Leading to high performance

The onset of the standards-based movement in education in the early 1980's, bolstered by the passing of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLBA) of 2002, led many school districts to shift from a culture of regulatory, process-oriented compliance to one that is more results-oriented, primarily based on state-adopted summative assessment targets in core subject areas. In order to achieve desired results, more and more districts have adopted performance management systems that originated in the private sector, such as the Balanced Scorecard (BSC), as a framework for managing the organizational, curricular, instructional, and fiscal reforms that they believe have enhanced their schools' and departments' performance (Archer, 2007a; Kaplan, 2006). 1 This study was conducted in a medium-sized urban Southeastern district that has demonstrated accelerated student achievement on state assessments since adopting the BSC centrally in 2002 and at the school level in 2005. It compares findings in academically thriving and less consistently successful secondary schools with respect to (1) the BSC-influenced practice of principals, teachers, students, and central office personnel, (2) the extent of alignment between the principals' expressed beliefs about the impact of the use of the BSC on their leadership skills and the evidence gleaned from interviewing teacher and administrator/specialist focus groups, observing classroom instruction and reviewing relevant documentation; and (3) the role of the principal's ability to promote a positive rapport with teachers and/or students in demonstrating effective leadership. This research is intended to shed further light on the usefulness and limitations of performance management systems such as the BSC in serving as school improvement frameworks, contribute to the limited body of research on school districts' use of such approaches; and reveal implications for educator standards, preparation programs, selection criteria, and evaluations; the nature of optimal school district structures, systems and practices; and governmental accountability and support strategies. I reference the literature available on standards-based reform, performance management, the BSC process, and the correlates of effective school leadership to provide context for analyzing the qualitative (i.e. participant transcripts, field notes and documentation) and quantitative (student achievement) data I have collected. 1 The Balanced Scorecard was jointly developed in 1990 by Harvard University Business School professor Robert S. Kaplan and corporate consultant David Norton, in collaboration with 12 representatives of major corporations. Originally intended for the private sector, it is a system for aligning an organization's vision, mission, goals, objectives, strategic plan, and accountability processes to promote high performance.