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Theory of Action

The idea that schools can improve on their own gives way to a focus on effective district leadership.

Not long ago, a popular theory about school improvement went something like this: Put in strong principals and dedicated staff members, and then get out of their way. When it came to improving teaching and learning, the thinking went, the central office had little to add.

The upshot was an era of policies that limited the role of district-level leadership in matters of instruction. Site-based management and “whole-school reform” models flourished in the 1990s on the premise that individual schools alone could raise achievement.

And the idea worked. Or rather, it worked for some schools, while others languished. As a result, a new consensus is emerging in the field that strong district leadership is needed to bring about large-scale improvement—now a mandate under the federal No...