Success in Sight: A Comprehensive Approach to School Improvement

This document was developed by Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning (McREL) to improve schools is to balance a prescriptive content approach and a context-driven process approach. "Success in Sight" is based on the "science" of improvement--it provides clear, specific, research-based guidance for what to do in schools. But it also helps schools learn the "art" of continuous improvement by helping them understand the many nuances and complexities of school change. In many ways, this balance between science and art offers a scaffolded approach to school improvement. Just as scaffolding is erected around a building when it is being constructed or repaired and is gradually removed as the structure is built, McREL initially provides very specific, prescriptive guidance based on the science of effective schools--as captured in a series of research studies and products described later in this document. Over time, McREL helps schools become increasingly responsible for identifying their own student needs and research-based solutions for meeting those needs. To explain how "Success in Sight" works, this document describes: (1) The science of school improvement, that is, the research-based guidance McREL provides schools through "Success in Sight"; (2) The "Success in Sight" school improvement process; and (3) The art of school improvement, offered as six key principles for improvement that underlie "Success in Sight." (Contains 6 figures.)