New High School Self-Assessment Tool Released

The New England Secondary School Consortium is happy to announce the publication of Global Best Practices: An Internationally Benchmarked Self-Assessment Tool for Secondary Learning, a practical, action-oriented self-assessment tool for secondary schools. The tool grew out of a recognition that national borders no longer define the knowledge, skills, and habits of mind that students need for success, and that New England’s high schools may need assistance reviewing learning standards, organizational structures, leadership models, teaching strategies, professional development, and student outcomes in relation to research on high-performing educational systems and research-based practices. The tool offers schools a practical, step-by-step process they can follow to assess their relative performance in critical areas and shape their school-improvement plans. Our hope is that Global Best Practices will become a first step toward defining, in detail, the characteristics of effective 21st century education and applying them to the creation of new models of teaching, learning, and leading in today’s high schools. During the development of Global Best Practices, an abundance of research studies on effective secondary schooling, both in the United States and abroad, were consulted. To help educators find these resources, the Consortium has also published a companion research summary that we hope will serve to stimulate self-reflection and professional inquiry in secondary schools across New England.

Click HERE to download copies of the tool or research summary.