A New Way to Gauge Schools’ Success Serving Highest-Need Students

Writing for FutureEd, Bryan Hassel and Greg Lippman describe a project that attempts to develop a new measure of school performance that clearly identifies which schools are doing the best job with vulnerable student populations. Excerpts of the piece appear below: Knowing a school’s numbers of English language learners, students with disabilities, and students eligible Read more about A New Way to Gauge Schools’ Success Serving Highest-Need Students[…]

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Issue Brief: Learning Pathways

Career-connected learning pathways – including internships, apprenticeships, and cooperative education programs – allow students to gain work experience while in high school. Through these programs, young people can develop employability and technical skills that can help them succeed beyond high school, including through building positive relationships with adults, developing social capital, and building their networks. Read more about Issue Brief: Learning Pathways[…]

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Instructional Time Policy 101

Instructional time policy is critical to education service delivery because it sets minimum, and sometimes maximum, requirements for learning time. Each state defines instructional time differently, and states have varying requirements in policy. Education Commission of the States (ECS) has released three papers that provide an easy reference for top-level information on instructional time, including Read more about Instructional Time Policy 101[…]

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How does money matter for schools?

Writing for the Fordham Institute, Adam Tyner reviews a new research report by Jackson and Mackevicius that explores how money matters for student outcomes. Excerpts from the piece appear below: The overall effect of an additional $1,000 of spending per child on test scores, based on 2018 prices and over four years of school, is Read more about How does money matter for schools?[…]

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Moneyball for Education Policy

Given the urgent need to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, increase economic mobility, and ensure racial justice, it is more important than ever for education leaders at all levels of the PK-12 education system to embrace evidence and data to inform their day-to-day decision-making. Results for America’s new report — Moneyball for Education Policy Recommendations Read more about Moneyball for Education Policy[…]

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Ready for What? How Multiple Graduation Pathways Do – and Do Not – Signal Readiness for College and Career

Postsecondary education is vital to thrive, not just survive. Eighty percent of good-paying jobs require postsecondary education, and 56 percent require a bachelor’s degree or higher. While the nation’s high school graduation rate has reached an all-time high of 85 percent, students are insufficiently prepared for postsecondary education and the workforce. About 70 percent of Read more about Ready for What? How Multiple Graduation Pathways Do – and Do Not – Signal Readiness for College and Career[…]

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Six Principles for Doing Tutoring Right

J-PAL North America, a research center focused on reducing poverty, recently released a meta-analysis of close to 100 studies of tutoring in literacy and mathematics and found that tutoring programs consistently produced large improvements in learning outcomes for students — with effects that eclipse those of most other educational programs. More importantly, this study synthesizes Read more about Six Principles for Doing Tutoring Right[…]

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Scholars Release New Framework for History and Civics in Schools

Writing for The 74, Kevin Mahnken recently reviewed a new roadmap for American history and civics education titled “Education for American Democracy.” Excerpts of the piece appear below: Through a collaboration funded by grants from the Department of Education and the National Endowment for the Humanities, a group of civics and educational institutions spent the Read more about Scholars Release New Framework for History and Civics in Schools[…]

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Transforming Education into a Learning System

Every day, educators, advocates, and families strive to ensure that our schools prepare all students to excel academically and thrive in life. To realize that ambitious goal, we must ensure that our education sector functions at all levels as a learning system. Too often, though, a culture of compliance and a desire to preserve the Read more about Transforming Education into a Learning System[…]

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State Approaches to Ensuring Quality for College in High School Programs

The College in High School Alliance has released the second in a new series of policy snapshots, designed to explore policy issues impacting college in high school programs such as dual enrollment and early college high school.  This snapshot provides a discussion about the importance of states having quality assurance mechanisms for college in high Read more about State Approaches to Ensuring Quality for College in High School Programs[…]

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Improving Eligibility Requirements for Dual Enrollment

The College in High School Alliance (CHSA) has released the first in a series of policy snapshots. These resources are designed to explore specific policy issues impacting college in high school programs such as dual enrollment and early college high school. CHSA’s first snapshot concerns Improving Eligibility Requirements for Dual Enrollment Programs. The snapshot provides: Read more about Improving Eligibility Requirements for Dual Enrollment[…]

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Education and Income: How Learning Boosts Salary

The Learning Agency recently published a report, Education and Income: How Learning Boosts Salary, by Ulrich Boser. Key takeaways appear below: The U.S. is in the midst of an economic downturn resulting from COVID-19, with potential long lasting effects on workers and the American labor market. Unemployment is at its highest point since the Great Read more about Education and Income: How Learning Boosts Salary[…]

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Promising Results for an Early-College Program

Writing for Inside Higher Ed, Madeline St. Amour reviews the Massachusetts early college program, which is turning out to be one of the strongest solutions to the state’s equity gap. Excerpts from the piece appear below: An early-college program targeted at underrepresented students in Massachusetts is showing strong results — even during the COVID-19 pandemic. Read more about Promising Results for an Early-College Program[…]

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Policy Actions and Responses to Leverage the Moment for Future Readiness

As school districts deliberate over reopening schools with the COVID-19 pandemic still ongoing, the Aurora Institute has developed a report with strategic guidance on how to harness our current opportunity to transform K-12 education. Education Policy Issues for the COVID-19 Era: Policy Actions and Responses to Leverage the Moment for Future Readiness offers insights and Read more about Policy Actions and Responses to Leverage the Moment for Future Readiness[…]

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How Fundamental Change Happens in America

Writing for the Fordham Institute, Chester E. Finn, Jr. presents an explanation of what is needed to fundamentally change schooling in America. Excerpts from the piece appear below: What distinguishes problems we tackle in a serious way from those we mostly just wring our hands and protest over? What distinguishes those we merely tackle from Read more about How Fundamental Change Happens in America[…]

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10 Recommendations to Maintain Student Connections

The Aspen Institute has released 10 recommendations states can use to maintain student connections and relationships through the 2020-21 school year.   Healthy relationships and routines undergird the development of resilience, which is needed to engage successfully in academics and in life beyond school. These dimensions of student well-being and readiness-to-learn are under tremendous strain due Read more about 10 Recommendations to Maintain Student Connections[…]

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