The Hewlett Foundation supports the intitiative "Using Assessment Data to Improve Student Learning," a collaborative project of the Boston Public Schools, Professor Richard Murnane of the Harvard University Graduate School of Education, and the Boston Plan for Excellence in the Public Schools. Two sequential grants fund the initial work, of building a network of focused schools and providing professional development, and the secondary work, of creating formative assessments and supplying in-school support for implementation.

The multi-year initiative represents a demonstration of a continuous improvement model in the Boston Public Schools. The first goal of this data-based project is to increase the number of principals, teachers, on-site instructional coaches, and instructional leadership teams in the  school system that use data as part of their effort to improve instruction. The second goal is to document challenges to the use of data and instructional improvement and devise ways to overcome those challenges.

For more information on Professor Murnane's role in this project, please see the news feature from Harvard's Graduate School of Education.