This paper presents states and districts with guidelines and recommendations for improving systems that support instructional practices.

Because the quality of teaching is the most important school-based factor for student learning, a focus on instruction is essential for turning around struggling schools and districts and cultivating conditions that enable and inspire effective teaching and learning.

The Center on School Turnaround (CST) at WestEd designed a project to examine the practices of two districts that are improving instruction within their multiple turnaround schools.

The CST research team conducted interviews, using protocols defined in the Four Domains for Rapid School Improvement: A Systems Framework, to understand how these districts enacted two key instructional transformation practices — diagnosing and responding to student learning needs and providing rigorous, evidence-based instruction.

The paper is organized in three parts:

  • Part I defines instructional transformation in a turnaround context and presents guidance for districts on enacting the diagnostic and instructional improvement practices that are key to instructional transformation.
  • Part II describes how educators in two key district leadership roles can make pivotal contributions to instructional transformation.
  • Part III offers suggestions on how, and at what points, state education agencies can best apply its expertise, resources, and perspectives to support districts’ instructional transformation efforts.