TOPIC 7:

SCHOOL EFFECTIVENESS

1
EFFECTIVENESS
DEFINITION
Effectiveness is a measure of the match
between stated goals and their achievement.
It is always possible to achieve “easy”, low-
standard goals.
Quality in higher education cannot only be a
question of achievements (outputs) but must
also involve judgments about the goals
(inputs).

-Fraser, 1994-

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SCHOOL EFFECTIVENESS

DEFINITIONS
Positive changes in any one or a combination of
the following 4 variables:
(Clark, Lotto and McCarthy, 1980)

1. Student achievement
2. Student attitudes toward the school or
students as learners.
3. Teacher attitudes toward the school or
students as learners.
4. Community/ parent attitudes towards the
school.

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SCHOOL EFFECTIVENESS

DEFINITIONS
Lezotte (1991) in his study found out 7 correlates of effective
schools which evolved the original correlates shared by Edmonds
(1982) and added 2 variables:

1. Instructional leadership
2. Clear vision and mission
3. Safe and orderly environment
4. High expectation for students’ achievement
5. Continuous assessment of student achievement
6. Opportunity and time on task
7. Positive home-school relations

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SCHOOL EFFECTIVENESS

• Effective schools include students, teachers, parents and principals who are
willing to assume leadership roles and play a very important role in the
functioning of school.
• The effective functioning of an organization lies in a strong School Learning
Culture and Leadership Behaviour of the head of the school.

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ELEMENTS

1 QUALITY LEADERSHIP
• The first factor is quality leadership.
• In other words, students perform better where the principal
provides strong leadership.
• Effective leaders are visible, able to successfully convey the
school’s goals and visions, collaborate with teachers to enhance
their skills, and are involved in the discovery of and solutions to
problems.

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ELEMENTS

2 HIGH EXPECTATIONS
• The second factor is having high expectations of students, as
well as teachers.
• High expectations of students have repeatedly been shown to
have a positive impact on students’ performance.
• More attention should be paid to high expectations of teachers.
• In other words, teachers who are expected to teach at high
levels of effectiveness are able to reach the level of
expectations, particularly when teacher evaluations and
teacher professional development is geared toward improving
instructional quality.

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ELEMENTS

3 ONGOING SCREENING
• The third characteristic of a successful school is
the ongoing screening of student performance and
development.
• Schools should use assessment data to compare their students
with others from across the country.
• Effective use of assessment data allows schools to identify
problematic areas of learning at the classroom and school
levels, so that solutions can be generated as to how to best
address the problems.

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ELEMENTS

4 GOALS AND DIRECTION

• The fourth characteristic of a successful school is the existence
of goals and direction.
• Administration should actively construct goals and then
effectively communicate them to appropriate individuals (i.e.,
students, teachers, community-at-large).
• School principals must also be open and willing to incorporate
innovation into goals for school processes and practices.
• It is important to invite input from all stakeholders in the process
of developing school goals.
• Student performance has been shown to improve in schools
where all in the school community work toward goals that are
communicated and shared among all in the learning
environment.

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ELEMENTS

5 SECURE AND ORGANIZED

• The fifth and final factor of a successful school is the extent to
which the school is secure and organized.
• For maximum learning to occur, students need to feel secure.
• Respect is a quality that is promoted and is a fundamental
aspect of a safe school.
• There are also a number of trained staff and programs, such as
social workers, who work with problem students before situations
get out of hand.

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EFFECTIVE SCHOOL

DEFINITION
An effective school is
one in which all the students learn the
specified curriculum regardless of factors in
their backgrounds which have ordinarily
been identified as those which prevent such
learning.

-Lawrence Lezotte-

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EFFECTIVE SCHOOL ENVIRONMENT
1 The students ask more questions than the teachers.
2 Questions are valued over answers.
3 Ideas come from divergent sources.
4 A variety of learning models are used.
5 Classroom learning “empties” into a connected community.
6 Learning is personalized by a variety of criteria.
7 Assessment is persistent, authentic and transparent.
8 The criteria for success is diverse, transparent and co-created with students and families.
9 Learning habits are constantly modelled.
10 There are constant and creative opportunities for practice and growth.

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CHARACTERISTICS OF AN EFFECTIVE SCHOOL
A clear and shared focus

High standards and expectations for all students

Effective school leadership

High levels of collaboration and communication

Curriculum , instruction and assessments aligned with state standards

Supportive learning environment

High level of family and community involvement

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CHARACTERISTICS OF AN EFFECTIVE SCHOOL

A clear and shared focus High standards and expectations for all
students
• Everybody knows where they are going • Teachers and staff believe that all students
and why. can learn and meet high standards.
• The focus is on achieving a shared vision. • While recognizing that some students must
• The focus and vision are developed from overcome significant barriers, these
common beliefs and values, creating a obstacles are not seen as impossible to
consistent direction for all involved. achieve.
• Students are offered an ambitious and
rigorous course f study.

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CHARACTERISTICS OF AN EFFECTIVE SCHOOL

Effective school leadership High levels of collaboration and

communication

• Effective instructional and administrative • There is strong teamwork among all staff
leadership is required to implement across all grades and subject areas.
change processes. • Everybody is involved and connected to
• Effective leaders are proactive and seek each other, including parents and
help that is needed. members of the community, to identify
• They nurture an instructional program and problems and work on solutions.
school culture conducive to learning and
professional growth.
• Effective leaders have different styles and
roles—teachers and other staff often have
a leadership role.

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CHARACTERISTICS OF AN EFFECTIVE SCHOOL

Curriculum, instruction and assessments Frequent monitoring of learning and teaching

aligned with state standards
• A steady cycle of different assessments
• The planned and actual curricula are identifies students who need help.
aligned with the essential academic • More support and instructional time are
learning requirements. provided, either during the school day or
• Research-based teaching strategies and outside normal school hours, to students
materials are used. who need more help.
• Staff understands the role of classroom • Teaching is adjusted based on frequent
and state assessments, what the monitoring of student progress and needs.
assessments measure and how student • Assessment results are used to focus and
work is evaluated. improve instructional programs.

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CHARACTERISTICS OF AN EFFECTIVE SCHOOL

Focused professional development Supportive learning environment

• The school has a safe, civil, healthy and
• A strong emphasis is placed on training intellectually stimulating learning
staff in areas of most need. environment.
• Feedback from learning and teaching • Students feel respected and connected
focuses extensive and ongoing with the staff and are engaged in learning.
professional development. • Instruction is personalized and small
• The support is also aligned with the school learning environments increase student
or district vision and objectives. contact with teachers.

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CHARACTERISTICS OF AN EFFECTIVE SCHOOL

High level of family and community

involvement

• There is a sense that all have a

responsibility to educate students, not just
teachers and staff in schools.
• Families, as well as businesses, social
service agencies and community colleges
and universities, all play a vital role in this
effort.

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EFFECTIVE SCHOOL LEADER

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EFFECTIVE SCHOOL LEADER
DEFINITION

An effective leader is a person with a

passion for a cause that is larger than
they are.
Someone with a dream and a vision that
will better society, or at least, some
portion of it.

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WHY DO EFFECTIVE SCHOOL LEADER MATTER?

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WHAT EFFECTIVE LEADER DO?

BALANCE MANAGEMENT WITH LEADERSHIP

• School administration involves both management duties and leadership
opportunities.
• The management side tends to be the stuff that one has to do.
• Leadership is the stuff that one chooses to do.
• It’s very important as an educational administrator (especially a rookie) to remember
these two things)
• To be a leader you need followers and to gain followers one must complete
management duties in a timely and efficient manner.
• Teachers will not care what you have to say about educational leadership if you
don’t manage effectively

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WHAT EFFECTIVE LEADER DO?

ENVISION THE IDEAL, BUT FOCUS THE DOABLE

• Effective school leaders have a vision of what their “ultimate” school looks like.
• This vision helps create the culture and atmosphere of the schools in which they work.
• Leaders must pick their way toward this goal one small step at a time, focusing on ideas
and changes that can be implemented now, ones that may take a year or two and
ones that may take 5 years.
• The ideal is never achieved because it always evolves, but it’s the incremental changes
made working toward the ideal that improve learning for students.

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WHAT EFFECTIVE LEADER DO?

ENVISION THE IDEAL, BUT FOCUS THE DOABLE

• Act as a representative for the missing voice.
• A big part of being an administrator is helping sort out other people’s conflicts.
• Parents will come to complain about teachers, teachers about kids, kids about
teachers etc.
• With interpersonal issues, getting one side of the story never suffices in shedding enough
light on the situation, of course it’s imperative to get views from all possible sides in
these matters.
• In the interim however, while listening to the initial report of any conflict, effective
leaders try to understand the missing person’s point of view, and keep that in their mind
as the discussion progresses.
• Adopting and, where necessary, representing the missing person’s point of view helps
in keeping the discussion focused and moving toward settlement.

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WHAT EFFECTIVE LEADER DO?

LISTEN AND INTERPRET

• Listen and interpret.
• People will usually say what they mean, but often mean more than what has actually
been said.
• Often they’re simply shy about “sharing everything.’ A student who admits to going to
bed too late can be expressing numerous things, from anxiety issues to more esoteric
ailments like “screen addiction”.
• A teacher complaining about too much marking may be asking for help in planning or
looking for ways to work more efficiently.
• Effective administrators pick up on this and, using communication techniques such as
paraphrasing, try to elicit the full meaning of what is being communicated. It’s only
after frank discussions with all necessary information available that effective feedback,
and help where necessary, can be provided.

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WHAT EFFECTIVE LEADER DO?

REFLECT CONSTANTLY
• After every action, interaction and decision, the best administrators will always ask
“How could that have been done better?”
• Whether something has gone extremely well, or the flaws in planning and/or
execution were evident for all to see, a cycle of constant reflection upon their work
allows these administrators to improve their practice every day.

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 Thank You
Xie Xie
Nandri
Kotoluadan /Pounsikou
u n i t a r. m y