Baseline Analyses of SIG Applications and SIG-Eligible and SIG-Awarded Schools. NCEE 2011-4019

The Study of School Turnaround is an examination of the implementation of School Improvement Grants (SIG) authorized under Title I section 1003(g) of the "Elementary and Secondary Education Act" and supplemented by the "American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009." "Baseline Analyses of SIG Applications and SIG-Eligible and SIG-Awarded Schools" uses publicly-available data from State Education Agency (SEA) websites, SEA SIG applications, and the National Center for Education Statistics' Common Core of Data to examine the following: (1) the SIG related policies and practices that states intend to implement, and (2) the characteristics of SIG eligible and SIG awarded schools. This first report provides context on SIG. This baseline report provides an overview of the state policies and practices for SIG implementation as well as a description of the first round of SIG awards made to Local Education Agencies (LEAs) and SIG-eligible schools. The report is divided into four sections, organized to mirror the flow of SIG funds as they are disbursed from the federal government to states and then from states to districts and schools. Accordingly, Section 2 provides an overview of the key elements of the SIG program. Section 3 provides an analysis of state SIG applications approved by the U.S. Department of Education (ED), focusing on the definition and identification of SIG-eligible schools, how states determine district capacity and how states are monitoring and supporting SIG implementation. Section 4 reviews descriptive data on the characteristics of SIG-eligible schools identified by states, as well as the characteristics of SIG-awarded schools. Section 5 concludes by synthesizing the key findings from the report. A key finding is that states vary in their planned approach to implementing SIG. Another key finding is that states vary in how they distributed SIG funds to schools. Appended are: Appended are: (A-1) Baseline Data Report--State School Improvement Grant (SIG) Data Capture Elements (from Data Capture Workbook); (B-1) Characteristics of SIG-Eligible Schools, by State: Number of SIG-Eligible Schools Overall and by Poverty Level, Minority Level, and Urbanicity; (B-2) Characteristics of SIG-Eligible Schools, by State: Number of SIG-Eligible Schools by School Level and School Size; (B-3) Characteristics of SIG-Eligible Schools, by State: Number of SIG-Eligible Schools by School Type and Charter School; (C-1) Characteristics of SIG-Awarded Schools, by Stat