Jones, Curtis. National Study of Professional Learning Communities at Work. Socially Responsible Evaluation in Education, University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, February 2026.
Schools implementing PLC at Work® with fidelity see statistically significant growth in reading and math
The report
Socially Responsible Evaluation in Education (SREED), a research and evaluation group at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, conducted an evaluation of the impact PLC at Work in schools across the country, examining growth in students' reading and math achievement. Focusing on schools with high-fidelity, sustained implementation of the framework, the study assessed changes in performance before and after PLC at Work adoption, providing a clearer view of its potential impact on student learning outcomes.
The results
Schools implementing PLC at Work didn’t just maintain success—they accelerated it, achieving notable improvements in student learning through sustained, collaborative practices.
At the national level:
- Students in schools effectively implementing PLC at Work demonstrated statistically significant and meaningful gains in both math and reading achievement.
- Reading achievement: On average, students gained the equivalent of an additional 2.9 months of learning
- Math achievement: On average, students gained the equivalent of an additional 3.4 months of learning
Individual state analyses:
- Positive achievement gains were observed in most participating states, with the largest improvements measured in Kentucky, South Carolina, Iowa, and California.
- Students in South Carolina and Kentucky experienced the equivalent of two years of math learning in one school year.
- Students in Missouri and Kentucky experienced the equivalent of more than two years of reading growth in one school year.
