Feels a bit weird to have all my predictions about instructional coaching at scale confirmed by a strong study (it didn’t work)
Cautionary tale!View quoted post on X
Instructional coaching is usually seen as a safe bet for school improvement. But a recent EEPA study of a $20M/year coaching rollout across 130 schools paints a very different picture. Despite spending about $5,800 per teacher on the program, the district saw:
Zero improvement in teacher retention.
Flat ELA scores.
Math scores that actually leaned negative.
It turns out that the logistics of scaling killed the impact.
First, the district simply ran out of top-tier talent. To fill all the open roles, they had to start drafting average teachers as coaches.
Second, pulling their best teachers out of classrooms for half the day hurt students more than the peer coaching helped.
Finally, 80% of coaches were eventually tasked with summative evaluations, destroying the trust and vulnerability required for actual instructional growth.
It’s a great reminder that structural changes don't automatically improve the instructional core.
more on it here: ammaramerhbi.substack.com/p/the-limits-o…
