The Reform Act

In response to the problems facing the District’s public school system, the  D.C. Council (the legislative branch of the D.C. government) approved the  2007 Reform Act, which significantly altered the governance of the D.C.  public schools. Early Initiatives Are Focused on Improving Student Achievement and DCPS Is Modifying Its Approach as It Moves Forward

During the first 2 years of its reform efforts, DCPS implemented several  classroom-based initiatives to improve students’ basic skills in core  subjects and implemented a new staffing model designed to give all  students access to art, music, and physical education classes. In addition,  as required by NCLBA, DCPS restructured 22 schools before the fall of  2008, after the schools failed to meet academic targets for 6 consecutive  years. In addition,  DCPS and the state superintendent’s office are planning and developing  new ways to use data to monitor student achievement and school  performance. Table 1 provides a list of DCPS’s major initiatives to  improve student outcomes, as well as descriptions and the status of these  initiatives. The state superintendent’s office also is developing a longitudinal  database, called the Statewide Longitudinal Education Data Warehouse  (SLED) that is intended to allow DCPS and other stakeholders to access a  broad array of information, including standardized test scores of students  and information on teachers. DCPS Replaced Teachers and Principals and Introduced Professional Development Initiatives, but Encountered Challenges in Implementation

DCPS is attempting to improve the quality of its teacher and principal  workforce by hiring new teachers and principals and by providing  professional development. In  addition, DCPS introduced professional development initiatives for  teachers and principals, but late decisions about the program for teachers  led to inconsistent implementation. Specifically, about one-fifth of the teachers  and one-third of the principals resigned, retired, or were terminated from  the school system at the end of the 2007-2008 school year. DCPS began placing teacher  coaches in schools to help teachers increase student achievement at their  workplaces. Late hiring of teacher coaches, however, affected the implementation of  the professional development plan for the 2008-2009 school year. The State Superintendent’s Office and DCPS Have Developed and Begun Implementing Strategic Plans; However, DCPS Has Not Always Involved Relevant Stakeholders in Planning and Implementing Key Initiatives

The state superintendent plan is a “state-level” strategic plan that covers  the District’s public schools (and public charter schools). This plan and  DCPS’s strategic plan each contain elements GAO has identified as key to  an effective plan, such as aligning short-term objectives to long-term  goals in order to delineate how to attain those goals. DCPS Has Recently Increased Its Efforts to Involve Stakeholders in Various Initiatives, However It Has Not Systematically Included Stakeholders

DCPS officials have several planned and ongoing efforts to involve  stakeholders in planning, implementing, and evaluating various initiatives. DCPS and the State Superintendent’s Office Have Taken Steps to Improve Accountability and Performance, and DCPS Has Yet to Align Key Aspects of Its Performance Management System to Organizational Goals

DCPS and the state superintendent’s office have taken steps to improve  accountability and performance of their offices. For example, both offices  have started implementation of new individual employee performance  management systems. While DCPS has taken steps to improve  accountability and link its individual performance management system to  organizational goals, it has not completed this process or used the results  of surveys to improve central office operations. Washington, D.C.:  March 14, 2008.
Why GAO Did This Study

In response to long-standing problems with student achievement and the management of the District of Columbia (D.C. or the District) public school system, the D.C. Council approved the Public Education Reform Amendment Act of 2007. This act made major changes to the governance of the D.C. public school system, giving the Mayor authority over public schools. This report follows a GAO testimony in March 2008 and focuses on the primary reform approaches the District has taken. This report examines the steps the District took to: (1) address student academic achievement; (2) strengthen the quality of teachers and principals; (3) develop long-term plans and involve stakeholders; and (4) improve accountability and performance of the D.C. public schools (DCPS) and the state superintendent's central offices. GAO reviewed documentation on District initiatives, and interviewed District education officials as well as representatives from the teachers' union, community organizations, and research institutions. GAO also conducted visits to four urban school districts with mayoral governance.

What GAO Found

Early efforts to improve student achievement at DCPS have focused on improving student performance, closing underutilized and reorganizing underperforming schools, and creating and enhancing data systems. During the first 2 years of its reform efforts, DCPS implemented many initiatives to improve overall student performance, such as classroom-based initiatives to improve basic skills of students. In addition, under the No Child Left Behind Act, DCPS restructured 22 schools before the fall of 2008, after the schools failed to meet academic targets for 6 consecutive years. Finally, DCPS and the state superintendent's office are developing new ways to monitor student achievement and school performance. Specifically, a longitudinal database is being developed that is intended to allow DCPS and other key users to access a broad array of data, including student test scores. DCPS is modifying its approach to many of these initiatives such as focusing on effective teaching as opposed to implementing disparate programs. DCPS has focused on improving the quality of its workforce by replacing teachers and principals and by providing professional development, but it has encountered challenges in effectively implementing these changes. After the 2007-2008 school year, about one-fifth of the teachers and one-third of the principals resigned, retired, or were terminated from DCPS. However, because DCPS did not have an effective way to evaluate teacher performance, officials are uncertain if the new staff improved the quality of its workforce. DCPS is currently working on a new teacher evaluation system. In addition, DCPS introduced professional development initiatives for teachers and principals. For example, it began placing teacher coaches at schools to support teachers at their work sites. However, late decisions to hire these teacher coaches led to inconsistent implementation of this initiative during the 2008-2009 school year. The state superintendent's office and DCPS each developed their 5-year strategic plans and involved stakeholders in developing these plans. The state superintendent plan and the DCPS draft strategic plan each contain many elements of effective plans, such as aligning short-term objectives to long-term goals. DCPS has recently increased its efforts to involve stakeholders in various initiatives; however, it has not always involved stakeholders in key decisions and initiatives. DCPS and the state superintendent's office have taken steps to improve accountability and performance. For example, both offices have started implementation of new individual employee performance management systems. However, while DCPS has taken some additional steps to improve accountability, it has not yet linked its employee expectations and performance evaluations to organizational goals to improve central office operations.