Assessment Tools

The leader of the DLT initiates the SIPR in their district and creating a team. After closing the assessment, the leader of the DLT may share the results with team members and other appropriate persons.

The Why of the SIPR

Districts that support high-level learning among all students do so, in part, by establishing and sustaining instructional and organizational leadership practices that mobilize educators and other stakeholders on behalf of equity and instructional improvement. They find productive ways to deploy strategies that simultaneously promote both excellence and equity.

But what strategies should they use? How can educational leaders determine the extent to which the district or community school is already using those strategies? Or, following efforts to increase or develop those strategies, how can districts know whether or not improvements have actually been made?

One way to answer these questions would be to use the Systemic Improvement Practices Review (SIPR) measurement tool. The SIPR is a quick online assessment for measuring a district’s progress toward providing high-quality instructional and organizational leadership. Because it’s short and easy to complete, districts and/or community schools can use it yearly to gauge their progress.

The SIPR measures four sets of strategies.

1. Promoting System-wide Learning
2. Prioritizing the Improvement of Teaching and Learning
3. Building Capacity through Support and Accountability
4. Maintaining a Collaborative Culture