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What’s in a Contract? How Outcomes-Based Contracting Reshapes School District–Vendor Relationships

Principal Investigator

Amanda Lu – Stanford University

Project Description

Three types of contracts were analyzed in this study: 1) contracts explicitly developed as part of the Southern Education Foundation’s OBC Cohort initiative, which were explicitly written to include OBC features (n = 19); 2) contracts between OBC cohort vendors and non-OBC Cohort districts, in which contracts were not developed through the OBC Cohort (n = 25); and 3) contracts between OBC Cohort districts and non-OBC Cohort vendors, in which contracts were not developed through the OBC Cohort (n = 79).

Research Questions

  • What information do contracts hold about a vendor’s quality and alignment to district needs, context, and strategy? How does this information vary among contracts developed as part of the OBC Cohort program, non-OBC Contracts in OBC Cohort districts, and non-OBC Contracts in OBC Cohort vendors?
  • What is the prevalence of the OBC Standards of Excellence in contracts? How does the prevalence vary among contracts developed as part of the OBC Cohort program, non-OBC Contracts in OBC Cohort districts, and non-OBC Contracts in OBC Cohort vendors?
  • What are the sources of variance in OBC Standards of Excellence and vendor information across contracts?

Key Findings

Content analysis of the contracts revealed that those developed as part of the OBC Cohort initiative were more likely to have clear outcomes and the target student population defined, payment tied to student outcomes, both parties accountable for outcomes, and clear and data-driven plans to improve. Traditional contracts developed by the same districts, but not explicitly through the OBC Cohort, tended to have more outcome-focused content compared to traditional contracts developed by the same vendors (but not the same districts).

Study Citation

Lu, A., Gilbert, E., Jocelyn, B., Waymack, N., & Loeb, S. (2025). What’s in a Contract? How Outcomes-Based Contracting Reshapes School District–Vendor Relationships. Stanford SCALE Initiative.

The Key Findings above were reproduced from the published report and do not necessarily reflect interpretation of Overdeck Family Foundation staff.

Publication
Year

2025

Status

Completed

Study Type

Landscape Study

Grantee

National Student Support Accelerator

Full Report
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