Educational Administration Quarterly Mintrop et al. / SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT PLANS School Improvement Plans in Schools on Probation: A Comparative Content Analysis Across Three Accountability Systems

This article explores school improvement planning under conditions of high-stakes accountability by means of a content analysis of school improvement plans. The schools examined here were identified by their accountability agencies as low performing and were put on probation to reverse their decline. Schools in three accountability systems are compared. Content analyses indicated that school improvement plans across the three jurisdictions were very similar, suggesting institutional isomorphism. However, certain policy design features prompted variation in the levels of internalization of exter-nal demands by school sites. School improvement plans (SIPs) are a widespread feature in high-stakes accountability systems. SIPs are often a mandatory feature for schools put on probation by their accountability agency for persistently low performance. In many accountability systems, accountability agencies treat SIPs as central to a school’s path back to healthy performance. Often, SIPs are extensive docu-ments subject to official review and approval. Whether they are hastily thrown together or carefully crafted, these SIPs are vivid testimony to the way schools (and districts) think about the task of school improvement unde