Leading Indicators of Systems-Level Change
Summary
Youth Policy Lab is working with the Skillman Foundation to identify a set of leading indicators to assess progress toward systems-level change in Detroit's educational ecosystem. Many of the long-term outcomes the Skillman Foundation seeks to influence—including postsecondary success, student well-being, and broader educational attainment—may take many years or decades to shift. As a result, the foundation seeks to understand which intermediate indicators (i.e., those that may change within approximately 5 years) are meaningfully connected to longer-term educational outcomes and therefore, are important to monitor as evidence that Skillman's strategies are likely to impact longer-term outcomes.
To develop this list of leading indicators, YPL is undertaking a comprehensive review of the literature to help the Skillman Foundation to organize and communicate about the selected indicators. This result of this project is intended to inform strategy both internally at the Skillman Foundation and with its grant partners. It is also a means to contribute to the broader philanthropic field regarding how to track progress toward systems-level change in education.
Funding partner
Skillman Foundation