College Acceleration for All? Mapping Racial/Ethnic Gaps in Advanced Placement and Dual Enrollment Participation

Researchers from the Community College Research Center at Columbia University are working with Aspen Institute’s College Excellence Program to improve the outcomes of college acceleration strategies for underrepresented high school students, particularly students of color and those from low-income families. This research project is designed to better understand the drivers Read more

New Data Tool Rates ‘Educational Opportunity’ Offered in Nation’s Schools, Districts

An interactive data tool from the Educational Opportunity Project at Stanford University creates the first database that attempts to measure the performance of every elementary and middle school in the country.   The data set not only provides academic achievement for schools, districts, and states around the country, but it also Read more

Tools to Evaluate whether Instructional Materials meet English Learners’ Needs

Learning Forward has released a set of instructional tools that will help education practitioners determine if instructional materials meet the needs of English learners. The tools are intended for those developing, procuring, or using instructional materials and for those who want to create better learning conditions and academic outcomes for Read more

Alignment Matters: A Framework for Advancing Student Learning and Promoting Equity

What do high performing schools have in common? Among other things, they have rigorous academic standards, rich curriculum, and high-quality assessments. They also have well-trained educators who have regular access to accurate and useful data. And they have a culture of equity that undergirds their work. All of these reinforce Read more

A Fair Chance: Simple Steps to Strengthen and Diversify the Teacher Workforce

Each year a significant number of aspiring elementary teachers, having successfully completed their formal preparation, are still unable to become licensed professionals. That’s because an alarming number of candidates fail their licensing tests, far surpassing the failure rate for other professions’ entry tests, bar exams, and boards. The fact that Read more

Culturally Responsive Teaching in State Teaching Standards

New America has analyzed professional teaching standards in all 50 states to better understand whether states’ expectations for teachers incorporate culturally responsive teaching. To support this analysis, researchers identified eight competencies that clarify what teachers should know and be able to do in light of research on culturally responsive teaching. Read more