School Turnaround Cost Analysis Tool Documentation

Data Sources and Assumptions

In this document, we describe the data used in the School Turnaround Cost Analysis Tool. Data in the first two sections, Personnel and Travel, inform computations in the later sections. All of the support activities (Climate Surveys to Inform Planning and Coaching, School Improvement Plans [SIPs], Needs Assessment, and Coaching) incur personnel costs, and the Needs Assessments and Coaching also incur travel costs.

Personnel

Personnel costs were drawn from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) annual mean salary, overall and by state, September 2019. We use the September 17, 2020, point estimate for fringe rates for state and local government workers: 37.8 percent (BLS, 2020a). We convert annual salaries plus fringe into loaded hourly rates by dividing by 2,080 (BLS uses 2,080 as the number of hours in a work year). The source column in the table below provides more detail on specific data points.

Title Minimum Qualifications Annual Salarya Assumptions
State employees
District coach MA or EdD, experience as district leader, experience as school principal and teacher $115,990
BLS, “Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2019, 11-9039 Education Administrators, All Other,” 2020c		 District coach is at least as experienced as district superintendent, and district superintendent salary is at the 75th percentile for education administrator salaries.
School leadership coach, needs assessment team member MA, administrative experience $121,500
BLS, “Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2019, 11-9032 Education Administrators, Kindergarten through Secondary,” 2020b		 School leadership coach is a successful, retired principal and likely at the 75th percentile for education administrator salaries.
Instructional coach MA, teaching experience $69,180
BLS, “Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2019, 25-9031 Instructional Coordinators,” 2020h
Needs assessment team leader MA, 3–5 years administrative experience (school or district) $100,340
BLS, “Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2019, 11-9032 Education Administrators, Kindergarten through Secondary,” 2020b		 Needs assessment team leader is at least as experienced as a school principal.
District employees
District administrator BA, experience as lead teacher or principal, district leadership role $92,150
BLS, “Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2019, 11-9039 Education Administrators, All Other,” 2020c
School principal MA, school leader credential, experience as teacher $100,340
BLS, “Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2019, 11-9032 Education Administrators, Kindergarten through Secondary,” 2020b
School assistant principal Assistance principal license $92,150
BLS, “Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2019, 11-9039 Education Administrators, All Other,” 2020c
School counselor School counselor license $61,000
BLS, “Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2019, 21-1012 Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors,” 2020d
Elementary school teacher BA, teacher certification, 3–6 years of experience as teacher $63,930
BLS, “Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2019, 25-2021 Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education,” 2020e
Middle school teacher BA, teacher certification, 3–6 years of experience as teacher $63,550
BLS, “Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2019, 25-2022 Middle School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education,” 2020f
High school teacher BA, teacher certification, 3–6 years of experience as teacher $65,930
BLS, “Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2019, 25-2031 Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education,” 2020g
School secretary N/A $63,180
BLS, “Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2019, 43-6014 Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive,” 2020m
School support staff N/A $36,844b
[a] The figures in this table use the national average. When the user enters a specific state, the tool automatically enters state-specific salaries. Users may choose to edit that state-specific salary.
[b] BLS annual mean salary for the following, averaged:
  • BLS, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2019, “25-9045 Teaching Assistants, Except Postsecondary,” 2020i
  • BLS, “Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2019, 37-2011 Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners,” 2020k
  • BLS, “Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2019, 37-3011 Landscaping and Groundskeeping Workers,” 2020l
  • BLS, “Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2019, 35-2012 Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria,” 2020j
  • BLS, “Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2019, 43-6014 Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive,” 2020m.

Travel

Some turnaround supports—comprehensive school needs assessments and coaching—involve travel to schools and districts by state staff (or other support provider staff). Travel costs assume that staff are based near the state department of education and travel by car to the participating schools and districts. We use the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) fiscal year (FY) 2021 per diem rates for each state, including lodging (if the round trip was more than four hours), meals, and incidentals. We also use GSA’s mileage rates for FY 2020. We assume that instructional and school leadership coaches will visit one school per trip and district coaches will visit one district per trip. Costs may be lower if coaches visit more than one school or district per trip. The tool asks users to provide their own estimates of the average distance and travel time from the state department of education (or other central location) to schools or districts.

Description Data Source
Driving time 8 a.m. 1 hour Based on researcher estimate
Driving time 3 p.m. 1 hour Based on researcher estimate
Driving time round trip 2 hours Based on researcher estimate
Distance 100 miles round trip Based on researcher estimate
Mileage rate $0.575 Reimbursement for use of private vehicle as of January 1, 2020 (GSA, 2020c)
Per diem: hotel $96 Standard per diem rates for FY 2021 and location-specific rates (GSA, 2020a; 2020b)
Per diem: meals and incidentals $55 Standard per diem rates for FY 2021 and location-specific rates (GSA, 2020a; 2020b)

Climate Survey to Inform Planning and Coaching

The cost estimate does not include collection of data typically available to guide school improvement planning and coaching (e.g., assessment scores, disciplinary information, budget and staffing information), assuming these costs are already absorbed in school and district budgets. However, the cost estimate does include a statewide teacher survey on conditions for teaching and learning: development, administration, and analysis.

Description Data Source
Total budget (2 years) $200,000 Estimate based on researcher communication with state leaders
No. of public schools in the state State-specific U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data (CCD), 2020c
No. of teachers in public schools State-specific U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data (CCD), 2020b
No. of students in public schools State-specific U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data (CCD), 2020c
No. of respondents State-specific 80-percent response rate, based on the minimum response rate not requiring nonresponse bias analysis (U.S. Department of Education, 2016, p. 76)
Time for survey participant to respond 0.5 hours 30-minute survey (National Center on Safe Supportive Learning Environments, undated)

School Improvement Plans

The cost estimate does not include the costs for low-performing schools to develop SIPs because that activity is already incorporated in federal funding and requirements. However, states can support the development and use of SIPs by providing an online data system and providing schools feedback on their SIPs. The cost estimate includes development and maintenance of the data system and time for state Department of Education (DOE) staff to provide feedback on SIPs.

Description Data Source
SIP data system
Cost to develop and maintain data system $10,000 Estimate based on Indistar (undated) and modified based on February 2020 phone consultation with Indistar staff.
No. of schools using data system 468 Estimate based on number of comprehensive support and improvement schools in each state, from the following sources:
  • Washington, D.C., District of Columbia Office of State Superintendent of Education, undated
  • Maine: Maine Department of Education, 2017, p. 48
  • All others: Rentner, Tanner, and Braun, 2019
Costs for state DOE staff to provide feedback on SIPs
Hours spent on feedback per SIP 2 Estimate based on researcher communication with state leaders

Needs Assessment

The cost estimate includes development of a tool and process for comprehensive school needs assessments, training for state staff or other support providers to conduct the needs assessment and share results with school staff, and time for both state staff or other support providers and school staff to work together on assessing school needs and unpacking and applying the results of the needs assessment to school improvement planning.

Description Data Source
Tool development
Development budget $100,000 $100,000 for developing the tool. Estimate based on costs for similar-scale state instruments.
No. of schools implementing needs assessment over a three-year period State-specific See SIP documentation
Training to administer tool
Duration of training to administer tool, hours per trainee 28 Estimate based on researcher communication with state leaders
No. of needs assessment team leaders 4 Estimate based on researcher communication with state leaders
No. of needs assessment team members (non-leaders) 68 Estimate based on researcher communication with state leaders
No. of schools implementing needs assessment in one year State-specific See SIP documentation. Assume that low-performing schools participate in a needs assessment every three years, so one-third of low-performing schools participate each year.
Training to unpack results
Duration of training to unpack results, hours per trainee 8 Estimate based on researcher communication with state leaders
No. of unpacking team leaders 4 Estimate based on researcher communication with state leaders
No. of unpacking team members (non-leaders) 68 Estimate based on researcher communication with state leaders
No. of schools unpacking in one year State-specific All schools participating in a needs assessment also participate in support provider-led unpacking
Needs assessment: State DOE or other support provider costs
No. of team lead hours for preparation 18 Estimate based on researcher communication with state leaders
No. of team lead hours for administering needs assessment 14 Estimate based on researcher communication with state leaders
No. of team lead hours for report writing and quality review 25 Estimate based on researcher communication with state leaders
No. of team member hours for administering needs assessment 14 Estimate based on researcher communication with state leaders
No. of team members/visits 3 Estimate based on researcher communication with state leaders
Needs assessment: School costs
No. of principal hours for preparation 3 Estimate based on researcher communication with state leaders
No. of principal hours for administering needs assessment 14 Estimate based on researcher communication with state leaders
No. of secretary hours for facilitation 14 Estimate based on researcher communication with state leaders
No. of teacher hours preparing for observation, per teacher 0.50 Estimate based on researcher communication with state leaders
No. of teachers observed 5 Estimate based on researcher communication with state leaders
No. of teacher hours for focus group, per teacher 0.75 Estimate based on researcher communication with state leaders
No. of teachers in focus group 7 Estimate based on researcher communication with state leaders
No. of support staff hours for focus group, per member 0.75 Estimate based on researcher communication with state leaders
No. of support staff in focus group 4 Estimate based on researcher communication with state leaders
No. of assistant principal hours on self-evaluation and debrief 2 Estimate based on researcher communication with state leaders
No. of counselor hours on self-evaluation and debrief 2 Estimate based on researcher communication with state leaders
Unpacking results: State DOE or other support provider costs
No. of team lead hours for preparation 8 Estimate based on researcher communication with state leaders
No. of team lead hours for unpacking results 14 Estimate based on researcher communication with state leaders
No. of team member hours for unpacking results 14 Estimate based on researcher communication with state leaders
No. of team members/visits 1 Estimate based on researcher communication with state leaders
Unpacking results: School costs
No. of principal hours for unpacking 7 Estimate based on researcher communication with state leaders
No. of assistant principal hours for unpacking 7 Estimate based on researcher communication with state leaders
No. of school counselor hours for unpacking 7 Estimate based on researcher communication with state leaders
No. of teacher hours for unpacking, per teacher 7 Estimate based on researcher communication with state leaders
No. of teachers 7 Estimate based on researcher communication with state leaders
No. of district staff hours for unpacking 7 Estimate based on researcher communication with state leaders

Coaching

In addition to helping schools understand and plan around their needs, support providers can help schools and their districts carry out their improvement plans through coaching for teachers, school leaders, and district leaders. Coaching costs include both travel costs and support provider, district, and school staff time, using estimates from the Personnel and Travel tables.

Description Data Assumptions
No. of instructional coaching visits (average) 72 Two visits/week through the year; 180 days over 36 weeks; adjust to fit support provider’s plan
No. of school leadership coaching visits (average) 36 One visit/week through the year; 180 days over 36 weeks; adjust to fit support provider’s plan
No. of district leadership coaching visits (average) 9 One visit/month through the year; 180 days over 9 months; adjust to fit support provider’s plan
No. of hours coaching per visit 4 Half day per visit; adjust to fit support provider’s plan
No. of schools in district (state average) 13.7a
NOTE: All three types of coaching are documented in a single table in this document. However, the tool provides separate estimates for per-school costs for each type of coaching.

[a] This number is the national average. When the tool user enters a specific state, the tool automatically enters the state-specific number of schools per district. Tool users may choose to edit that state-specific information. U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data (CCD), 2020a, 2020b, 2020c.

Bibliography

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