The TurnAround ToolKit

Lynn Winters was the Assistant Superintendent for Research Long Beach Unified School District, nationally recognized by the President and the Broad Prize for implementing systems for data guided decision making. She currently consults for Urban School Imagineers training urban school data teams and evaluating an urban school leadership training program.. Prior positions include Lecturer in Social Research Methods at the UCLA Graduate School of Education, high school teaching (history, Spanish and Special Education); county office assessment consultant; Director of Research for Palos Verdes Schools; and Project Director for three grants at the UCLA National Center for Evaluation, Student Standards and Testing.She has co-authored two books with Joan Herman of UCLA CRESST, A Practical Guide to Alternative Assessment,(ASCD) and Tracking Your School's Success (Corwin Press), and is a reviewer for Practical Assessment, Research and Evaluation (PARE), the AERA journal Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis (EEPA, and Educational Assessment. In addition, she has over a dozen published journal articles and regularly presents at the American Educational Research Association's Annual Meeting. Joan L. Herman is Director of the National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing (CRESST) at UCLA. Her research has explored the effects of accountability and assessment on schools and teachers and the design of assessment systems to support school planning and instructional improvement. Her recent work has focused on the quality and consequences of teachers' formative assessment practices. She also has wide experience as an evaluator of school reform. Dr. Herman is noted in bridging research, and practice, particularly in applications serving English Language Learners and at-risk students. Among her books are Tracking Your School's Success: A Guide to Sensible School-Based Evaluation; and A Practical Guide to Alternative Assessment, both of which have been popular resources for schools across the country. A former teacher and school board member, Dr. Herman is an elected AERA fellow, has published extensively in research journals and is a frequent advisor to prominent national and state research and development initiatives, including repeated service to the National Academy. She is past president of the California Educational Research Association; has held a variety of leadership positions in the American Educational Research Association, National Organization of Research Centers, and Knowledge Alliance; chairs the Para Los Ninos school board, and is current editor of the research journal, Educational Assessment.

Foreword by Carl A. Cohn Publisher's Acknowledgments About the Authors Introduction Part I. The 3 Rs of Turnaround Work: Realign, Redesign, Refine Section I. Realign: Create the Structures for Turnaround Work 1. Develop Systems for Managing Turnaround Activities: Distributed Leadership, Collaborative Teams, Expert Reviewers and Networks, Data Capacity 2. Organize Information Needed to Redesign Programs 3. Prepare Data Summaries and Displays Section II. Redesign: Use Data to Create the Turnaround Plan 4. Identify the Turnaround Focus 5. Redesign Programs to Address the Turnaround Focus 6. Develop and Implement the Turnaround Plan Section III. Refine: Evaluate and Revise the Turnaround Plan 7. Design an Evaluation of the Turnaround Plan 8. Analyze Evaluation Data and Revise the Program 9. The 4th R of Turnaround Work: Reflect on Lessons Learned Part II. Leader's Guides for The TurnAround ToolKit Introduction to Leader's Guides 1. Develop Systems for Managing Turnaround Activities: Distributed Leadership, Collaborative Teams, Expert Reviewers and Networks, Data Capacity: Leader's Guide 2. Organize Information Needed to Redesign Programs: Leader's Guide 3. Prepare Data Summaries and Displays: Leader's Guide 4. Identify the Turnaround Focus: Leader's Guide 5. Redesign Programs to Address the Turnaround Focus: Leader's Guide 6. Develop and Implement the Turnaround Plan: Leader's Guide 7. Design an Evaluation of the Turnaround Plan: Leader's Guide 8. Analyze Evaluation Data and Revise the Program: Leader's Guide Endnotes Resources and References Index

"An absolute MUST-READ for school leaders who need to generate school improvement immediately! This book will help you make your school's 'turnaround' happen effectively." -- Bruce Haddix, Principal "Turning around struggling schools is a challenging issue policymakers everywhere face. Lynn Winters and Joan Herman explain not only what to do but how to do it, including useful tools to help educators get started. The TurnAround Toolkit should be read widely." -- Robert Rothman, Senior Fellow, Alliance for Excellent Education "School leaders searching for a way to achieve dramatic, focused, positive school improvement will find this book valuable. The text's manageable tools will provide a focused guide for improving student achievement." -- Pamela H. Scott, Assistant Professor/Graduate Program Coordinator School Leadership "The author goes to the heart of school improvement by addressing the critical need to elevate learning for all students through the use of formative data and evaluation." -- Jim Lentz, Superintendent "Lynn Winters and Joan Herman understand there are no quick fixes to turning around low-performing schools. In this book, they draw on their hard-won experience to provide school leaders with the practical guidance necessary to succeed." -- Hayes Mizell, Director (1987-2003), Program for Student Achievement "Takes the current school improvement cycle and provides a focus on instruction and tools to get the job done." -- Leslie Standerfer, Principal