Networks for School Improvement (NSI)

Product or Programme · All products and programmes
Evidence · 15 claims (7 for, 4 mixed, 4 against) · 3 studies (3 causal), q2–q3 · 0 of 3 report an effect size · 13 claims rest on one study

Description

A Gates Foundation programme that supports networks of schools in using continuous improvement to improve outcomes for students who are Black, Latino, or experiencing poverty.

Components

• NSI conceptual framework: intermediary-led school networks using equity-centered continuous improvement to improve on-track outcomes: The evaluation team's conceptual framework describes how intermediaries create and support networks of schools using continuous improvement to improve practices related to their outcome area. Schools form CI teams of teachers, counselors, administrators, and other staff expected to engage in six core CI parameters, with the initiative centering equity for Black, Latino, and students experiencing poverty at intermediary, network, and school levels. The framework links network participation to improved educator practices and student supports, and ultimately to improved on-track outcomes, with effective strategies shared across schools and districts over time. (Evaluation of the Networks for School Improvement Initiative: Interim Summary Report (2024))

Claims

• After schools' second year of participation, the 8th-grade on-track NSI did not impact the targeted student outcomes [-M]
• The impact of the 9th-grade on-track NSI appeared to increase over time [+M]
• After schools' second year, the 9th-grade on-track NSI positively impacted GPA, core course pass rate, and credit completion [+M]
• After schools' second year, the well-matched postsecondary enrollment NSI positively impacted FAFSA completion but not college enrollment [+M] — (also cited [~M])
• The postsecondary enrollment NSI's first-year impact on college enrollment did not persist into schools' second year [-M]
• Most schools engaged in inquiry cycles, but teams completed only about half of the cycles they initiated, averaging 3.2 cycles per year [~W]
• 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 [~W]
• 8th-grade on-track NSI positively impacted math test scores, moving students from the 37th to the 40th percentile [+W]
• 8th-grade on-track NSI did not improve ELA test scores, attendance, or suspension rates [-W]
• 9th-grade on-track NSI improved GPA by about 0.11 points on a 4-point scale [+W]
• 9th-grade on-track NSI improved course pass rates by 3 to 4 percentage points but did not reduce suspension rates [+W]
• College-ready on-track NSI did not impact GPA, advanced course taking, math and ELA test scores, graduation, or college enrollment [-W]
• Eighth-grade on-track NSI showed no statistically significant impact on targeted outcomes after schools' second year, and year-1 impacts did not persist [~M]
• Network cohesion in NSI increased over time but remained low, with about 16 percent of possible school-to-school connections realized [~W]
• In the randomized Cohort 3 study, 9th-grade on-track NSI moderately improved attendance rates by 2 percentage points [+M]

Related Products and Programmes

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Key Sources

• Matthew Johnson, Jeffrey Max, Tareena Musaddiq, Breyon Williams, Silvia Robles, Michelle Bennett. (2024). Evaluation of the Networks for School Improvement Initiative: Impacts on Student Outcomes (Interim Report). Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. https://www.mathematica.org/publications/evaluation-of-the-networks-for-school-improvement-initiative-student-outcomes-interim-report
• Matthew Johnson, Naihobe Gonzalez, Jeffrey Max, Tareena Musaddiq, Sophia Seifert, Michelle Bennett, Ren Schlosser. (2026). Evaluation of the Networks for School Improvement (NSI) Initiative: NSI Impacts on Students and the Aspects of NSI Implementation Related to Impacts: Final Report. Gates Foundation. https://www.mathematica.org/publications/evaluation-of-the-networks-for-school-improvement-initiative-student-outcomes-final-report
• Evaluation of the Networks for School Improvement Initiative: Interim Summary Report. (2024). RAND Corporation. https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RRA242-1.html

Page metadata

Field	Value
type	product
id	networks-for-school-improvement-nsi
title	Networks for School Improvement (NSI)
description	A Gates Foundation programme that supports networks of schools in using continuous improvement to improve outcomes for students who are Black, Latino, or experiencing poverty.
status	review
moved_from	element/nsi-initiative-gates-foundation, theory/nsi-conceptual-framework-networked-ci
product_kind	programme
generated	by process:sweep-kinds on 2026-10-10
trust	unverified — no one has confirmed this page's content
sources	3 — matthew-johnson-2024, matthew-johnson-2026, evaluation-of-the-networks-for-school-improvement-initiative-interim-summary-report-2024

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