Advocates for “Portfolio School Districts” Oversell their Product
‘Portfolio district’ reform is among the most dramatic and fast-growing changes to public schooling over the past decade. But its growth has not been matched by supporting research evidence. In fact, little research evidence is available at all to help policymakers consider the value of this highly promoted reform.
Into this vacuum have stepped advocates offering sales-pitches, most notably in the form of PowerPoint presentations. A new review of two such presentations examines their content and limitations, cautioning policymakers and others that the claims are weaker than they may initially seem.
Under the portfolio district model, a public school district contracts with outside providers to run the district’s schools. The district administration is responsible for holding the outside providers accountable for their results—generally ¬the academic achievement of the schools’ students, and typically measured by standardized tests.
Two recent presentations claiming success for the portfolio district approach focus on Memphis, Tennessee, and New Orleans, Louisiana. These presentations have now been reviewed for the Think Twice think tank review project by Elizabeth DeBray, an associate professor in the College of Education at the University of Georgia, and Huriya Jabbar, a doctoral candidate at the University of California, Berkeley.
The review is published by the National Education Policy Center, housed at the University of Colorado Boulder School of Education.
DeBray has conducted research on the politics of federal education policy, policy implementation, and the role of intermediary organizations in
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Advocates for “Portfolio School Districts” Oversell their Product
‘Portfolio district’ reform is among the most dramatic and fast-growing changes to public schooling over the past decade. But its growth has not been matched by supporting research evidence. In fact, little research evidence is available at all to help policymakers consider the value of this highly promoted reform. Into this vacuum have stepped advocates offering sales-pitches, most notably in th
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