Giving Compass' Take:

• The RAND Corporation is launching a set of surveys to traditional school districts and charter management organizations to understand the various approaches of education issues. 

• How will this research help inform and improve educational problems in the classroom? 

•  Learn how data can help educators rethink school discipline. 

Building on its American Educator Panels, which have provided a glimpse into teachers’ and school leaders’ thoughts on issues such as school discipline and instructional methods, the RAND Corporation is launching a new set of surveys for school districts and charter management organizations.

With $4.8 million from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the research organization will work with the Center on Reinventing Public Education at the University of Washington, Chiefs for Change and Kitamba, a consulting firm, to develop and administer the American School District Panel over a three-year period. According to a press release, the project will be “the first nationally representative, longitudinal panel of school districts” in the U.S.

The surveys will collect feedback from districts and CMOs on issues such as procurement, professional development and services for students with disabilities. RAND is also forming an advisory board made up of district and CMO leaders to guide the project.

Results from the surveys will provide another source of comparison between traditional districts and CMOs on current educational issues and trends. While the researchers won’t survey individual charter schools, they will collect data from CMOs.

One early topic is expected to be how districts and CMOs “identify, select and implement curricula as well as the supports they provide for school-level curriculum implementation,” said Laura Hamilton, who directs RAND’s Center for Social and Emotional Learning Research and co-directs the AEP program.

In addition to releasing the reports, the research team will hold “State of the District” events to discuss findings. “School systems have a critical role to play in making sure students, especially the most vulnerable, get the educational opportunities they so urgently need,” said Robin Lake, the director of CRPE.

Read the full article about school district surveys by Linda Jacobson at Education Dive.