School Improvement Grants: Analyses of State Applications and Eligible and Awarded Schools. NCEE 2012-4060
Author: Hurlburt, Steven
Date: 2012-10-00
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: Educational Improvement,School Turnaround,Educational Change,Grants,Federal Aid,Educational Finance,Elementary Secondary Education,Federal Legislation,Educational Legislation,Educational Policy,Schools,Institutional Characteristics,Eligibility,Identification,Government Role,State Government,Program Implementation

The School Improvement Grants (SIG) program was first authorized in 2001 under Title I section 1003(g) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) and provides formula-based federal funds to states that then competitively award these funds to districts applying for SIG on behalf of their low-performing schools. These schools use the funds to implement reforms to turn themselves around. SIG funding was substantially increased and SIG requirements were substantially modified with the passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). These modifications were designed to better target SIG to the nation's lowest-achieving schools and to ensure that more aggressive improvement strategies are adopted for such schools than had been previously adopted. Thus far, since the passage of ARRA, two cohorts of schools have received SIG. Cohort I grantees include schools that received SIG during the fiscal year 2009 competition cycle to implement reforms beginning in the 2010-11 school year. Cohort II grantees include schools that received SIG during the fiscal year 2010 competition cycle to implement reforms beginning in the 2011-12 school year. Both cohorts were funded through ESEA. In addition, Cohort I funding was supplemented by ARRA. This report focuses on two key questions: (1) Based on states' Cohort II SIG applications to the U.S. Department of Education, what SIG-related policies and practices did states intend to implement, and how do they compare to the policies and practices in states' Cohort I SIG applications? (States were required to submit an application to obtain a formula-based share of federal SIG funds that they then awarded competitively to districts applying for SIG on behalf of their eligible schools.); and (2) What are the characteristics of the persistently lowest-achieving schools identified by states as eligible for SIG and of the schools awarded SIG funds in Cohort II, and how do they compare to schools in Cohort I? The remainder of the report is divided into four sections. Section 2 provides an overview of SIG. Section 3 addresses the first key question based on information contained in state SIG applications submitted to and approved by the U.S. Department of Education (ED). The analysis focuses on how states identified SIG-eligible schools, how states determined whether districts had the capacity to support SIG implementation in their schools, and how states reported monitoring and supporting SIG implementation. Section 4 addresses the second key question through a descriptive analysis of extant data on the characteristics of SIG-eligible schools identified by states, as well as the characteristics of SIG-awarded schools. Section 5 summarizes the report's key findings. Appended are: (1) Methodology for Analyses of State Applications for SIG; (2) Number and Percentage of SIG-Eligible Schools; and (3) Number of SIG-Awarded Schools. (Contains 26 exhibits and 21 footnotes.) [This paper was written with the assistance of Molly Abend, Brian Lundgren, Jennifer Scala, and Jayne Sowers.]