Transcript All Systems Go: The Ontario Case Perspective U.S

All Systems Go:
Getting Whole System Reform
CCSSO
April 30, 2011
Michael Fullan
Special Advisor on Education to
Dalton McGuinty, Premier of Ontario
www.michaelfullan.ca
Wrong vs Right Drivers

Accountability vs Capacity Building

Individual vs Group

Technology vs Pedagogy

Fragmented vs Systemic
Context — Ontario

12 million people

2 million students

4,000 elementary schools

900 elementary schools

72 local school districts
Ontario — Pre-2003

Stagnant student achievement in literacy
and numeracy

Stagnant high school graduation rate

Low morale of teachers and administrators
Ontario — 2010

Literacy and numeracy achievement
(including higher order skills) increased by 14%
since 2003 across the 4,000 schools

High school graduation rate increased from 68% to
81% across 900 schools

Attrition rate of new teachers in the first four years of
teaching has declined by two-thirds from 32% to 9%

Ownership, commitment and capacity to go deeper
is strong
Ontario Strategy

Built on English Literacy and Numeracy
Strategy 1997-2001 (with less emphasis on
targets and punitive accountability)

Appreciated the capacity building component
of the English LNS

Refined as implementation unfolded and in
relation to what was going on in other
countries
Ontario Strategy Storyline

Unwavering commitment from the top

Core focus

Guiding Coalition monitoring implementation

Change in cultures and role of the Ministry of Education/
new capacity to engage in implementation

Partnership with the sector

Focus on collective capacity building with a linkage to results

Transparency of results and practice

Reduce distractors including establishing long-term
(4-year) collective agreements
The Content of Reform Priorities
Moral purpose with respect to raising the bar and
closing the gap for the well being of children
Literacy
Numeracy
High
school graduation
Early
learning
(Note: The above are deeply defined to include higher
order skills and associated instructional innovation)
Implementation Strategies

High standards

Clear, accessible data

*Collective capacity building

Transparent accountability (re results of practice)
*The most powerful strategy and typically the
most underutilized
The Reinforcers

Resolute leadership

Respect for the sector

Communication

Reduce the distractors
Collective Capacity Building
Moral purpose and high expectations
relentlessly pursued through horizontal and
vertical capacity building re basic and higher
order skills, innovation and effective teaching
Collective Capacity Building

Mutual allegiance and commitment via
collaboration

Collaborative competition as results are
leveraged

Mobilizes people to work on improvement of
‘the system’
Intelligent Accountability

Relies on incentives more than on punishment

Invests in capacity building so that people are able
to meet the goals

Invests in collective (peer) responsibility — what is
called ‘internal accountability’

Intervenes initially in a non-judgmental manner

Embraces transparent data about practice and
results

Intervenes decisively along the way when required
International Confirmation
Growing interest on the part of world leaders in
policies/strategies for whole system reform:
PISA 2010
Building Blocks for Whole System Reform, BB4E,Ontario, 2010
Mckinsey Improved Systems, 2010
OECD, Teacher Summit, New York, March 2011
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Any use of this material without specific permission of McKinsey & Company is strictly
prohibited
McKinsey
A system can make significant
gains from wherever it starts –
and these gains can be achieved
in as short as six years
McKinsey
Each stage of the school system
improvement journey is
associated with a unique set of
interventions, from poor to fair to
good to great to excellent
A unique ‘intervention cluster’ exists
for each improvement journey
Journey
Poor to fair
Theme
Achieving
the basics
of literacy and
numeracy
Fair to good
Getting the
foundations
in place
SOURCE: McKinsey & Company
Good to great
Shaping the
professional
Great to
excellent
Improving
through peers
and innovation
The balance of capability-building and
accountability shifts as systems improve
their performance
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
50
55
67
78
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
Capability building vs. formal accountability
Share of professional development & training interventions
relative to accountability interventions
SOURCE: McKinsey & Company interventions database
Next Steps
Leadership at multiple levels is crucial
Start by knowing your current ‘stage of performance’
Focus on capacity building
Transparency of results and practice
Build respect and engagement with the sector
Focus on ‘all’—100% of the system