New Research Report Explores Metrics Around Sustained and Intensive Criteria Proposed in Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA)
MALVERN, Pa., Jan. 31, 2017. — The Frontline Research & Learning Institute today announced the release of Bridging the Gap: Part 2. The report is the second in a four-part series that aims to unpack and explore the six criteria that comprise the new definition of professional learning in the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA).
“To ensure alignment with the new definition of professional learning, districts must first establish a deep understanding of the criteria,” says Elizabeth Combs, Managing Director of the Frontline Research & Learning Institute. “Our goal with the Bridging the Gap series is to help districts identify and address the discrepancies between current practice and best practice as it is proposed in ESSA.”
Written in partnership with Dr. Sarah Silverman of Whiteboard Advisors, Bridging the Gap: Part 2 takes an in-depth look at the first two criteria for professional learning — Sustained and Intensive — looking at data from hundreds of districts and millions of enrollments. The report found that few professional learning activities are either sustained or intensive enough to meaningfully impact practice.
“The findings call for serious self-reflection on the part of school districts,” says Combs. “They must ask themselves how they will measure the extent to which their professional development offerings meet the criteria and how they can shift their practices to be more aligned with the new definition.”
In the coming months, the Frontline Research & Learning Institute will release two more Bridging the Gap series reports that will explore the remaining criteria in the new ESSA definition of professional learning. Additionally, the Frontline Institute works closely with the Johns Hopkins Center for Research and Reform in Education to release monthly absence reports as well as an annual absence report, aggregating data from millions of K-12 employee absence records.
About the Frontline Research & Learning Institute:
The Frontline Research & Learning Institute is a division of Frontline Education, an integrated insights partner to K-12 school districts nationwide. The Institute is a learning organization dedicated to providing data-driven research, resources and observations to support and advance the educational community. Driven by the vast amount of records across Frontline’s comprehensive solutions portfolio, the Institute leverages data from more than 9,500 K-12 organizations and several million users to reach findings and provide benchmarks that inform strategic decision-making for the education community. The Frontline Research & Learning Institute works with Johns Hopkins Center for Research and Reform in Education to ensure all research reports and analyses are rigorously-validated and representative of national data.