Over many years, and generally with the best of intentions, policymakers
have layered a host of policies and programs on schools, often without
the benefit of input from principals and teachers. The accumulation
of these requirements has resulted in “random acts of improvement.”
A Baldrige-based reform strategy enables education leaders at all
levels to align their resources, people, and programs, or random
acts, into a coherent system focused on a single goal: continuous
improvement in student performance.
The Baldrige framework likewise empowers communities to transform
their education systems, giving them ownership of a continuous improvement
process. Within the framework of state academic standards, teachers,
administrators, businesses, parents, and students have the freedom
to determine the “what’s” as well as the “how’s” of improving education.
What is the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award for Performance
Excellence?
The Malcolm Baldrige National Award for performance excellence
is the nation’s highest honor that recognizes world-class achievement
in organizations. In 1999, for the first time, education and healthcare
institutions were eligible to apply for the Baldrige Award. The Baldrige
Award is based upon seven Baldrige Criteria:
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- Leadership.
- Strategic Planning.
- Student and Stakeholder Focus.
- Information and Analysis.
- Faculty and Staff Focus.
- Process Management.
- Performance Results.
- How can the Baldrige Criteria Benefit Education? The Baldrige Criteria helps educators assess and measure performance
on a wide range of key indicators, including student achievement
and program outcomes. They help identify strengths and target opportunities
for improvement. The criteria also helps educators align resources;
improve communications, productivity and effectiveness; and achieve
goals. Using a common framework fosters cooperation and sharing
of best practices across business, government and education sectors.
Using the Baldrige Criteria as a self-assessment framework in education
can prompt continuous improvement of education at all levels, from
Congress to the classroom.Consider these results, attributed to sustained commitment to implementing
a Baldrige-based reform effort:- In North Carolina, student achievement gains on SAT tests
and the National Assessment of Educational Progress are rising
faster than anywhere else in the country. From 1996 to 1998,
reading and math proficiency increased in all 26 school districts
using a Baldrige-based improvement strategy for three years
or more. - In the Brazosport
Independent School District of Texas, reading, writing and
math scores have risen dramatically in all schools, for all
students—including African-American, Hispanic, and economically
disadvantaged students. Moreover, achievement gaps among affluent
and at-risk students have narrowed markedly. Brazosport received
the Texas State Quality Award in 1998 and received a site visit
from the Baldrige Office in 1999. - At Azalea Elementary School in Pinellas
County, Florida, school wide test scores jumped 20 percent
in two years on a national test of basic skills. The principal
and teachers are using performance data to intensify instruction
so students who are at risk of being held back in the early
grades can meet grade level expectations within a single school
year. Azalea received the Governor’s Sterling (Baldrige-based)
Award, along with the Ritz-Carlton Hotel and a regional health
care facility, in 2000.
- In North Carolina, student achievement gains on SAT tests