Reducing chronic absence and developing conditions for learning are instrumental to improving outcomes for students and can be improved through policy reform and leadership. Schools and educators have the power to improve both student attendance and conditions for learning. A new Hamilton Project data interactive, “Chronic Absence: School and Community Read more
State testing systems are in transition. Buffeted by anti-testing sentiment on the left and right, budget battles, and renewed debates over the role that testing plays, the recent, unprecedented push for states to collaborate on high-quality, standards-aligned assessments has given way to an increasingly fragmented marketplace. A new report from Read more
Recently in NCEE’s blog, Marc Tucker asked a compelling question: Is the United States employing the right approach to education research? The evidence points to an answer of no. Excerpts from the piece appear below: Many years ago, in 1971, I (Tucker) was asked to join the White House unit Read more
Researchers from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine in Washington, D.C. have released a new report, “The Promise of Adolescence: Realizing Opportunity for All Youth.” Adolescents—young people ages 10 to 25—make up nearly one-fourth of the U.S. population. Drawing upon recent scientific advances, the report finds ample evidence Read more
When teachers visit families at home and ask, “What are your hopes and dreams for your child,” chronic absenteeism goes down, test scores go up, and teachers change their own mindsets. Studies from Johns Hopkins University and RTI International evaluated Parent Teacher Home Visits model in use in 700 communities Read more
“Investigating Causal Effects of Arts Education Experiences,” reports on a first-of-its-kind arts education experiment from Rice University’s Kinder Institute for Urban Research. The authors, Daniel H. Bowen of Texas A&M, and the University of Missouri’s Brian Kisida, find measurable academic, social, and emotional outcomes associated with arts education for elementary Read more
State leaders have outlined bold equity goals to improve the outcomes of all students. But these goals can’t be met if the data used to measure and support them reflect bias. The Data Quality Campaign’s latest blog series dives into the concept of asset framing and examines how data can Read more
Predominantly white school districts in the US get $23 billion a year more than districts that educate mostly non-white children, an education advocacy group says. A report from EdBuild, which promotes equity in public schools, found that the average white school district got $13,908 for every student in 2016, compared Read more
The intensifying interest among education policymakers in the social and emotional dimensions of student success is encouraging news. By complementing the important work in recent years to raise standards and strengthen instruction, the increasing focus on school climate and students’ relationships to their peers and their schools is a potentially Read more
Recently in Fordham’s Flypaper, Robert Pondiscio reflected a new direction for education reform: a focus on instructional practice. He writes: Shifting ed reform’s focus to improving practice is an acknowledgment that underperformance is not a failure of will, but a lack of capacity. It’s a talent-development and human capital-strategy, not Read more
Writing for the Fordham Institute’s Flypaper blog, Michael Petrilli recently explored ways to encourage educators to implement evidence-based practices. He asks: How might we dramatically increase the chances that our schools scale up the most effective practices, resulting in significantly better outcomes for students? Petrilli offers the following ideas: There Read more
Liz Bell, writing for EdNC recently explored the evidence basis for early college high schools. Excerpts of the piece appear below: The SERVE Center and researchers from RTI International and RAND Corporation have found early college students are more likely to attend class, complete courses that prepare them to enter Read more
Writing for Ed Excellence, Michael Petrilli has summarized some of the biggest problems with educational research and has proposed three promising pathways forward. Excerpts from his piece appear below: Whereas the world outside of our schools has been transformed by information technology, the data we collect on classroom practices is Read more
Restorative justice is the focus of a series of reports authored by the WestEd Justice and Prevention Research Center, through funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The reports include: What Further Research is Needed on Restorative Justice in Schools? Restorative Justice in U.S. Schools: Summary Findings from Interviews with Read more
Has the elementary and secondary teaching force changed in recent years? And, if so, how? Have the types and kinds of individuals going into teaching changed? Have the demographic characteristics of those working in classrooms altered? To answer these questions, researchers at the University of Pennsylvania embarked on an exploratory Read more
Learning is a conversation with the world, from a newborn’s brain lighting up as his mother sings to him, to a teenager choking on a test for fear of fulfilling a stereotype, to elderly people heading off cognitive decline by learning a new language. In an update to its landmark Read more