Experiments in Advocacy: What Works and Why

AdvocacyLabs, a partnership between FutureEd and 50CAN, draws on insights from academia to help education advocates work effectively on behalf of disadvantaged students.  In Experiments in Advocacy: What Works and Why, author Marc Porter Magee focuses on the growing number of rigorous experimental studies of effective advocacy campaigns. By leveraging the power of randomized studies Read more about Experiments in Advocacy: What Works and Why[…]

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To Help Guide Decisions About COVID, Schools and Students, Researchers Are Compiling Decades of Data in Easy-to-Read Briefs

The Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University and Results for America have announced a new EdResearch for Recovery Project, which will provide rapid-turnaround evidence briefs from top researchers to help answer the most pressing education-related questions from policymakers, educators, parents and other advocates as they respond to and recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. Read more about To Help Guide Decisions About COVID, Schools and Students, Researchers Are Compiling Decades of Data in Easy-to-Read Briefs[…]

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Looking beneath the surface: The Education Changemaker’s Guidebook to Systems Thinking

A new guidebook from KnowledgeWorks serves as an introduction to the theories, language, mindsets and tools of systems thinking to promote educational change.   Systems thinking can be a powerful element of systems transformation, no matter whether we decided to pursue change or it was thrust upon us. Systems thinking is a set of theories, tools, Read more about Looking beneath the surface: The Education Changemaker’s Guidebook to Systems Thinking[…]

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What Worked This Spring? Well-Designed and Delivered Courses

Writing for Inside Higher Ed, Doug Lederman reported on the best practices that were incorporated in virtual classes that students rated most highly. Excerpts from the piece appear below: Professors and students alike viewed their remote learning experience most favorably this spring when their courses incorporated more “best practices.” That’s the path to making the Read more about What Worked This Spring? Well-Designed and Delivered Courses[…]

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All of Who I Am

Over the past several years, a growing consensus has emerged that learning is a social, emotional, and cognitive process-but how do young people perceive and experience this type of integrated learning in action? All of Who I Am, a new report from The Center for Promise at America’s Promise Alliance, features insights from a qualitative Read more about All of Who I Am[…]

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New Study Suggests that College Graduates Have 11 Key Skills Gaps

New research by the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) finds 11 key skills gaps among college graduates. These skills include the following: Understand Role in the Workplace and Have Realistic Career Expectations Recognize and Deal Constructively with Conflict Accept and Apply Critique and Direction in the Workplace Listen Effectively Communicate Accurately and Concisely Read more about New Study Suggests that College Graduates Have 11 Key Skills Gaps[…]

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Approaches for Diverse, Equitable, and Inclusive Evaluation

When evaluating education programs to measure their impact on students, particularly underserved students, it’s important to use a diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) lens. A new brief from Bellwether Education, titled “Approaches for Diverse, Equitable, and Inclusive Evaluation,” summarizes concrete strategies and examples to engage stakeholders, ensure quality data, and communicate across differences. Schools and Read more about Approaches for Diverse, Equitable, and Inclusive Evaluation[…]

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Do Programs for Advanced Learners Work?

Writing for the Fordham Foundation, Jonathan Plucker reviews the research on programs for advanced learners. Excerpts from the piece appear below: Advanced learning programs are effective, and we have reams of research to support that conclusion. What follows is a rough summary of intervention research, listed from more to less evidence of effectiveness. For the Read more about Do Programs for Advanced Learners Work?[…]

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Preventing a Lost School Year

Building trust is a major theme of Stand for Children’s free, new guidebook, Preventing a Lost School Year, which was created to help district leaders plan for academic and social-emotional learning in the coming school year. The 2019-2020 school year was severely disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic and, without the right preparation and intervention, the Read more about Preventing a Lost School Year[…]

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50-State Comparison: Teacher License Reciprocity

A new 50-State Comparison from Education Commission of the States on Teacher License Reciprocity has been updated for 2020. Most states have policies that allow licensed teachers from other states to obtain a license in their state, under certain conditions – and a growing number of states offer special reciprocity for military spouses. However, few Read more about 50-State Comparison: Teacher License Reciprocity[…]

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How Student Agency Can Ease the Pain of Remote Learning and Teaching

Writing for EdSurge, Chelsea Waite recently explored an approach to remote learning that has resulted in extremely high levels of student engagement at a time when some schools and districts are seeing half or less of their students participating in online instruction. Excerpts of the piece appear below: What’s behind this rare level of engagement Read more about How Student Agency Can Ease the Pain of Remote Learning and Teaching[…]

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June Issue Brief: Giving Credit Where Credit is Due

Degrees, credits, credentials, certificates, badges, microcredentials, and licenses are all ways of communicating to the world that an individual has gained particular knowledge and skills. The problem is, these signals do not seamlessly build on one another to provide a true picture of an individual’s expertise. Even within the higher education system, individuals who transfer Read more about June Issue Brief: Giving Credit Where Credit is Due[…]

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Changing How Schools Draw Up Their Schedules Can Make Classes More Equitable Next Fall

Writing for The 74, Adam Pisoni explores ways that scheduling for the return after COVID can make schooling more equitable. Excerpts from the piece appear below: As educators across the country struggle to wrap up the current COVID-ravaged school year, administrators and schedulers are hard at work determining what the 2020-21 school day will look Read more about Changing How Schools Draw Up Their Schedules Can Make Classes More Equitable Next Fall[…]

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Why School Climate Matters For Teachers And Students

Writing for the Shanker Institute, Matthew Kraft and Grace Falken explore the importance of school climate for both teachers and students. Excerpts of the piece appear below: The quality of a school’s teaching staff is greater than the sum of its parts. School environments can enable teachers to perform to their fullest potential or undercut Read more about Why School Climate Matters For Teachers And Students[…]

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Why Curriculum Matters

Writing for redefinED, Ashley Berner recently released a four-part series on the power of high-quality curriculum. Excerpts from the first article are below, and links to all four posts appear at the bottom of the page: It is a truth universally acknowledged that high-performing school systems around the world require students to master serious academic Read more about Why Curriculum Matters[…]

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New Program Gives Low-Income HS Students College Credit and a Pathway to Higher Ed

Writing for The 74, Phyllis Jordan explains a new program that is bringing college-level coursework into Title I schools. Excerpts from the piece appear below: Leaders at selective colleges and universities often say they want to recruit high-achieving students from low-income backgrounds – but can’t find them. A new program that brings college coursework into Read more about New Program Gives Low-Income HS Students College Credit and a Pathway to Higher Ed[…]

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