This brief discusses the problem of scaling innovations in education in the United States so that they can serve very large numbers of students. It begins with a general discussion of the issues involved, develops a set of five criteria for assessing challenges of scaling, and then uses three programs widely discussed in the U.S. as examples of the challenges involved: Teach for America (an approach to teacher development), KIPP (a whole-school reform model) and the Harlem Children’s Zone (a school-plus-community model). Five criteria are applied to assess scalability: cost, human capacity, tools and infrastructure, political support, and external or non-school factors.

Many innovations appear to have significant additional costs—for example the additional services offered by HCZ or the longer day and year in KIPP. The non-financial challenges, however, such as being able to find enough highly skilled people, can be just as significant and are often underestimated in discussions of scaling.

One cannot assume that a popular innovation necessarily represents a potential system-wide solution. Every school system should have a way to assess the potential value and challenge in adopting innovations. The goal should be to avoid either excessive enthusiasm or excessive skepticism, but to maintain a reasoned approach that over time yields collective learning. More independent research on the costs and benefits of major innovations is also required.

Recommendations

• All parties should avoid the temptation to proclaim small-scale innovations as the solutions to large-scale problems in education; rather they should be seen as promising ideas requiring further study before widespread adoption.
• There should be a more rigorous process for evaluating promising innovations to determine both costs and benefits, involving fair evaluations done by independent and neutral parties.
• There should be full and open access to data on costs and outcomes of innovations.