August 10, 2026
In this Hechinger Report “Proof Points” column, staff writer Jill Barshay examines the first independent evaluation of outcomes based contracting, a WestEd study of eight early-adopter districts in California, Florida, Mississippi and Texas. The evaluation found measurable gains in three of four rigorously analyzed interventions, but couldn’t isolate whether the contracts or the coaching from the Center for Outcomes Based Contracting (OBC) drove the results, according to WestEd’s Sean Tanner and OBC’s Brittany Miller.
