Comprehensive School Reform and Student Achievement: A Meta-Analysis. Report No. 59

摘要

In this meta-analysis, we review the research on the achievement effects of the nationally disseminated and externally developed school improvement programs known as whole-school or comprehensive reforms. In addition to reviewing the overall achievement effects of comprehensive school reform (CSR), we study the specific effects of 29 of the most widely implemented models. We also assess how various CSR components, contextual factors, and methodological factors associated with the studies mediate the effects of CSR. We conclude that CSR is still an evolving field and that there are limitations on the overall quantity and quality of the research base. The overall effects of CSR, though, appear promising and the combined quantity, quality, and statistical significance of evidence from three of the models, in particular, set them apart from the rest. Whether evaluations are carried out by the developer or by third-party evaluators and whether these evaluators use onegroup pre-post designs or control groups are especially important factors for understanding differences in CSR effects. Schools implementing CSR models for five years or more showed particularly strong effects, but the models benefited equally schools of higher- and lower-poverty levels. A long-term commitment to research-proven educational reform is needed to establish a strong marketplace of scientifcally based models capable of bringing comprehensive reform to the nations schools.