State Takeovers of Individual Schools. School Restructuring Options under No Child Left Behind: "What Works When?"

This paper is focused on the last of the fourth options in the "What Works When" series, a series designed to help district leaders understand what is known about when and under what circumstances each of the four options works to improve student learning. The goal of this series is to help district leaders determine which change is the right change for each school. The focus of this paper is on turning the operation of the school over to the state, which is referred to as "takeovers." This paper examines what is known about the use of state takeovers as a way to improve failing schools and issues that state policymakers should address when considering state takeovers as a policy option. The contents are organized into the following sections: (1) Methodology; (2) What Are State Takeovers under NCLB?; (3) What Experience Have States Had with Takeovers and Related Initiatives?; (4) What Do We Know from These Experiences? Key Success Factors and Key Challenges; (5) What Further Research Is Needed to Understand State Takeovers?; and (6) Conclusion. [This report was published by Learning Point Associates.]