Meeting the Needs of Children and Educators

A Summary of Evaluation Results of the Quality and Impact of Comprehensive Assistance Center Products and Services

This summary presents highlighted results from an independent, external evaluation of the quality and impact of the Comprehensive Assistance Centers' products and services conducted in 2000 by Policy Studies Associates, Inc. Results are based on several nationally representative surveys of states, districts, and schools administered by PSA on behalf of the U.S. Department of Education in an effort to assess how well the Comprehensive Assistance Centers were fulfilling the mandate described for them under Title XIII of the Improving America's Schools Act (IASA). The three volumes of the full report can be found on the U.S. Department of Education's Planning and Evaluation Service site.

Under IASA the Comprehensive Assistance Centers were charged with designing and implementing a new form of comprehensive, cross-program technical assistance that would help states, districts, schools, and tribes enable all students, but particularly those who are poor, limited English proficient, migratory, and/or American Indian, to attain challenging new academic standards. This new approach to technical assistance greatly expanded the range and scope of responsibilities to be addressed by the Centers compared to previous categorical technical assistance programs. Originally proposed to be funded at $55 million, the Centers have operated at approximately one-half that amount. In spite of this challenge, however, the PSA evaluation clearly demonstrates that the Comprehensive Assistance Centers have been able to effectively provide products and services to schools, districts, and states that embody the comprehensive reform concepts and initiatives envisioned in the Improving America's Schools Act.


Have the Comprehensive Assistance Centers been successful in reaching the clients identified as their priorities in the Improving America's Schools Act?

Yes! The Comprehensive Centers have provided technical assistance to clients representing:

• High poverty schools and districts. The Centers have provided technical assistance to 34 of the 50 districts in the nation with the highest concentrations of children living in poverty. More than 70% of the Centers' clients work in schools or districts with poverty levels greater than 50%.
  
  
• Title I schoolwide programs. At least 73% of school-based clients are from schools with Title I schoolwide programs. Title I schoolwide programs are schools where at least 50% of the students are living in poverty.
  
  
• Large school districts. The Centers have provided technical assistance to over 50% of the largest school districts (greater than 25,000 students) in the nation.
  
  
• Schools and districts with high percentages of limited-English proficient students. Of the Centers' clients, over 50% are from schools or districts where more than 10% of the students are Limited English Proficient.
  
  
• State education agencies and other technical assistance providers. Almost 400 clients from every state education agency received on-site professional development or consultation from the Comprehensive Assistance Centers. In addition, over 400 clients from more than 300 intermediate education agencies and other educational organizations providing technical assistance to districts and schools were served by Comprehensive Assistance Centers in this manner.
  
  

Are clients satisfied with the quality of the Comprehensive Assistance Centers' technical assistance?

Yes! Comprehensive Assistance Center clients indicated satisfaction in several ways:

• At least 70% of the Comprehensive Assistance Centers' clients were very satisfied with the quality of products and services in each of the following six areas. At least an additional 25% said they were moderately satisfied with services and products in each category.
  
  - implementing schoolwide programs;
  - addressing the needs of special student populations, including LEP, Migrant, and American Indian;
  - improving curriculum and instruction in reading/language arts;
  - challenging standards and accountability;
  - student assessment; and
  - analyzing student achievement data and interpreting results.
  
  
• Across Center clients surveyed, 86% were very satisfied or moderately satisfied with the overall quality of Comprehensive Centers' products and services.
  
  
• Of all clients receiving services, 30% reported that the technical assistance served their purposes completely, and an additional 57% reported that it provided a good start.
  
  

Has the Comprehensive Assistance Centers' assistance had an impact on the work of clients?

Yes! In a variety of ways:

• Of the clients surveyed, 78% of clients reported that they gained new information about a program or instructional practice.
  
  
• Of the clients surveyed, 77% reported that they incorporated into their jobs something that they learned from the Comprehensive Assistance Centers.
  
  
• Over 75% of school-based clients reported that they incorporated something from the Comprehensive Center assistance they received into their job and that they shared Comprehensive Assistance Center ideas and information with colleagues.
  
  
• Nearly 50% of clients reported providing training or technical assistance to others based on Comprehensive Assistance Center services.
  
  
• Of the clients surveyed, 57% reported that the Comprehensive Centers' assistance increased teacher knowledge and skills.
  
  
• Of the clients surveyed, 46% reported that the service received from the Comprehensive Assistance Centers helped the organization take the next step in a reform effort.
  
  

Are Comprehensive Centers an important source of external technical assistance for states, districts, and schools — and why?

Yes!

• The Comprehensive Assistance Centers were the most frequently turned to source of external technical assistance on critical topics in educational reform. (See table below)
  
  
• More than 75% of Comprehensive Assistance Center clients reported the following reasons as at least moderately important in deciding to use Center services:
  
  - services or products were not available elsewhere;
  - they were high quality;
  - they met the needs of the organization; and
  - they were easily accessible.
  
  
• Compared to other, similar services and products, over 75 % of clients rated the Comprehensive Assistance Centers' services and products as excellent or good on 10 dimensions of quality and usefulness, including being responsive to local conditions, reflecting sound research or most current thinking in the field, providing knowledge and expertise not available within their organization, and being useful for guiding improvement efforts.
  
  

PERCENTAGE OF CLIENTS WHO TURN TO EXTERNAL SOURCES OF TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE ON CRITICAL SCHOOL REFORM TOPICS*

Critical School Reform Topics Comprehensive Centers Regional Labs Colleges/Universities Implementing Other ESEA Programs 79% 56% 34% Meeting Needs of Special Populations 71% 46% 54% Expand Parent/Family Involvement 70% 41% 32% Improving Curriculum and Instruction 68% 46% 60% Implementing Schoolwide Programs 67% 45% 30% Student Assessment 66% 46% 40% Improving Bilingual ESL Programs 66% 28% 41% Implementing Challenging Standards and Accountability 65% 45% 39% Implementing Model Programs or Comprehensive School Reform 65% 56% 43% Analyzing Student Achievement 64% 35% 35% Consolidating and Integrating Federal Programs 63% 28% 37% Creating Safe and Drug Free Learning Environments 55% 30% 27%

* Percentage of clients indicating that they turn to these technical assistance sources "Always" or "Sometimes."