Reviews Examine the Effectiveness of Interventions Designed to Improve School Environments

The What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) is highlighting three new study reviews of interventions designed to improve school environments, adding to the evidence from more than 10,000 citations about what works in education. The studies examined the effects of three interventions: Restorative disciplinary practices to address disruptive behavior Partnerships between schools and community arts organizations to increase student access to the arts A holistic community schools initiative that seeks to mitigate the consequences of poverty Not all education research is equal—the WWC identifies well-designed studies, trustworthy research, and meaningful findings to inform educator decisions and improve student outcomes. Study One: SaferSanerSchools™ Whole-School Change Restorative Disciplinary Practices Concerns about inequitable student discipline practices, which negatively and disproportionately impact some student groups, have motivated educators to explore alternatives. Restorative disciplinary practices aim to build positive relationships among students and between students and school staff. These practices aim to rehabilitate disruptive or problem student behavior, prevent future disruptive behavior, and reduce out-of-school suspensions. This study examined the effects of SaferSanerSchools™ Whole-School Change restorative disciplinary practices as implemented in Pittsburgh Public Schools. This program, referred to in Pittsburgh as Pursuing Equitable and Restorative Communities, emphasizes constructive responses to disruptive behavior, including communication, responsibility, and restoration. For example, a student who has engaged in unacceptable behavior may participate in a responsive circle, in which other students express their feelings about the student’s actions and a staff member helps with conflict management. Often, the student may issue a formal apology or do service work in the school where the incident occurred. The program was implemented in partnership with the International Institute for Restorative Practices, which developed the intervention. Featured study: Augustine and colleagues (2018) randomly assigned 44 public schools in Pittsburgh serving elementary, middle, and high school students to either receive the restorative practices intervention (22 schools) or to be in the comparison group that continued using the usual disciplinary practices (22 schools). Fifty percent of students in these schools identified as Black, 37% as White, and 13% as another race not specified in the study. Study findings: Students in schools that offered the restorative practices intervention had fewer days lost due to out-of-school suspensions and fewer out-of-school suspensions than did students in the comparison schools. The intervention had no discernible effect on middle school attendance or school climate. WWC study rating: This study meets WWC standards with reservations. Access the full study review here, in the WWC’s review of individual studies database. Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) tier: The study qualifies as ESSA Tier 2 for moderate evidence of effectiveness because the study has favorable, statistically significant findings, meets WWC standards with reservations, and satisfies other criteria. See the video titled Using the WWC to Identify ESSA Evidence Ratings to learn more about these criteria. Study Two: Houston’s Arts Access Initiative In an era of standards-based reform and high-stakes testing, educators and policymakers may overlook opportunities for arts education. This study examined a school–community arts partnership program called Houston’s Arts Access Initiative (AAI) that seeks to increase student access to the arts. Principals at participating schools engage in strategic arts planning with AAI, participate in arts-integration professional development along with teachers in the schools, and appoint a campus arts liaison who coordinates with community organizations to bring arts activities into each school. Featured study: Bowen & Kisida (2019) randomly assigned 42 schools serving elementary and middle school students in the Houston Intermediate School District to either receive the arts intervention (21 schools) or to be in the comparison group of schools that did not receive the arts intervention (21 schools). Seventy percent of the students in these schools identified as Hispanic/Latino, 24% as Black, non-Hispanic;  and 3% as White, non-Hispanic. Study findings: Students in schools that were offered the community arts partnerships had higher scores on the State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness (STAAR) writing test, fewer disciplinary incidents, and higher student engagement in school as measured by a student survey. In contrast, the intervention had no discernible effects on student absences; STAAR test scores on the reading, science, or math tests; or student emotional status as measured by a student survey. WWC study rating: This study meets WWC standards without reservations. Access the full study review here, in the WWC’s review of individual studies database. ESSA tier: The study qualifies as ESSA Tier 1 for strong evidence of effectiveness because the study has favorable, statistically significant findings, meets WWC standards without reservations, and satisfies other criteria. See the video titled Using the WWC to Identify ESSA Evidence Ratings to learn more about these criteria. Study Three: New York City Community Schools Initiative In 2014, the New York City Department of Education launched its Community Schools Initiative to improve student outcomes by mitigating the social consequences of poverty. Community Schools provide outreach to families and support to communities, including offering adult education classes and home visits; increasing the amount of student learning time; and providing students with access to mental health services, reproductive health services, vision screenings, mentoring, and homelessness and immigration services. Featured study: Johnston and colleagues (2020) examined outcomes in 171 high schools, 41 of which were Community Schools. Eighty-eight percent of students in these schools experienced poverty. Fifty-three percent of the students in these schools identified as Hispanic/Latino, 40% as Black, non-Hispanic; and 6% as another race. Study findings: The authors reported that students who attended Community Schools were more likely to complete high school and less likely to be chronically absent in high school than students in the comparison group schools, but the WWC did not confirm these findings to be statistically significant. The study also reported findings for other outcome measures and grade levels, including mathematics and literacy achievement on standardized tests, high school credits accumulated, disciplinary incidents, and measures of school climate, but these findings did not meet WWC standards or were not eligible for review. WWC study rating: This study meets WWC standards with reservations. Access the full study review here, in the WWC’s review of individual studies database. ESSA tier: The study does not qualify as either ESSA Tier 1 or Tier 2 for strong or moderate evidence of effectiveness.