The Evidence for ESSA website, previously launched by Bob Slavin and his group at Johns Hopkins has been very popular among education leaders seeking reliable evidence on educational programs. To date, the evidence-based programs featured on the website have focused on PK-12 reading and math, and programs continue to be Read more
Writing for The Hechinger Report, Jill Barshay recently reviewed research on how to guide students in productive discussions and group work. Excerpts from the piece appear below: A team of U.K. researchers collected all the studies they could find on peer interaction, in which children are either discussing or collaborating Read more
Across the nation, states are working to implement the evidence standards for education interventions outlined by the Every Student Succeeds Act, or ESSA. The 10 national Regional Educational Laboratories (RELs) are building capacity of state education agencies (SEAs) and local education agencies (LEAs) to understand 1) what constitutes an evidence-based Read more
When it comes to ensuring every student gets great teachers, state governments play a crucial and underappreciated role. Without access to the right data, school systems will struggle to match the supply and demand for new teachers. Without certification policies that prioritize student impact over paper credentials, too many talented Read more
Amber Northern, writing for the Fordham Institute, recently explored research on the latest iteration of the District of Columbia’s teacher evaluation system and found that continuous, thoughtful changes to the system have resulted in sustained improvements in teacher effectiveness in the city. Excerpts of the piece appear below: In their Read more
If schools want to significantly improve student outcomes, they need to help millions of hardworking teachers continuously improve their instructional practice. Yet in many districts, the professional development fails to produce positive changes in the classroom, despite substantial investments of money and time. To develop their instructional practices, teachers require Read more
Writing for Brookings, authors Molly Curtiss and Jenny Perlman Robinson explore the promises and challenges associated with scaling up effective teacher professional development. Excerpts of their piece appear below: The outsized impact of teachers on student learning makes it clear that successfully improving learning outcomes at scale will require reckoning Read more
Time-based systems, also known as “seat-time” requirement systems, still form the basis of today’s traditional schools. The prevailing assumption has been that state policies for seat-time requirements constrict schools and hinder attempts to innovate. However, far more flexibility exists than originally thought. New research by ExcelinEd examining seat-time requirements for Read more
Writing for the Clayton Christensen Institute, Thomas Arnett recently detailed a vision for the redesign of the role of the teacher. Excerpts from the piece appear below: Given the overflowing demands on teachers’ time, we need to reinvent the classroom and the roles of teachers so that teachers can tackle Read more
What happens when teachers start using science of learning principles? A new, rigorous study suggests some very powerful outcomes for students. A group of researchers have been exploring the question of what happens when teachers get professional development based on the science of learning. Their latest research article explores the Read more
Writing for KnowledgeWorks, Sarah Pazur reports on the results of a program to increase learner agency through self-assessment in FlexTech High Schools. Excerpts of the piece appear below: Teachers who leverage the power of self-assessment can significantly raise student achievement by teaching students self-regulatory processes. At FlexTech High Schools in Read more
New data from the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) reveal that the majority of states (35) do not ask for evidence of prior successful teaching for those teachers coming from out of state who are applying for a teaching license-in spite of imposing many demands covering a host of Read more
A recent article by Michael Horn of the Christensen Institute reviews the problem with teachers being both evaluators and facilitators of student learning. Excerpts from the piece appear below: In her bestselling book “Mindset: The New Psychology of Success,” Stanford professor Carol Dweck wrote, “When teachers are judging [students], [they] Read more
A new policy scan from Education Commission of the States reveals the incredible growth of dual enrollment policies across the nation. Because dual enrollment programs offer advanced learning opportunities to high schoolers and can lower the cost of college for students and families, state policymakers have been looking at ways Read more
Recently, Tom Vander Ark reviewed the literature on early college high school for the Fordham Institute. Excerpts of his piece appear below: Ten years ago I called early college high schools the best philanthropic initiative in education that never scaled. But the idea keeps chugging along gaining steam with policy Read more
Writing for Chalkbeat, Matt Barnum has compiled eight lessons the sector has learned from education research in 2019. Excerpts of his piece appear below: Education research is hard to keep up with, and often enough, it’s hard to even understand. It seems like there are more caveats than clear conclusions, Read more