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At the Evidence Resource Center, we aim to help Pennsylvania’s school communities thoughtfully apply high-quality, relevant research to their own settings. Explore these topics to brush up on research basics, ESSA tiers, and the fundamentals of evidence-based decision making.
Key Topics in PA
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All states face unique and complex challenges in their school systems. Pennsylvania has organized its priorities for school improvement using two primary tools, which provide measures of progress and growth, and set the bar for exemplary school operations, culture, and instructional practice.
The Future Ready PA Index
The Pennsylvania Department of Education recognizes that students – and the schools that serve them – are more than just standardized test scores.
Launched in November 2018, the Future Ready PA Index is the result of discussions with thousands of educators, parents, advocates, policymakers, and business leaders across Pennsylvania about how communities should evaluate schools.
The tool moves beyond a single, summative score to increase transparency around school and student group performance features a dashboard approach to present data and information that illustrates student and school success via three color-coded categories: academic performance, student progress, and college and career readiness, providing the public with a more comprehensive look at how Pennsylvania's schools are educating students.
Explore strategies for the Future Ready PA Indicators:
College & Career Readiness
English Language Arts
English Learners
High School Graduation Rate
Mathematics
Student Attendance
The PA Essential Practices
As a first step in developing improvement plans, PDE will work alongside LEAs, schools, and their communities to conduct a comprehensive needs assessment and root cause analysis to identify tailored, evidence-based practices that reflect local conditions and context using the Essential Practices for Schools. The Essential Practices for Schools focuses on continuous improvement of instruction, empowering leadership, providing student-centered supports, and fostering quality professional development for all staff.
- Focus on Continuous Improvement of Instruction
- Standards-aligned Curriculum, Assessments, and Instruction
- Collaborative instructional planning
- Variety of Assessments to Monitor Student Learning
- Identify and Address Individual Student Learning Needs
- Frequent, Timely Feedback and Support on Instructional Practices
- Empower Leadership
- Empowered Staff
- Culture of High Expectations for Success
- Collective Vision for Teaching and Learning
- Needs-based Organization and Allocation of Resources
- Continuous monitoring of school improvement plan implementation
- Provide Student-Centered Support Systems
- Positive School Environment where All Members Feel Welcomed, Supported, and Safe
- Schoolwide Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports
- Multi-Tiered System of Support for Academics and Behavior
- Family Engagement
- Partnerships with Local Businesses, Community Organizations, and Other Agencies
- Quality Professional Learning
- Professional learning responsive to teacher and student needs
- Multiple professional learning designs
- Evaluating the impact of professional learning
Other Topics Explored for PA
The ERC engages with school and LEA leaders, as well as state and national organizations to keep a pulse on the needs of schools and school communities. The ERC directs its research efforts toward those emerging and important topics each year, as described on our roadmap.
Why doesn't the ERC include a strategy I found on another clearinghouse?
The ERC is not a comprehensive list of strategies available to local education agencies and schools, and Pennsylvania education agencies may choose strategies not found on the ERC. The ERC has specific criteria, protocols and prioritization schemes that determine which strategies are listed on the ERC. Explore our research process here.
What if the ERC and another clearinghouse have conflicting evidence ratings?
The ERC follows specific evidence review processes and standardized criteria to assign suggested ESSA tiers of evidence. Some clearinghouses use their own evidence rating systems, or are displaying the results of evidence reviews conducted under a different version of the What Works Clearinghouse standards. All school leaders should analyze the ESSA tier published on any clearinghouse within the context of their own school setting and population. If you have a concern about the accuracy of an ERC rating, please contact us! If you need assistance evaluating the appropriate ESSA tier for your school and setting, explore our ESSA Tier resources here.