| This study used qualitative methods to understand the extent to which one district allocated human resources toward research-based strategies for school improvement. The study focused on one large urban school district in Southern California. The study district provided actual human resource allocation data for each of its secondary schools for an examination as to the manner in which the district has handled a limited budget. The practices of the study district were viewed through the lens of the Evidence-Based Model (Odden, 2003) and Odden's (2009) Ten Strategies for Doubling Student Performance. The human resource allocation outlined in the Evidence-Based Model was compared to the actual allocation of human resources at the secondary level in the study district. A gap analysis was conducted to compare three points: the current allocation of human resources in the study district, the allocation of human resources according to the specifications of the Evidence-Based Model, and a proposed, hypothetical allocation of human resources for the study district.;Findings from the study demonstrated alignment between the practices of the study district and Odden's (2009) ten research-based strategies for improving student achievement. Regarding personnel, the study district did not have the level of human resources recommended by the Evidence-Based Model. The study district was funded at a level significantly below what is recommended by the Evidence-Based Model. Therefore, the human resource allocation of the study district was not aligned to the Evidence-Based Model. Even so, recommendations were made to increase instructional coach and academic extra help positions as well as to reduce the ratio of specialist to core teachers. The study outlines how the recommendations could be followed, moving the study district towards the Evidence-Based Model, without incurring additional costs. |
