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=**Welcome to the PDE Positive Deviance Study Wiki**=

**Positive Deviance Study**

 * Executive Summary**

Positive Deviance is defined as an approach to personal, organizational and cultural change based on the idea that every community or group of people performing a similar function has certain individuals (the "Positive Deviants") whose special attitudes, practices/ strategies/ behaviors enable them to function more effectively than others with the exact same resources and conditions (Seidman, et al, 2003). This study is designed to identify the practices and procedures of these positive deviants. It will assist school leaders and the Pennsylvania Department of Education in their effort to institutionalize the Standards Aligned System thereby helping all students succeed.

The study will occur in four phases. Phase I will investigate the viability of collecting evidence around these related but separate questions:

• What are the characteristics of schools' that have shown special progress for IEP subgroup as measured by PVAAS analysis? • What are the characteristics of schools' whose IEP subgroup and general education students scored better than expected as measured by PVAAS analysis? • And if time and resources permit: What are the characteristics of the schools in either question above when cross referenced with one or more of these factors: low socio-economic status, unusual location, high minority population, and/or high special education population?

Characteristics of schools is used here to mean both the characteristics of the individuals who are positive deviants, be they teachers, principals, central office personnel or parents, and the characteristics of the system that supports them.