School and district turnaround through Michigan’s Partnership Model

The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) grants states significant autonomy in choosing methods to identify and improve the lowest performing schools. In 2017, Michigan initiated the Partnership Model of School and District Turnaround, providing support and accountability for 119 schools from 36 districts that had previously ranked in the bottom 5% statewide between 2017 and 2020. Schools and districts were identified for the Partnership program in three waves and received enhanced support and resources from Michigan Department of Education. This included Partnership Agreement liaisons for individualized support, greater regional support from intermediate school districts, access to exclusive grants, special education services, professional development, data services, and additional funding.

In a recent study, Burns and colleagues conducted a mixed-methods analysis of the impact of the Partnership Model on student and school outcomes. They explored differences in impact for various student groups and how varying implementations may have influenced outcomes across schools and districts. Drawing from administrative data representing over 2 million students, as well as teacher surveys, the researchers developed two matched cohorts to examine the Partnership Model’s impact compared to low-performing schools that were never designated as Partnership schools.

The researchers looked at the impact of the Partnership Model for students in Grades 4 and 8 after one year (Cohort 2) and two years (Cohort 1). Overall, they detected a positive effect on student outcomes for those in Partnership schools, as well as for other low-performing schools within the Partnership districts that were not specifically involved. In particular, students in Grades 4 and 8 from both cohorts demonstrated gains in math, and those from Cohort 1 demonstrated gains in reading. However, improved outcomes were not found for Partnership school students in terms of SAT achievement, graduation rate, or dropout rate. This is consistent with studies that note larger gains for younger students than for older ones.

The findings point to two key takeaways: First, that the effect appears to be more consistent for students in Cohort 1, who received Partnership services and supports over two years. While large scale reform takes time, it is noteworthy that statistically significant changes were observable after just two years. Second, the observed impact on schools in the same districts as those included in the Partnership program underscores the broader reach of systematic reform efforts like the Partnership Model.

Source: Burns, J., Harbatkin, E., Strunk, K. O., Torres, C., Mcilwain, A., & Waldron, S. F. (2023). The efficacy and implementation of Michigan’s partnership model of school and district turnaround: Mixed-methods evidence from the first 2 years of reform implementation. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 45(4), 622-654. https://doi.org/10.3102/01623737221141415