Illinois State University's Center for the Study of Education Policy was chosen as the lead institution to study best practices of high-performing schools, in collaboration with a national study led by the National Center for Educational Accountability (NCEA) in Austin, Texas.
Illinois State University faculty and staff identify high-performing schools serving significant numbers of low-income students, using a protocol developed by NCEA's Just for the Kids project. Selection involves multiple years of state test performance across all tested grades and subjects. Selected schools participate in on-site research visits from Illinois State study teams. Teams produce detailed case studies of the schools successful practices, and collect artifacts illustrating how these practices are enacted.
Case studies and evidence are displayed on the Just for the Kids interactive web site. The NCEA/Just for the Kids site also allows Illinois schools to compare their performance with similar schools in Illinois, with the best-performing schools in Illinois, and even with schools from other states. School administrators and school improvement teams can search the best practices collected by Illinois State University researchers, make contact with the Best Practice schools, and learn more about ways to enact improvements in their own schools.
For more information regarding the Best Practice School Study, contact Lynne Curry, Research Associate, at 309-438-3829 or lcurry@ilstu.edu.
Links: Map of Best Practice
schools 2004-2005
List of Best Practice schools 2004-05
List of participating faculty and staff
Education
Week feature article May 4, 2005
NCEA School Selection
Criteria
