Title page
Contents
Why this study? 2
Research questions 4
Findings 7
Limitations 14
Implications 14
References 15
Appendix A. About Georgia's flexibility policy 17
Appendix B. Data and Methods 20
Appendix C. Supporting Analyses 28
Appendix D. Additional Analyses 37
Appendix E. Survey Instrument 40
Table 1. After their districts adopted a performance contract, schools with the largest proportions of Black students and students eligible for the national school lunch program,... 9
Figure 1. Schools' changes in achievement after their districts' performance contract adoption varied from meaningful decreases in achievement to meaningful increases in achievement 8
Figure 2. Schools prioritized several academic innovations that can be categorized as using data or individualized approaches to meet students' needs, 2008/09-2016/17 10
Figure 3. Elementary and middle schools more frequently reported prioritizing innovations related to use of data to identify early intervention needs, formative assessments to... 11
Figure 4. Schools with more students eligible for the national school lunch program reported prioritizing supplemental programs for low-performing students, online and/or... 12
Figure 5. School leaders reported a great deal of influence over priority innovations, 2008/09-2016/17 13
Boxes
Box 1. Data sources, sample, and methods 4
Box 2. Key terms used in this report 6
Table A1. Most commonly granted waivers from Georgia regulations 18
Table B1. Student-, school-, and district-level variables used in the study 20
Table B2. Number of students and districts included in analyses of changes in achievement 23
Table B3. Respondents to school survey are generally similar to full population on observed characteristics 24
Table B4. Cohort and analysis structure for each performance contract adoption year 27
Table C1. Changes in school academic achievement, 2008/09-2018/19 28
Table C2. Within-district variation in changes in achievement, 2007/08-2018/19 28
Table C3. Results from final models estimating school-level achievement change in Georgia, 2007/08-2018/19 28
Table C4. Results from final models estimating school-level achievement change in Georgia, 2007/08-2018/19 31
Table C5. Percentage of survey respondents who ranked each innovative practice as their school's first, second, or third priority for implementation 35
Figure D1. Leaders of schools in Strategic Waivers School Systems reported prioritizing innovations related to use of data and formative assessments more frequently than... 37
Figure D2. Schools with larger proportions of Black students reported prioritizing online and/or blended curricula and school attendance policies or practices more frequently than... 38
Figure D3. Schools with larger proportions of English learner students reported prioritizing formative assessments and online and/or blended curricula more frequently than... 39