Improvement Science and the Every Student Succeeds Act: An Analysis of the Consolidated State Plans

The purpose of this study was to examine the presence of continuous improvement and improvement science in the Consolidated State Plans required by ESSA. Through an exploratory qualitative content analysis, we examined 52 state plans to determine the extent education policies encourage professional educators to use a continuous improvement and improvement science approach to meet educational goals. Our analysis yielded four themes: (a) state plans included continuous improvement, (b) improvement was framed as an outcome to be achieved or a process, (c) plans prioritized the what not the how, and (d) measurement was used for accountability more than improving processes.