Turnaround Success: An Exploratory Study of Three Middle Grades Schools that Achieved Positive Contextual and Achievement Outcomes Using the Schools to Watch i3 Project

This article presents the results of a study examining the highest implementers of the Schools to Watch (STW): School Transformation Network Project, and the impact the project had on their teaching/learning practices and outcomes. The project was funded by the U.S. Department of Education’s Investing in Innovation (i3) grant program and was designed to improve the educational practices, experiences, and outcomes of 18 low-performing middle grades schools in California, Illinois, and North Carolina by offering a whole school reform model with a multilayered system of support. The framework for the project was the National Forum to Accelerate Middle-Grades Reform’s STW criteria, a set of strategies and practices for middle grades schools. The data presented were collected as part of the project’s evaluation which used a quasi-experimental design. Data are from the Forum’s STW Rubric and the Center for Prevention Research and Development’s (CPRD) Self-Study Teacher Survey from project schools, as well as student achievement test scores from project and comparison schools. The findings showed that the highest implemented STW Project schools achieved higher levels of implementation of the STW criteria, teacher collaboration, leadership practices, and best middle grades instructional practices, and showed significant improvement in mathematics achievement.