Ascent Research

The ACE Ascent Program is an innovative research-to-practice partnership that draws on and extends empirically supported practices by imbuing them with Catholic spirituality.

dev

Initial Program Development

The first stage involved a partnership with a diocese in California which corresponded with an increase in standardized test scores over the 2018-2020 academic years. This outcome was an outlier among schools nationwide during this time period. The superintendent of schools noted that the ACE Ascent Program (formerly CASTLE - Catholic School Teacher Leadership) initiative enabled students to grow in mathematics even in the midst of pandemic-induced disruptions.
pilot

Pilot Study

The ACE Ascent Program then embarked on three distinct, multi-year pilot studies in Indiana, California, Kansas, and Missouri dioceses. Data collected from this phase informed the improvement of program design and evaluative instruments used to measure outcomes and efficacy.
program

Scaled Program and Evaluation

A two-year, 18 graduate credit licensure program for Catholic school mathematics teacher leaders commenced in Fall 2023. The program will undergo a rigorous evaluation to corroborate the ACE Ascent Program's collaborative leadership model as an effective lever for school vitality.

Research Questions and Foci

Academics

This aspect of the research examines the influence of the Collaborative Leadership Model on student learning in a Catholic school context.

Community

This aspect of the research explores the role teacher leaders play in the quantity and nature of professional collaboration within and across schools.

Vocation/Faith and Reason

This aspect of the research seeks to generate new knowledge around the intersection of teacher leaders' faith lives and their professional identities as mathematics teachers while also exploring the influence of the spiritual formation dimension of the Ascent program on teacher leaders' perceptions of themselves as purveyors of faith and on their vocational commitment.

Initial Results

Social Network Growth by Role

roles

Social Network Growth by School

schools

 

Use the Application below to explore our data further!

Research Documents

Lucy Family Institute Report

Pre-Analysis Plan

 

 

Click here to return to the main Ascent webpage