Purpose of the Consortium Benchmarks

In their work toward creating educational excellence, Consortium members have developed common definitions of organizational effectiveness, i.e., “benchmarks” that articulate the steps toward achieving the highest quality public education. These statements are intended to assist the districts in recognizing and acting on key areas of emphasis to improve learning for all students. The statements also provide a vehicle for sharing best practices and strategies for improvement.

The benchmark statements are not designed to compare school districts. Rather, the purpose is to provide a strategic framework to help participating districts conduct organizational self-assessments – developing their own quantifiable indicators, tools for data collection, and best practices. These indicators, tools, and best practices are driven by the unique local needs of each district.

Over the past two years, each district has conducted self-assessments using selected Consortium benchmarks as measuring sticks. Results, insights and best practices emerging from these self-assessments have been routinely shared across member districts during the three meetings held each year as well as between meetings. The Consortium recently adopted the necessary bodies of evidence and a peer review process to identify and share promising, best and Exemplary practices within and outside the consortium. The Consortium Web site is also being upgraded so it can provide a user-friendly tool to conduct self-assessments and store and retrieve information about promising and proven practices among members.

Strategic Framework

The Consortium has adopted four strategic areas of focus in its benchmarking work, derived from research studies that correlate certain organizational policies and practices with improved student learning (see Cotton 1999; Fullan 1991; Newmann and Wehlage 1997; Schmoker 1999; Senge 1990; Sparks and Hirsch 1997). These studies suggest that targeted efforts in certain broad strategic areas can provide significant leverage in improving student performance. The literature also reminds us that an abiding focus on student performance is paramount in achieving strategic improvement. As a result, the Consortium benchmark statements are organized in the following four strategic areas:

Student Learning

This is the central focus of everything we do. It involves high standards, buttressed by a coherent curriculum. The standards and curriculum are well integrated into our daily work--at the classroom, school, district and community levels. It also involves continuous efforts to ensure learning for all students. This entails innovative practice that serves every student. Finally, it involves true integration of technology to better individualize learning for all students.

Capacity Development

This strategic area focuses on both organizational and human resource development. It entails a continuous innovation to improve organizational structures and procedures throughout the system to improve learning for all students. Further, it encompasses the development of all staff in the full continuum of "human resource development" from recruitment, selection, continuing skill development and performance evaluation.

Community Connectedness

This area focuses our attention on the extent to which we have strong and ongoing partnership connections with our communities. It sees the community as a valuable site for "real world" learning. Equally important, it sees the community's understanding and use of assessment results as imperative to ongoing improvement in student learning. Finally, it focuses our attention on the leadership role of the school district in broader community development.

Data-Driven Decision Making

This area allows us to look at the extent to which our school system is effectively using data and information. Skillful use of data affect student performance is a central focus. But beyond this, this area asks us to examine how we use multiple sources of data to improve instructional practice and to continuously examine relationships between our investments, the outcomes they are achieving and the improvement strategies we are attempting. The continuous use of these data are seen as central to accomplishing our mission to improve student performance.

Benchmarks and Indicators

Consortium developers divided each of the above strategic areas into several key benchmarks and identified key indicators for each benchmark. These indicators are either “behavioral” or “support” indicators. Behavioral indicators include beliefs or actions that are evident in the system at each level. Support indicators include those things that support these behaviors, such as professional development, policy, or resources.

Suggested Bodies of Evidence

Each Benchmark has a guiding “bottom-line” impact question. Then, suggested types of evidence to document current status is provided for every indicator.