools, which shifted toward more advantaged, higher-achieving students — related
• Six of seven recently reformed high schools showed first-year on-track improvements above comparison schools, though evidence is limited — related
• Race is influential but not determinative in school change: it slows and complicates reform without dictating outcomes — related
• Youth workers at the treatment program treated admissions as a sudden procedural event rather than a gradual therapeutic process
• Limited human capital is one of the biggest challenges in rural school turnaround, making SIG staff-replacement requirements often neither possible nor desirable — related
• High school teachers are substantially less positive than elementary school teachers about recent changes, reform impact, and local school leadership — related
• The study concluded FAST is unlikely to meaningfully contribute to turning around low-performing schools, though reading benefits may exist for participating families — related