Enabling Conditions and Capacities for Continuous Improvement: A Framework for Measuring and Supporting Progress towards the Goals of the Statewide System of Support

California's school accountability and support system, the Statewide System of Support (System of Support), was designed to transform California's approach to school improvement. Rather than focusing on punitive consequences for underperformance, the System of Support is designed to provide education leaders and educators with needed support to build their skills and knowledge. Central to the state's theory of action is that building system capacity to improve will lead to increases in student achievement and will reduce disparities in outcomes. In practice, this has resulted in heightened interest and investment in continuous improvement approaches in California schools. Continuous improvement entails collective problem identification; rapid development of potential solutions; feedback mechanisms to quickly assess the effectiveness of potential solutions; and willingness to learn from failures in order to deploy successful solutions. The effective implementation of continuous improvement requires structures, practices, cultures, and capacities that are often in contrast to traditional school improvement strategies, which have prioritized scaling ideas quickly or presenting top-down mandates. This report describes the contextual factors of organizations and the capacities of individuals that can foster the success of continuous improvement and the goals of the System of Support. As schools, districts, counties, and state agencies embark upon the work of continuous improvement, they must also attend to the enabling conditions and capacities that undergird the success of continuous improvement efforts.