Using the InstructionalAudit for Policy andProgram Improvement

An audit by an outside expert yields adetailed report of recommended changesand of what a school district is doing right.

o you consider instruction to beyour top priority-more impor-tant than the business and finan-

cial operations of your school district?Do you spend thousands of dollars onexperts to evaluate your financial andaccounting transactions to prove thatyour fiscal practices are productiveand credible? Would you like to haveschool employees and your communi-ty feel that your instructional practicesare equally productive and credible?Consider conducting an instructionalaudit.

The instructional audit is an investi-gation by an external instructional spe-cialist who samples all available datarelated to instruction, identifies areaswhere data are lacking, and directlyobserves instructional and administra-tive processes related to instruction.The investigation ends with a detailedwritten report of the condition of thedistrict's instructional programs andpractices and with recommendationsfor improvement. It also includes aconfidential management letter to thesuperintendent, which provides spe-cific suggestions and processes to car-ry out improvements in crucial areas

Financial audits are performed on thebasis of standards widely accepted bynational auditing associations. Sinceno universally accepted standards vetexist for instruction, the standards re-lied upon must be derived from cur-rent research, theory, and exemplarypractices on learning, teaching, in-structional leadership, and effectiveschools.

Gail M Stephens is Superintendent, Wait-more Lake Public Schools, Whitmore Lake.Michigan Jerrn J Herman is Superinten-dent, Greece Central .School District, Roch-ester, New York

Erli (ATIONAI .LEAI )ERRlIP

Elements of an InstructionalAuditAll instrtlcti(nal pro)granms are com-p)xsed of elements that are humai-.prxess-. or sntructre related The mostprodutIive instructional progrzns use

process elements to) maintain an ap-propriate balance hetrveen tile humanand structural elements The instructinmal audito)r identiies and examinesthe internal and externial items thatmake up the humaln. process. andstructulral clementis oft the district t instlructll(nll l(gl'r p grm Fligure I lists theitems that ho)uld generally he exam-ined in ;.i1l istructimomnal audit.

Board of Education Policies

Curriculum developmentResearch and developmentSelection of instructional materialsTeaching controversial issuesProcedures for handling complaints and

appealsTesting programEffective instructional practicesSelecting and using instructional

consultantsStaff developmentQuality of work lifeTeacher supervision and evaluationHomeworkGrading and reporting to parents

lob DescriptionsTeachersPrincipalsInstructional administratorsCurriculum specialistsSuperintendentInstructional aides

Budget Allocations

To instructional accountsTo instructional research and

developmentTo curriculum developmentTo staff development

Negotiated Contracts

Academic freedomCurriculum developmentStaff evaluationStaff developmentClass size

Communication

Employee newslettersCommunity newslettersMedia coverageNews releasesStudent surveysCommunity surveysEmployee surveysSupport groupsAdvisory councils

Intruction

Test scoresCost per unit of instructionAllocated timeInstructional timeAcademic learning timeCurriculum guidesLesson plansPercentage of students receiving failing

gradesSchool climateCitizen volunteersCurriculum councilMission and goalsEffective instructional practicesInstructional supervisionClassroom management/discipline

Elections

Operational millages-passed or failed,percentage of favorable votes

Bond issues--passed or failed, percent-age of favorable votes

Students

Retention rateAbsenteeismSuspension rateExpulsion rateDrop out ratePercent attending private schoolsAge-grade distribution

Employees

AbsenteeismGrievancesAssignments outside of certificationAssignments outside of experienceQuality of work life

Administration

Delegation of authorityFit of authority to responsibility

Mva) 19c98

Figure 1. Audit Guide.

II"The instructionalaudit provided theimpetus for anunequaledemphasis oninstruction in theWhitmore LakeSchool District."

Figure 2 shows the human, process.and structural relationships of theitems.

Specifics to he included in the auditand decisions as to who receives thevarious items of information need tohe negotiated between the superinten-dent and the auditor In addition. be-cause the instructional audit is likelv tolead to follow-up improvement activi-ties, it should be decided at the time ofcontracting for the audit whether ornot the outside instructional auditorwill continue in such support roles as:( I ) polics wv riting advisor to the superintendent or the district s polic writ-er: (2) insert ice trainer of teachersand administrators in deficient areas:and (3) program developer of curricu-lar or management areas found to helacking

Obviouslv each superintendent andeach auditor ma wish to add t add , modifsl, or subtract friom the list provided inthe audit guide in Figure i The localdistrict may chnoose a ciomprehensiveaudit, or it ma- chooise from als ()f thecomponents listed in the audit guideThe local district al,() mas choose to:(I ) merels have a res ieu ith recommendations listed: (2 ) add the development of a plan to overcome identi-fied deficiencies; and (3) add post-audit consultant and training services

Conducting an InstructionalAuditThe following is a step-by-step ( hedule of how the Whitm()re lake Schoollistrict carried )Uit its instructionalaudit

1 The superintenennt, (ail Ste-phens. contractecl with an independent co nsultant. rJerr Herman. to c nduct the majorirt (fi the instruciconilaucdit Because of budget and timeconsideratiois., items from the auditguide were prioritized

2. The superintendent and the auditor reviewecl the items in the audiltguide to determine: for xhich itemsexisting data wxere availabhle in wvhichareas data could he easils retrieved ifsimple collection devices were clexel

Figure 2. Instructional Elements.

Human Elements ! Process Elements Structure Elemients

Examples: Examples: Examples:

Employee surveys Academic learning time Board of education policiesI Student complaints School climate projects Curriculum guides

Grievances Teaching to objectives Budget allocations

_ Examples : Examples Examples:

Community surveys Media coverage Private school enrollmentSchool elections Citizen volunteers Tax rates

i,~~~ I . ....

-2E t(A LA 'R I

"The audit providesa snapshot in timeof the conditionof instructionalprograms andpractices."

oped: which items required actual ob-servation by the auditor; and whichitems lacked sufficient data for a validanalysis.

Obviously. some items had to beexamined Mwhile school was in session;for example. the process elementdealing with the use of school timeSome items could be examined fromexisting data, for example, allocatedtime data were available on the Stateof Michigan's annual report form Ex-amining the use of instructional timerequired the development of a stan-dard reporting format. but once theform was developed and completedthe data could be analszed at any timeAnalysis of academic learning time.however. required that engagementrate observations he conducted bv theinstructional auditor while studentswere in class.

3. Once the audit content and datacollection schedule had been devel-oped, the superintendent preparedthe instructional staff for the auditTeachers were informed that the audi-tor would he conducting engagementrate observations in their classroox)msand were assured that the data collect-ed would he used to establish a dis-trictwide baseline measure and w-ouldnot be used for indi idual evaluationpurposes Individual teachers x-ho requested their .own engagement ratedata could arrange to obtain it and tohave a brief consultation with the audi-tor Administrators wvere informed ofwhat data wvould he retrieved fromtheir fles and w hat the audit timelinewould be Explaining the audit contentand process to the staff and providingopportunities for the staff to meet in-formally with the auditor in the earlystages of the audit prevented some ofthe discomfirt that is to he expectedwhenever the most hunlan elementsof a school district are scrutinized

-4 The audit x-as conducted h\ re-viewing infot-mation on tile and tbdirect observation Where the databa>e xxas large. the auditor dre-s sam-ples for analysis

Items that the auditor investigatedtell into the following nine categories:

B(ird- oqf Education The auditoranalyzed existing policies that relatedto instruction and identified areas for

'hich policies should be developed.Although the auditor made sugges-tions. both he and the superintendent

felt that the local authorities shouldactually write the policies.

Job Desaiotln. The auditor re-viewed the instruction-related elementsof administrative job descriptions. sug-gested additions, and recommendedwriting additional job descriptions.

Budget ipenoditures The history ofthe districts instructional expenidi-tures was reviewed and comparedwith other Michigan school districts.

Master Contracts The auditor ana-l-zed the contracts with unionized em-ployees to determine where and howthey affected the instructional pro-gram

Internal and Evternal Communica-tionr. The auditor reviewed the meth-xlis the district used to communicate

with students. staff. and the public. andmade suggestions tor improvement

Instnuctional Monitoring and De-iilern' Sstenmu This major section ofthe audit included rexiew- of the testdata, student and employee atten-dance data. use of instructional time.curriculum development. use of effec-tive teaching behav-iors. and schoolclimate data.

Elections The auditor anal zed thehistor- of voter support for school levvissues

Admin,, tratit .Aluthorn' Policies.contracts. and other structures thatestablish arnd control administratorsauthority related to instructional mat-ters were reviewed.

Staff Detlopment The auditor re-view ed the content. participation. andevaluations of the instruction-relatedstaff dev'elopment program and madesuggestions. bhased on classroom obh-sen-ation. tor additional training pro-grams

For each of these areas. the auditor'sreport outlined the existing status ofthe items under revtiew and presentedsuggestions for such things as obtain-ing data. improving programs. and de-veloping policies and guidelines Forexample. the auditor

* Recommlended negotiating stron-ger qualification requirements for thereduction in force sectilon of the teach-er master contract and suggesteditems related to teacher evaluation thatshould be incorxporated in the proce-dure tor reduction in force

M\A5 198

· Suggested a detailed analysis forthe reading program at specifiedgrade levels.

* Recommended specific inquiriesfor determining causes of student ab-senteeism

* Suggested specific methods of in-creasing academic learning time with-out increasing the school day or year

* Provided recommendations forimproving curriculum and the curriculum development process

Effective Instructional Practices PolicyWhitmore Lake Public Schools

Whitmore Lake, MichiganInstruction

Effective Instructional Practices

POLICY: Education theory and research have identified certain teach-ing behaviors and classroom management techniques whichare consistently related to increasing student achievement.In order to provide Whitmore Lake students with the highestquality instruction, it shall be the responsibility of the admin-istration to identify such practices and cause them to beimplemented in the district's classrooms.

The staff development program, the teacher supervisionand evaluation process, and the testing/monitoring systemshall all support the implementation of the most currenteffective instructional practices.

POLICYADOPTED: 10/10/83

RULES AND REGULATIONS:1. All teachers shall be provided the opportunity to partici-

pate in the Effective Instructional Practices inservice pro-gram.

2. All teachers shall be expected to incorporate the follow-ing instructional skills in their daily teaching:a. Selecting instructional objectives at the correct level of

difficulty.b. Teaching to the objective using relevant teacher be-

haviors and eliciting relevant student behaviors.c. Monitoring students' learning and adjusting instruc-

tion appropriately.d. Effectively using the principles of learning that affect

motivation, rate and degree of learning, retention, and'increasing productive behavior.

3. Teachers shall be encouraged to assist each other toimprove their instructional skills through peer observa-tion and conferencing.

4. Principals shall make instructional supervision a top prior-ity and shall devote the necessary time and attention to(1) adequately develop instructional supervision skills,(2) observe in classrooms, and (3) meet and confer withteachers to assist them to improve instructional skills.

RULES AND REGULATIONSACKNOWLEDGED: 10/10/83

* Constructed a sample instruction-al task matrix to delineate the respon-sibility and authority of the peoplewho share in instructional decisionmaking

* Proposed 13 new and revisedBoard of Education policies to estab-lish an operational framework for thedistricts instructional program, whichcovered: mission and goals, schoolclimate. mastery learning. time forlearning. testing/monitoring programs,effective instructional practices, en-richinent and accelerated learningprograms. homework, curriculum de-velopment. teacher supervision andevaluation, attendance, grading and reporting to parents. and graduation requirements

What the Instructional AuditAccomplishedThe instructional audit provided theimpetus for an unequaled emphasison instruction In 'Xhitmore Lake Im-mediately after accepting the audit. theBoard of Education disseminated the13 proposecl p olicies and arranged fortheir review h- citizens and staff Withthe exception of the graduation requirements polico. which was tabledfor further stud!-, the policies werequickly adopted The follow'ing implementatio)n stratcgies and activitiesdemonstrate the magnitude of the effort:

Board of l'ducationl Retreat. TheBo(ard of Education participated in aweekend retreat with an external consultant for the purpo)se of selectingdistrict goals for a three-y!ear periodTwo of the goals selected were to<prepare a three-!ear plan for curriculum development to) implement mastern learning and to estahlish a formatfor reviexs-ing and revising graduationrequirements

AdnniutLsratire I'e7fornzalnce Ohecttvie' Principals attempted the following performance obhiecties ftor theyear:

* Design and implement a buildinglexel school learning climate enhancement program

* Improve stulent attendcane-* Develop and utilize clinical super

vision skills to, effectively assist teachers to( improve their instructional prac-tices

Cltrricultm e 1)erelopment Teacherlanguage a;rt and math committees

Ei, I \[lIll\lN I .\II H',lI ll

prepared and conducted a program torevise student learning objectives for amastery learning program The formatdeveloped bh these two initial com-minees will soon he followed in othersubject areas

Staffl)evelopmentt The district pro-vided research-based effective instruc-tional practices training for all K-12teachers and clinical supervision train-ing for all interested teachers

Grading and Reporting to Parents.A teacher committee was establishedto develop a reporting system for themastery learning program

Homewuork T'he Community Schtx)lAdvisory C ouncils developed district-wside rules and regulations for home-work tor all students

Advantages and Disadvantagesof an Instructional AuditBased on our experience at W\\hitmorelake, -we concl,;c that an instructionalaudit has the fll( ving advantages anddisadvantages.

An audit can be beneficial in that it:1. Is conducted bv an external ex-

pert who has no vested interest in thepast or current instructional programof the school district

2. Provides a snapshot in time of thecondition of instructional programsand practices

3 Is based on standards derivedfrom current research. theorn-. and ex-emplar! practices on learning. teach-ing, and effective schools.

-4. Reports what is right as well aswhat is in need of improvement.

5 Provides a sound basis for deter-mining priorities among needed pro-gram improvements and allocating re-quired resources

Some disadvantages of inviting suchclose examination are:

I The auditor must be knowledge-able in all elements of instruction.possess adequate research skills. andbe able to concisely articulate findingsfrom a complex operational system

2 The audit may disturb the status

quo, and change is difficult for somepeople to accept.

3. The audit mav disclose deficien-cies that some people would rathernot address

4 The publicirt surrounding theaudit may cause political discomfort tothe Board of Education, administra-tion, unions. or employees.

A Wealth of InformationThe Board of Education. administra-tion, staff, and citizens of the WhitmoreLake School District determined todevelop a tlc>ponsive. continually irrproving educational system. The in-structional audit provided a wealth ofinformation to assist the district inestablishing responsible goals. devel-oping effective programs. and moni-toring results Instruction is clearlhplaced as the top priority, and itssoundness. credibility. productivity.and effectiveness will be continuallyassessed. The result: excellence inplanning and monitoring and predict-abilitn in achievements Z

MA, 1985

Copyright © 1985 by the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. All rights reserved.