Process Management in Education (This page intentionally left blank) Also available from ASQ Quality Press: Stakeholder-Driven Strategic Planning in Education: A Practical Guide for Developing and Deploying Successful Long-Range Plans Robert W. Ewy Charting Your Course: Lessons Learned During the Journey Toward Performance Excellence Robert W. Ewy and John G. Conyers Running All the Red Lights: A Journey of Systemwide Educational Reform Terry Holliday and Brenda Clark ASQ Education School Self-Assessment Guide to Performance Excellence: Aligning Your School and School District with the Malcolm Baldrige Education Criteria for Performance Excellence Peter G. LaBonte, ASQ Improving Student Learning: Applying Deming’s Quality Principles in the Classroom, Second Edition Lee Jenkins Claire Anne and the Talking Hat Barbara A. Cleary Living on the Edge of Chaos: Leading Schools into the Global Age, Second Edition Karolyn J. Snyder, Michele Acker-Hocevar, Kristen M. Snyder Thinking Tools for Kids: An Activity Book for Classroom Learning, Revised Edition Sally J. Duncan and Barbara A. Cleary Permission to Forget: And Nine Other Root Causes of America’s Frustration with Education Lee Jenkins Transformation to Performance Excellence: Baldrige Education Leaders Speak Out Sandra Cokeley, Margaret A. Byrnes, Geri Markley, and Suzanne Keely, editors The Quality Rubric: A Systematic Approach for Implementing Quality Principles and Tools in Classrooms and Schools Steve Benjamin Boot Camp for Leaders in K–12 Education: Continuous Improvement Lee Jenkins, Lloyd O. Roettger, and Caroline Roettger The Principal’s Leadership Counts!: Launch a Baldrige-Based Quality School Margaret A. Byrnes with Jeanne C. Baxter There Is Another Way!: Launch a Baldrige-Based Quality Classroom Margaret A. Byrnes with Jeanne C. Baxter To request a complimentary catalog of ASQ Quality Press publications, call 800-248-1946, or visit our Web site at http://www.asq.org/quality-press. (This page intentionally left blank) Process Management in Education How to Design, Measure, Deploy, and Improve Educational Processes Robert W. Ewy and Henry A. Gmitro ASQ Quality Press Milwaukee, Wisconsin American Society for Quality, Quality Press, Milwaukee 53203 © 2010 by ASQ All rights reserved. Published 2009 Printed in the United States of America 15 14 13 12 11 10 09 5 4 3 2 1 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Ewy, Robert, 1940– Process management in education : how to design, measure, deploy, and improve educational processes / Robert W. Ewy and Henry A. Gmitro. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-87389-757-0 (soft cover : alk. paper) 1. School management and organization—United States. I. Gmitro, Henry A. II. Title. LB2805.E93 2009 371.2'07—dc22 2009042937 ISBN: 978-0-87389-757-0 No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Publisher: William A. Tony Acquisitions Editor: Matt T. Meinholz Project Editor: Paul O’Mara Production Administrator: Randall Benson ASQ Mission: The American Society for Quality advances individual, organizational, and community excellence worldwide through learning, quality improvement, and knowledge exchange. Attention Bookstores, Wholesalers, Schools, and Corporations: ASQ Quality Press books, videotapes, audiotapes, and software are available at quantity discounts with bulk purchases for business, educational, or instructional use. For information, please contact ASQ Quality Press at 800-248-1946, or write to ASQ Quality Press, P.O. Box 3005, Milwaukee, WI 53201-3005. To place orders or to request a free copy of the ASQ Quality Press Publications Catalog, including ASQ membership information, call 800-248-1946. Visit our Web site at www.asq.org or http://www.asq.org/quality-press. Printed in the United States of America Printed on acid-free paper Table of Contents List of Figures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xi Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xiii Part One: What Is a Process? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Definition of a Process .......................................... 1 Why Is Process Management So Important? ......................... 2 Why Process Management Has Been Neglected in Education............ 4 Process Variation Is the Issue ..................................... 5 Processes Exhibit Two Types of Behavior............................ 6 What You Already Know About Processes and Variation ............... 8 Understanding How Processes Work................................ 11 Understanding How Processes Work (Example 1).................. 12 Understanding How Processes Work (Example 2) ................. 15 Part Two: Process Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 What Is Process Management? .................................... 23 Process Manager ............................................... 23 Process Design ................................................ 23 Process Measurement ........................................... 27 Process Deployment ............................................ 28 Process Improvement ........................................... 28 Process Management Questions ................................... 30 An Example Using the Six Questions ........................... 31 The Two Major Quality Tools That a Process Manager Must Master....... 38 Flowcharting .............................................. 39 Statistical Process Control (SPC)............................... 41 Flowcharting Process Improvement ................................ 44 Six Sigma..................................................... 47 Conclusion: Processes Are Vital Components of Systems ............... 53 Part Three: Process Examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 Standards-Based Instructional Process.............................. 71 World-Class Educational Practices Applied to Standards-Based Instructional Processes (Classroom Focus)......................... 76 vii viii Table of Contents Deployment Flowchart: Standards-Based Instruction ............... 76 Simulated Teacher Dialogue Related to Flowchart Steps............. 76 World-Class Educational Practices Applied to Standards-Based Instructional Processes (School Focus)............................ 78 I. Making Sure the Standard Is Taught .......................... 78 II. Making Sure Students Have Learned the Standard............... 80 III. Making Sure Students Who Didn’t Learn the Standard, Learn It... 81 IV. Making Sure Students Do Not Forget What They Have Learned ... 82 ELL Variations............................................. 83 Standards-Based Instructional Process Matrix........................ 83 At-Risk Student Performance Improvement Process ................... 86 Appendix A School Customers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89 Appendix B Example Process Management and Improvement Matrix . . . . 91 Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95 About the Authors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97 Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99 List of Figures Figure 1 Key district mission-critical processes. ............................ 3 Figure 2 SIPOC diagram. .............................................. 11 Figure 3 My “going to work” run chart. ................................... 13 Figure 4 “Going to work” XmR chart. .................................... 14 Figure 5 Recalculated “going to work” XmR chart. ......................... 15 Figure 6 Daily reading test run chart. ..................................... 16 Figure 7 Daily reading test np chart. ..................................... 17 Figure 8 Recalculated daily reading np chart. .............................. 17 Figure 9 Histogram of daily reading test results. ............................ 19 Figure 10 Cause-and-effect diagram. ...................................... 19 Figure 11 Eighteen-week daily reading test np chart. ......................... 20 Figure 12 Ideal histogram. .............................................. 21 Figure 13 Process management diagram. ................................... 23 Figure 14 Checklist for district curriculum development requirements. ........... 25 Figure 15 Process management matrix. .................................... 32 Figure 16 Operational definitions for measurement activities. .................. 32 Figure 17 Three-year mathematics test data np chart. ......................... 33 Figure 18 Operational definition for mathematics curriculum process. . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 Figure 19 Three-year mathematics test data histogram. ....................... 34 Figure 20 Four-year mathematics test data np chart. .......................... 36 Figure 21 Operational definition for identifying exemplary practices. ............ 37 Figure 22 Operational definition for identifying exemplary practices. ............ 37 Figure 23 Benchmark scattergram. ....................................... 38 Figure 24 Flowchart of major components of curriculum development process. .... 40 Figure 25 Cycle time recording sheet. ..................................... 42 Figure 26 Process improvement flowchart. ................................. 45 Figure 27 Process management formula. ................................... 47 Figure 28 PDSA flowchart. ............................................. 51 Figure 29 DMAIC flowchart. ............................................ 52 ix x List of Figures Figure 30 K–2 literacy intervention programs. ............................... 57 Figure 31 Math intervention program. ..................................... 61 Figure 32 Student referral for special education services. ...................... 63 Figure 33 Section 504 referral and evaluation procedures. ..................... 65 Figure 34 Retention procedures. .......................................... 67 Figure 35 Stranger danger. .............................................. 69 Figure 36 Making sure the standard is taught. ............................... 72 Figure 37 Making sure students have learned the standard. .................... 73 Figure 38 Making sure students who didn’t learn the standard, learn it. ........... 74 Figure 39 Making sure students don’t forget what they have learned. ............. 75 Figure 40 Standards-based instructional process matrix. ...................... 84 Figure 41 At-risk student performance improvement process. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86