Reports and Briefs

The Utah Education Policy Center (UEPC) partnered with the Utah State Board of Education (USBE) and Utah Leading through Effective, Actionable, and Dynamic (ULEAD) Education to conduct a mixed-methods study to identify school-level factors contributing to strong post-pandemic student academic recovery among positive outlier schools in Utah. Building on previous USBE-sponsored research, this study examined eight schools across five LEAs that demonstrated strong academic recovery during 2021-22 and 2022-23 through interviews, focus groups, and surveys with school leaders and educators. The analysis presents interrelated key findings and actionable recommendations for school and LEA leaders to advance improvements in student academic recovery across Utah.

Using qualitative methods, this study explored how states framed the need for their work, their motivations for implementation efforts and challenges, key partnerships in establishing and implementing the work, perceived impacts, and reflections on lessons learned, missed opportunities, and planned next steps.

Vicki Park (San Jose State University) and Amanda Datnow (University of California, San Diego) summarize a decade of research on data-driven decision making in districts and schools. They introduce a framework that focuses on the people, policies, practices, and patterns (i.e., four Ps) within data-driven decision making.

Vicki Park (San Jose State University) and Amanda Datnow (University of California, San Diego) summarize a decade of research on data-driven decision making in districts and schools.