Ground annual improvement cycles in explicit theories of improvement and shared common achievement data rather than in vision-statement refinement alone

Strategy · All strategies
Evidence · 1 claim (1 for) · 1 study (1 qualitative), q2 · 0 of 1 report an effect size · 1 claim rests on one study

Description¶

The report recommends that collaborative improvement communities anchor annual inquiry cycles in explicit theories of improvement and shared evidence. In fall 2016, Ed Partners asked each district team to sketch a "theory of continuous improvement" for K-8 mathematics, set three desired outcomes to test that theory, and identify the meaningful evidence it would collect throughout the year. Combined with district-specific CAASPP data reports, this shift moved teams from repeatedly revising vision statements toward testing how proposed changes would work.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

Access to common student achievement data prepared for each district
Convening time structured around articulating, testing, and refining theories of improvement

Constraints¶

District leadership teams were still learning how to think about and gather data on improvement even at the end of the initiative

Target Learners¶

District leadership teams coordinating K-8 mathematics improvement efforts

Target Learning Goals¶

Using evidence to test and refine district improvement theories
Linking assessment results to specific instructional practices

Claims¶

Availability of CAASPP statewide assessment data changed MiC leadership teams' discussions and appeared to accelerate districts' ability to monitor improvement [+W]

Examples¶

Key Sources¶

Perry, R., Marple, S., & Reade, F. (2019). What accelerates a community of practice? Inflection points that changed the course of the Math in Common Initiative. San Francisco, CA: WestEd. https://www.wested.org/project/math-in-common-evaluation/

Page metadata

Field	Value
`type`	`strategy`
`id`	`theories-of-improvement-plus-common-data-strategy`
`title`	`Ground annual improvement cycles in explicit theories of improvement and shared common achievement data rather than in vision-statement refinement alone`
`description`	`The report recommends that collaborative improvement communities anchor annual inquiry cycles in explicit theories of improvement and shared evidence.`
`status`	`review`
`generated`	by `process:wiki-ingest` on `2026-10-09`
`trust`	unverified — no one has confirmed this page's content
`sources`	1 — `perry-2019`

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Ground annual improvement cycles in explicit theories of improvement and shared common achievement data rather than in vision-statement refinement alone¶