This series from Child Trends is for practitioners, policymakers, and researchers who want to transform K-12 school systems to better meet the needs of students, families, and communities. This blog focuses on an education systems change process and touches on basic elements that schools and their leaders need to know to successfully implement lasting, sustainable change.
Click below to listen to this guide
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School systems change requires a collaborative, continuous improvement process to be purposeful and sustainable. This process must be firmly rooted in a strong vision, mission, values, and goals to ensure that every decision and action are aligned with the intent behind systems change (see our practice guide on developing or refining your school’s vision, mission, values, and goals) and to ensure that the change process is intentional and effective.
In this blog for education system leaders, we explore five steps for lasting systems change laid out by the U.S. Department of Education: 1) assess needs, 2) plan, 3) implement, 4) collect data, and 5) evaluate.
Figure: The five steps of K-12 education systems change
Source note: figure reproduced from the U.S. Department of Education
By grounding the change process in these steps, you can lead your school system through complex transformations with greater coherence, focus, and success, and help your team make decisions that are evidence-based and adaptable to the evolving needs of your schools and communities.
1. Assess needs. Assessing needs is essential for education leaders to gain clarity around the opportunities and challenges present within their system. Key information gathered during this process includes an understanding of desired system improvements, the rationale for the existence of these systems, and the contextual factors that either support or hinder transformation. This step also examines partnership engagement and details about current system capacities and infrastructure. By assessing needs thoroughly, your team can ensure that change efforts are aligned with your system’s vision and mission and responsive to your system’s unique circumstances.
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Takeaway on assessing needs: A clear understanding of needs provides the foundation for targeted, relevant interventions that address the root causes of challenges and support systemic improvement.
2. Plan. Planning turns insights gathered via the needs assessment into a clear, actionable roadmap for change. Planning involves creating a logic model that links your system’s needs with desired goals and outcomes, selecting evidence-based interventions, and designing an adaptive implementation plan. A strong plan helps your team anticipate challenges, integrate cycles of learning, and allocate resources effectively, ensuring that the process is both strategic and adaptable as circumstances evolve.
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Takeaway on planning: A well-coordinated plan ensures that your change efforts are intentional, reducing the risk of disjointed actions and ensuring that resources are used efficiently—setting your team up for success.
3. Implement. Implementation is how your plans come to life. It’s the phase where interventions are put into action, tested, and refined through iterative cycles like Plan-Do-Study-Act. By continuously monitoring progress and gathering real-time feedback, your team can make necessary adjustments and keep efforts aligned with your long-term goals. This reflective, adaptive approach ensures that your system remains responsive to changing needs and avoids stagnation, making the transformation process more dynamic and sustainable.
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Takeaway on implementing: Effective implementation ensures that your team learns from each step, refines its strategies, and keeps its focus on long-term goals.
4. Collect data. Collecting data is an ongoing, integral part of the systems change process, providing the evidence needed to assess the impact of interventions and inform decision making at every stage. By integrating data collection into Plan-Do-Study-Act cycles, your team can track progress, identify emerging trends, and make evidence-based adjustments. Collecting feedback from administrators, educators, students, families, and community members ensures that all voices are heard and that the impacts of change are felt throughout your entire system.
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Takeaway on collecting data: Data collection allows for real-time learning and ensures that interventions are continuously refined to meet your system’s evolving needs.
5. Evaluate. Evaluation is the final—albeit ongoing—step in your continuous improvement process. It’s not just about reflecting on what worked and what didn’t—it’s about understanding successes, barriers, and the overall impacts of your efforts across different levels of your system. Through this iterative process, your team can draw lessons from the outcomes and refine strategies for the future. Regular evaluation can deepen alignment between your goals and actions, ensuring that future efforts are even more targeted and responsive to your system’s needs.
Resources:
- How to Use Practical Measures to Transform School Systems
- Evaluating School Initiatives for Better Outcomes
Takeaway on evaluating: Ongoing evaluation helps your team continuously learn, make course corrections, and stay on track to meet long-term goals effectively.
Conclusion
Through collaboration and commitment to these steps, you and your team can guide your school system through meaningful and sustainable systems change. This guide and its linked resources are designed to support you at each step with tools and strategies needed to confidently implement effective changes. By focusing on continuous improvement and aligning your efforts with shared goals, you can create long-lasting positive impacts for your students, schools, and communities.
Additional Resources
- Leveraging Evidence-Based Practices for Local School Improvement (developed by U.S. Department of Education, Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, 2025)
- Using evidence to strengthen education investments [Non-regulatory guidance] (developed by U.S. Department of Education, 2023)
- Assessing and addressing LEA needs (developed by Title IV-A (T4PA) Center at Child Trends & U.S. Department of Education, Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, 2022)
- Assisting LEAs with the Use of Evidence-Based Programs and Practices (Title IV-A (T4PA) Center at Child Trends and U.S. Department of Education, Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, 2022)
Suggested citation
Holquist, S., Aceves, L., Schanfield, M., & Reyes, O. (2025). Steps to guide sustainable change in school systems. Child Trends. DOI: 10.56417/9286v5603b