The Five Essential Building Blocks of a Networked Improvement Community

Posted on June 9, 2017June 2, 2017 by coreeducation

Networked improvement communities (NICs) are gaining importance as a structure for identifying and solving complex educational problems. Tackling these problems requires taking specific steps to make sure the NIC is built to last. In the Carnegie Commons blog, Sarah McKay summarizes an article, “A Framework for the Initiation of Networked Improvement Communities” published in the Read more about The Five Essential Building Blocks of a Networked Improvement Community[…]

The Failure of the U.S. Education Research Establishment

Posted on May 10, 2017May 5, 2017 by coreeducation

Stanley Pogrow has produced a paper concluding that most education research is of little value to people in schools. Research validating programs to develop the reading skills of students born into poverty, for example, validates programs that are not effective in practice, he says. Pogrow’s paper analyzes in easy-to-understand language the validity of the gold Read more about The Failure of the U.S. Education Research Establishment[…]

Establishing and Sustaining Networked Improvement Communities

Posted on April 27, 2017April 22, 2017 by coreeducation

Networked improvement communities are a relatively new type of collaborative research partnership between researchers and educators. With facilitation from researchers, educators identify problems of practice, the factors that drive the problems, and promising solutions. They then engage in iterative cycles of designing, implementing, testing, and redesigning solutions, while learning from variation across the settings in Read more about Establishing and Sustaining Networked Improvement Communities[…]

Implementation Science

Posted on April 12, 2017April 7, 2017 by coreeducation

Sarah McKay recently provided an excellent introduction to Implementation Science in the Carnegie Commons Blog. Excerpts of her piece appear below: The aim of implementation science is to understand how interventions are adopted, implemented, and spread. It’s less about the effectiveness of the intervention itself, because that is expected to have been evaluated prior to Read more about Implementation Science[…]

New Reports on Postsecondary Preparation, Readiness, and Outcomes

Posted on April 7, 2017March 3, 2020 by coreeducation

The Institute of Education Sciences has released two new reports from the Regional Educational Laboratories (REL) program on accelerated college credit programs and college and career readiness. Characteristics and postsecondary pathways of students who participate in acceleration programs in Minnesota This REL Midwest study examined the 2011 cohort of Minnesota public high school graduates who Read more about New Reports on Postsecondary Preparation, Readiness, and Outcomes[…]

New ‘Evidence for ESSA’ Website

Posted on March 20, 2017March 10, 2017 by coreeducation

The Center for Research and Reform in Education (CRRE) at Johns Hopkins University has released its much anticipated website called Evidence for ESSA (www.evidenceforessa.org), a free web-based resource that provides easy access to information on programs that meet the evidence standards defined in the Every Student Succeeds Act. The website is designed for education leaders Read more about New ‘Evidence for ESSA’ Website[…]

How Are Middle School Climate and Academic Performance Related Across Schools

Posted on February 17, 2017February 10, 2017 by coreeducation

Schools with a more positive student-reported climate had higher academic achievement in English language arts and mathematics than schools with a less positive climate, according to a new study from Regional Educational Laboratory (REL) West. While there is widespread consensus that positive school climate leads to higher academic performance, most of the research has compared Read more about How Are Middle School Climate and Academic Performance Related Across Schools[…]

What America Can Learn About Smart Schools in Other Countries

Posted on January 3, 2017March 3, 2020 by coreeducation

Every three years, half a million 15-year-olds in 69 countries take a two-hour test designed to gauge their ability to think. Unlike other exams, the PISA, as it is known, does not assess what teenagers have memorized. Instead, it asks them to solve problems they haven’t seen before, to identify patterns that are not obvious Read more about What America Can Learn About Smart Schools in Other Countries[…]

Do Low Income Students Have Access to Effective Teachers?

Posted on November 22, 2016November 19, 2016 by coreeducation

The Institute of Education Sciences has released a new report entitled Do Low Income Students Have Access to Effective Teachers? Evidence from 26 Districts. The report from the National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance (NCEE) examines whether low-income students are taught by less effective teachers than high-income students, and if so, whether reducing Read more about Do Low Income Students Have Access to Effective Teachers?[…]

Grading Schools: How States Should Define ‘School Quality’ under ESSA

Posted on October 27, 2016October 22, 2016 by coreeducation

In “Grading Schools: How States Should Define ‘School Quality’ Under the Every Student Succeeds Act,” Bellwether author Chad Aldeman argues that accountability systems are a state’s best tool to signal what it values and how schools should be working to improve. But if states fail to take advantage of that opportunity, they may not provide Read more about Grading Schools: How States Should Define ‘School Quality’ under ESSA[…]

Relationships: Top Factor in Classroom Effectiveness

Posted on October 17, 2016October 15, 2016 by coreeducation

The ability to build relationships with students is the top trait of an effective teacher, according to a new survey released from Pearson. Survey respondents included teachers, students, parents, school administrators and policymakers from around the globe. While the survey was fielded in 23 countries, respondents from the U. S. were united in their top Read more about Relationships: Top Factor in Classroom Effectiveness[…]

ESSA’s Evidence-Based School Improvement

Posted on October 12, 2016October 8, 2016 by coreeducation

Much will change in practice and policy as the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) replaces the law, regulations, and guidance established through NCLB; but two elements of the new legislation stand out: the shift away from federal mandates toward greater state and local authority, and the emphasis on evidence-based school improvement practices. A new report Read more about ESSA’s Evidence-Based School Improvement[…]

The NEW What Works Clearinghouse Website

Posted on October 6, 2016September 30, 2016 by coreeducation

The Institute of Education Sciences is pleased to launch the new What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) website, making it easier for users to find educational interventions that make a difference. The new WWC website includes: An enhanced Find What Works (FWW) feature that allows educators and policymakers to find interventions that scientific evidence shows have had Read more about The NEW What Works Clearinghouse Website[…]

Educator Pipeline at Risk

Posted on September 27, 2016September 23, 2016 by coreeducation

Lisette Partelow and Christina Baumgardner of the Center for American Progress have authored a new report, Educator Pipeline at Risk: Teacher Labor Markets after the Great Recession, that examines the supply and demand of the teacher workforce to paint a clear picture of regional shortages across the nation and potential causes of those shortages. In Read more about Educator Pipeline at Risk[…]

Expanding the Research Base for Competency-based Education

Posted on September 15, 2016March 3, 2020 by coreeducation

AEI has released a new series on Competency-Based Higher Education (CBE), titled Innovate and Evaluate: Expanding the Research Base for Competency-based Education. The authors, Andrew P. Kelly and Rooney Columbus say, “Clearly, the benefits of expanding access to CBE could be substantial. But, what does existing research suggest about the likely effect of reforms to promote CBE? Read more about Expanding the Research Base for Competency-based Education[…]

Guides Offer Educators Help Designing, Administering, and Analyzing Surveys

Posted on August 25, 2016August 20, 2016 by coreeducation

Survey data can be an effective way to gather data that informs instruction or programmatic decisions. But some educators do not have the training or experience needed to design surveys or analyze the data that surveys can provide. Three research alliances in the Regional Educational Laboratory (REL) Northeast and Islands region asked the REL to Read more about Guides Offer Educators Help Designing, Administering, and Analyzing Surveys[…]