The Broad Foundation has endorsed Austin Independent School District as one of the highest-performing school districts in the country based on a rigorous review that is used to assess finalists for its annual $1 million Broad Prize for Urban Education. The report noted that the district excels in several key areas, particularly in strategic planning and financial resource systems.
"We asked for the toughest assessment in the country to help the district make the right next steps and focus our limited resources to ensure that we are on the right path to achieve excellence for our kids and families," Superintendent Meria Carstarphen said. "We welcomed the opportunity to continue to review the district—candidly and openly—against world-class standards."
The Ely and Edythe Broad Foundation began offering its annual Broad Prize in 2002 as a way to honor urban school districts that demonstrated the highest performance while minimizing performance gaps among low-income and minority students. In 2011, the organization began offering the opportunity to a select group of districts that had not been Broad Prize finalist to be subjected to the same diagnostic site test that Broad Prize finalist experience.
In December 2011, AISD encouraged the foundation to conduct a review of its practices and procedures based on those lofty standards. Broad collected data from approximately 75 documents and 270 individuals ranging from teachers, parents, students and principals to other "stakeholders."
The report indicated that on 28 of the 33 indicators used by the audit—which focused on "student achievement outcomes," including performance on state assessments, closing achievement gaps, increasing graduation rates and among others—AISD received ratings of at least "meets expectations," and six were rated "exemplary." AISD is one of only two "promising practice" districts in the United States selected by the foundation for the diagnostic audit.
"Austin is setting an example for the nation. AISD is a terrific school district, striving to become world-class," said Shelley Billig, vice president of RMC Research, an education consulting company that collaborated with the Broad Foundation in conducting the review. "The district opened itself to an outside, critical eye that affirmed both the district's clear and impressive strengths and a few areas that need more attention."
There were five areas of concern expressed by the audit, including:
- Implementing evidence-based instruction as standard practice
- Providing effective instructional supports for all students
- Supporting and evaluating the effectiveness of professional development
- Board of trustees working collaboratively, efficiently, and effectively to fulfill responsibilities for district governance oversight
- Implementing a district system and culture that promote positive relationships between and among district and school staff
The report also brought attention to the controversial December debates about the partnership with IDEA Public Schools and the decision to establish an in-district charter program. AISD has drafted an eight-page response to the Broad Diagnostic Audit addressing the areas of concern.
