Progress of Innovation Schools: Year Two of an Evaluation Study

Beginning in 2010, The Evaluation Center at the University of Colorado Denver was contracted by Denver Public Schools (DPS), Colorado Education Association (CEA), A+ Denver, and Denver Classroom Teachers Association (DCTA) to provide external evaluation services to study the Innovation schools in Denver. The report of the first year’s study described the initial implementation of eight schools granted Innovation status in DPS between February 2008 and May 2010.

This follow-up report examines how Innovation status has affected the school climate, workforce composition, and student outcomes at the initial eight schools and eleven additional schools granted Innovation status between May and August 2011. The evaluation design was structured to examine these factors based on a review of school reform literature and a theory of change developed by the stakeholders.