Teachers would share a pool of students and meet regularly to talk about them. Teacher training would no longer be contained to one day, but sprinkled throughout the year and intensified. Literacy would be a primary focus, with reading coaches placed in schools. The concept was phased in over four years, with 27 schools beginning the process in 1996. The undertaking is expensive.
Data have yet to show a turnaround.
Across the district, scores on the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment Test have improved slightly, but remain some of the lowest in the state. In English the gap was about 20 to 25 percentage points. Moreover, latecomers to the reform are showing signs of resistance, particularly high schools. The high schools are the hardest to change. They are larger, more departmentalized.