In 2004, the Council of Great City Schools (CGCS) set out to create a framework for measurement and analysis in school district operations and to help district business leaders think strategically about how to improve processes, conserve resources, and positively impact student achievement while managing the school district budget. In conjunction with TransACT, CGCS founded the ActPoint® KPI Project. For more than a decade, districts nationwide piloted the KPIs, and results are compared annually.
Today, ActPoint KPI is a tool for school districts to manage their business and operations efforts in a way that is typically only found in Fortune 500 companies. Specifically, CGCS produces an annual executive summary of nationwide district operations performance, which seeks to give leaders both guidance and a benchmark for ideal performance levels on over 500 operational metrics.
The report gives an overview of non-instructional performance in the nation's largest school districts in the 17-18 school year. It helps leaders answer important questions about their operations, including "What are Key Performance Indicators?" and "What is the best opportunity I have to improve school district operations?"
These performance reports, called "Measuring for Results in America's Great City Schools," are made available annually for free, and they contain a performance summary and analysis of over 500 KPIs. Each KPI has a section that explains:
- The definition of the metric and what it seeks to measure
- An explanation of what it is important
- Factors that influence each measure
- An analysis of the nationwide data that was collected
- A chart that shows anonymous district performance, median performance, and high/low performance
These KPIs are often used in strategic district plans, to provide internal and external transparency (when required), advocate for more resources, and to help district leaders manage for results. Use this link to download a complimentary copy of the 2019 "Managing For Results in America's Great City Schools" report.
