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Research Accountability Formative Evaluation of the Inquiry Team Process in NYC Schools 
Sponsoring Agency: New York City Department of Education with support from The Broad Foundation and the Robertson Foundation.
Principal Investigators: Marian A. Robinson and Tom Corcoran, Teachers College
At the invitation of the NYC Department of Education, CPRE is conducting a formative evaluation of a promising data-informed improvement process for schools known as the Inquiry Team process. This new process is part of the Department’s Children First reforms, which is guided by principles of leadership, empowerment, and accountability. To date, CPRE has examined the early piloting of the Inquiry Team process in 300 Empowerment Schools in 2006-07 and its roll out to all 1,450 city schools during the 2007-08 school year.
Under this initiative, schools establish small Inquiry Teams of teachers and administrators charged with examining the performance problems of small populations of students that they select. Their goal is to test instructional “change strategies” that will help close the achievement gap for these low-performing students. The Inquiry Teams are expected to make use of performance data and other information to diagnose and monitor the learning of these students and can make recommendations for changes in any aspect of their schooling. Teams are expected to become experts in the diagnostic use of the district’s accountability tools and other data as well as the Inquiry Team process itself. One major goal is for teams to share the knowledge gained from testing their instructional changes with the broader school community throughout the year to simulate the spread of effective practices and overall improvements in the conditions of teaching and learning.
Since 2006, CPRE has been documenting the implementation of this promising initiative and providing quick formative feedback to the Department to help strengthen the Inquiry Team process and the quality of supports available to schools. Broadly, the study focuses on three key aspects of the Inquiry Team process:
(1) How have schools, specifically team members and principals, implemented the Inquiry Team process?
(2) How have Inquiry Teams approached stimulating improvements in the conditions of teaching and learning in their schools?
(3) How have new external school support organizations and Department personnel approached their support of the school-based Inquiry Teams?
Data supporting the study come from interviews with principals and Inquiry Team members and team observations in New York City schools across the five boroughs as well as interviews with affiliated School Support Organization (SSO) Network Leadership and Department Senior Achievement Facilitators charged with providing support to the Inquiry Teams. Surveys and an assessment of student achievement are planned in later years of the study.
To learn more about the Department’s Inquiry Team process visit http://childrenfirstintensive.com/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=1
Products:
Robinson, M. A., Kannapel, P., Gujarati, J., Williams, H., & Oettinger, A.. (2008, September). A Formative Study of the Implementation of the Inquiry Team Process in New York City Public Schools: 2007-08 Findings. New York: Teachers College, Consortium for Policy Research in Education.
