In 2016-17, the Opportunity Culture initiative included more than 110 schools, 1250 teachers, and 34,000 students in 17 sites across 7 states. According to the Public Impact website, Opportunity Culture schools are defined by the following characteristics: Teachers lead the way. Each Opportunity Culture school creates a team of teachers Read more
Much has been made in recent years about the importance of “grit” for student success and achievement. Grit has been a term that broadly includes such concepts as persistence, perseverance, and ability to overcome challenges. A new Policy Snapshot from GTL sheds light on how students can come by this Read more
A new report from the National Association of State Boards of Education suggests ways that state policymakers can get more students invested in learning. Education is a $600 billion-a-year enterprise, but the investments states make in education will not benefit students unless they are physically and mentally present in the Read more
As employers and postsecondary institutions increasingly demand students and workers equipped with high-level skills, many states are exploring performance assessments as part of their K-12 education strategies. Unlike multiple-choice tests, these assessments require students to construct answers, produce products, or perform activities; they allow educators to assess student Read more
In today’s rapidly changing global economy, “21st century skills” means much more than proficiency in basic academic subjects. One of the most important non-cognitive competencies for student success is conscientiousness, which encompasses traits such as perseverance, self-regulation, resilience, and responsibility. This policy brief provides an overview of conscientiousness and its Read more
Two classic questions in education have been, “what do schools produce?” and “who are the workers in schools?” Education policy veteran John Merrow has some interesting answers to those questions: The familiar answers to those old questions are: 1) “Teachers are the workers,” and 2) “Their job is to turn Read more
As someone who cares about education, you may already know the value of The Nation’s Report Card – the nation’s gold standard for measuring student achievement. Whether or not you’re new to the report card – also known as the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) – there’s a new Read more
This past July, the U.S. Department of Education released the Transparency Best Practices for Schools and Districts, a new set of guidelines created to improve relations between school districts and parents surrounding school districts’ collection, maintenance, and distribution of student data. The new guidelines seek to keep parents more informed Read more
A new research brief from the Stanford Center for Opportunity Policy in Education (SCOPE) documents practices and outcomes of four urban high schools that, through student-centered approaches, are providing building blocks of knowledge and skills students need as adults. These schools are non-selective and predominantly serve low-income students of color. Read more
High school students everywhere may rejoice to hear the latest research on school start times for students in their age group. A new report from the Education Commission of the States (www.ecs.org) says school begins too early for these students, a point about which there should be no dispute. Following Read more
IES has recently released its Projections of Education Statistics to 2022. This edition of the report provides projections for key education statistics, including enrollment, graduates, teachers, and expenditures in elementary and secondary public and private schools, as well as enrollment and degrees conferred at postsecondary degree-granting institutions. Included are national Read more
A new report suggests that principal walkthroughs do not improve student performance. For years, one of the key debates about principalship has been their role in “instructional leadership”. In other words, how much should principals be doing to directly impact student instruction and what exactly should they be doing if Read more
As the internationally benchmarked Common Core State Standards (CCSS) are adopted in states across the country, educators are seeking ways to support an increasingly diverse student population to meet these more demanding expectations. The likelihood that students will achieve the aims of the standards will be substantially shaped by how Read more
Montgomery County Public Schools, MD, will greet its students this fall with a survey that asks them questions, not about academics, but about “hope, engagement and well-being.” MCPS is teaming up with Gallup, the polling giant, to conduct this survey, which they also conducted last year. For three years of Read more
Data from states that have recently begun using teacher evaluations aligned with student performance suggest that the numbers can be deceiving. Very high percentages of teachers are receiving “effective” or higher scores on their teacher evaluations—above 97% in Florida, Michigan, and Tennessee. Depending on whom you talk to, this can Read more
The Spencer Foundation, an organization that investigates “ways in which education, broadly conceived, can be improved around the world,” is seeking research studies to inform the current push for data-based educational reforms. Here is more from the press release: We announce a second-round Request for Proposals (RFP) to promote research Read more