Today we and the Clayton Christensen Institute for Disruptive Innovation released the final set of case studies in the series Proof Points: Blended Learning Success in School Districts, which examines blended learning efforts in traditional school districts, and the correlated improved student outcomes. Regular readers may recall that we originally released six profiles in April, and another three in June. The final three are:

• Enlarged City School District of Middletown, Middletown, NY, utilized a Race to the Top grant to implement blended learning programs that helped its elementary schools improve in reading and math.

• Hamilton County Community Unit School District, McLeansboro, Ill, established blended learning in both of its elementary schools. Students in blended learning classrooms are outperforming those in traditional classrooms on benchmark assessments.

• Washington County School District, St. George, Utah, launched blended learning programs by leveraging digital assets from its Utah Online School to boost graduation rates.

The full set of profiles together examined 12 districts with diverse geography, demographics, district sizes, and assessment demands. Despite the unique circumstances of each district, the case studies show that blended learning has had a positive impact on student achievement using a number of measures, including graduation rates, benchmark test scores and state assessments.

The results have received considerable media attention, and we have heard of quite a few districts using the profiles in a variety of ways as they promote their own efforts to improve student outcomes. We are grateful to all of the educators who have contributed their time to help us understand, explore, and explain their programs and their key elements of success.

Upcoming blog posts will review some of the findings across the profiles, examining why these particular districts have been successful and what others, particularly those in early stages of program development, can learn from them.