Accountability and Performance Tools
Public school systems across the country are struggling to transform from cultures of compliance focused on inputs – such as dollars spent, days of instruction, numbers of students – into cultures of performance that focus on outcomes such as student achievement, instructional and programmatic effectiveness, and operational efficiency.
NewSchools Venture Fund believes that the transition into a performance-driven culture is a difficult yet essential component of dramatically improving public education. In the high-performing school systems we envision, the overwhelming majority of students – in all schools and within every group – meet high standards of achievement. By orienting themselves around results, these performance-driven organizations constantly question the "why" and "how" behind their results and are well-positioned to learn from their actions as a platform for continuous improvement.
Although public school systems are under pressure to make this transformation and deliver improved results for an increasingly diverse set of students, few school districts are currently equipped to do so. Hampered by antiquated systems and bureaucratic processes, these well-meaning educators often lack the tools, programs, or support they need to help their students succeed.
As such, NewSchools Fund III will look to invest in the following types of entrepreneurial solutions:
- Instructional improvement technology platforms upon which a cycle of instructional improvement practices can be built. Key elements of such a technology platform would include a web-based interface, comprehensive data warehouse, assessment design capabilities, on-site scoring capabilities, and analysis and reporting functions.
- Formative assessment content to measure student mastery of educational standards at regular intervals and enable teachers to tailor instruction to meet individual and class needs.
- Professional development capacity to help school systems implement data-driven instructional practices and tailor curriculum to students’ needs.