Outcomes

Since its inception, Big Picture Learning has challenged traditional approaches to teaching and learning with our emphasis on starting with the student. Our ten distinguishers work as a framework for a very different school design. We believe our students’ stories stand as testaments to our model, but we also believe in the importance of rigorous program evaluation. We are engaged in the longitudinal study of our students, which we began in 2007 through a partnership with Boston College. We continue to partner with researchers and research organizations so that we can look deeply into the real outcomes of our work—our students’ lives after graduation. We value the insights into our program that data and research grant us, and work hard to continually improve what we do, as we learn from the powerful data stories of our students and our schools.

Spreading Relationships, Relevance and Rigor one student at a time - Can teaching and learning practices that foster deeper learning among all students—not just the most advantaged—be successfully scaled up? The answer is an unqualified “yes.” This report highlights how Big Picture Learning has instantiated its approach across varied settings, beginning with a description of the network's approach and how it designs its schools to implement deeper learning. In its findings, the report highlights how BPL and its school leaders have consistently been responsive to communities and local conditions, allowing network schools to take on a distinct characters while maintaining fidelity to their deeper learning and equity purposes. 

Post-secondary Outcomes of Innovative High Schools- The Longitudinal Study - As part of the ten-year Big Picture Longitudinal Study (BPLS), Dr. Karen Arnold and her research team at Boston College reported out findings at the ASHE conference in November 2014. This penultimate paper discusses trends in findings around relationship-building, post-secondary preparation, college transition and persistence.

Capturing the Elusive: Collecting Post-graduation Data from Low-Income High School Students - This paper discusses methods and initial outcomes of the Connector Study, which is an element of the larger BPLS project. Trends around college enrollment are discussed, as well as best practices for collecting qualitative data around the post-secondary lives of students.

Big Picture Learning High School Alumni Report - This study of three California-based Big Picture schools examines transition outcomes for students in the fields of employment, post-secondary education, civic engagement and personal life.

Making Mastery Work: A Close-up View of Competency Education - This report from the Nellie Mae Education Foundation examines practices in competency-based programs from the New England region, including two Big Picture programs. The project dives deeply into practice, outcomes and tools in competency-based education approaches.

The Shape of Deeper Learning - Strategies, Structure and Cultures in Deeper Learning Network High Schools - In this report (part of a three report series), the American Institutes of Research looked to determine under which conditions deeper learning practices flourish and whether those conditions result in outcomes we'd expect to find as a result of deeper learning pedagogy. Follow up research suggests that, yes, a focus on deeper learning does result in a higher performing student population (when compared with a similar control group). 

Improving College & Career Outcomes through Research-Practice Partnerships - Public schools are under pressure to close wide opportunity and achievement gaps so that disadvantaged students can compete for jobs in today’s knowledge economy on an equal footing. While the resources to accomplish this important work are often limited, advances in education technology, data availability, and research methods can help schools get more learning out of every dollar. This case study (which includes data from BPL Network School - Leominster Center for Excellence) examines an effort to build researchpractice partnerships to take advantage of these new analytical opportunities.