Gauging Factors Associated with School Reform Task Completion: An Application of Text Analysis Methods in Policy Implementation

Abstract

Prior research has suggested the importance of policy implementation, and various studies have researched how policies are put into effect (Durlak & DuPre, 2008; Schofield, 2001). However, there is limited quantitative research on understanding the factors associated with policy implementation on a large scale due to the difficulties in finding available data or collecting a large amount of data about implementation. Using the State of Washington’s school improvement policy as an example, this thesis investigates what factors are associated with the completion of reform tasks across schools. This thesis, as situated in a larger project, uses information extracted from the large volume of Comprehensive School Improvement Planning and Implementation Reports (CSIPIRs) and publicly available state administrative data. Findings suggest that the content of the reform tasks and to whom the tasks were assigned are task- specific factors that are associated with completion of tasks. The results do not show a meaningful association between school contextual factors and the completion of tasks.