Originally published in EdTrust, March 26, 2026
When a school is identified for improvement under ESSA, the conversation often jumps straight to solutions — but leaders need to understand why improvement is needed before determining their solutions
When a school is identified for improvement under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), the conversation often jumps straight to solutions, such as adopting a new curriculum, investing in a new coaching model, hiring new leadership, or revising instructional schedules. But before education leaders prescribe specific fixes, they must understand what’s really driving the current outcomes and determine whether all students have access to the conditions that make learning possible.
ESSA is clear in this regard. The law requires districts and schools to develop improvement plans that are “based on a school-level needs assessment,” include evidence-based interventions, and identify resource inequities. The “why” is simple: without a strong diagnosis, improvement efforts are more likely to be disconnected from students’ true experience — especially for students of color and students from low-income backgrounds.
Diagnostic Work is an Equity Move, Not a Paperwork Exercise
Underperformance is rarely the result of one thing. Schools serving communities that have experienced a long history of improvement challenges are often navigating a complicated mix of academic needs, staffing challenges, and barriers outside school walls. It’s easy for systems to blame context or to chase the next new shiny program of the year.
But exploring root causes of a school’s performance is a key component of sustainable improvement — just like a disease cannot be cured without a diagnosis, a school cannot improve without a root cause analysis.
What Strong Diagnostic Reviews and Needs Assessments Look Like
Strong reviews and needs assessments don’t ignore external factors such as poverty, student mobility, language barriers, or trauma. Instead, they simply refuse to let those realities become the end of the story, and help to identify what’s changeable and what must be resourced and addressed differently.
For example, Mandaree School District (MSD), located in rural North Dakota, serves students primarily from tribal communities, and over 90% of students are from low-income backgrounds. After being identified for Comprehensive Support, the district partnered with Cognia for data collection and improvement efforts while still honoring the community’s tribal values. As MSD leaders understood, this was not just about test scores. Needs assessments area disciplined effort to answer:
- What are students experiencing academically and socially, and who is being underserved?
- Which adult practices and system conditions are driving current outcomes, both successful ones as well as those where growth is needed?
- What are the two to three priorities that will create the largest improvements if done well?
- What resources, time, and capabilities are required to implement and sustain measurable change?
MSD leaders gathered feedback from students, teachers, families, and community leaders alongside key metrics such as attendance, discipline, academic performance, and readiness indicators — allowing them to triangulate across multiple data sources.
The district also named existing strengths. When leaders can articulate what’s working, they are better positioned to build momentum rather than focus solely on what needs to change. For MSD, this meant leveraging the community’s deep commitment to cultural resilience. The district launched a Culture Elder Committee and Pow-Wow collaboration to celebrate Native American heritage where students had access to a Cultural Drum Club and Ribbon Skirt Making Club — the results have been astounding. In just one year, students in grades K-2 exceeded the five-year proficiency goal in reading, jumping from 7% to 21% proficiency.