September 2012

Selecting the “What”

A vital step in effective implementation is selecting a practice or program that meets the needs of your school, district or state.  This selection process can benefit from reviewing six broad factors of the program or practice under consideration:

• Need: Consider what your current data suggest is the most critical or pivotal need, and whether the practice fits your current social and political context.
• Fit: Assess how the program fits with current initiatives, priorities, structures and supports, and parent/community values.
• Resource Availability: Take into account the program’s costs - including time, funding, and materials, as well as training, coaching, and data infrastructure requirements.
• Evidence: Consider the supporting research or evidence of the program or practice you are reviewing, including effect size, similarity to your population or community, outcomes achieved, and sustainability of those outcomes.
• Readiness for Replication: Look at the degree to which the program is “education ready,” including whether critical components are well-defined, how well it has been operationalized, the number of times it has been replicated, and the availability of technical assistance and coaching.
• Capacity to Implement: Consider how to develop collaboration and co-ownership of the work among the staff and community, as well as what will be needed to prepare for the implementation of the new practice of process.

The Hexagon Tool can help guide your team’s review and selection of a practice or program using these and other questions.

View a full size version of The Hexagon Tool,
and read more information about its use >>