Working to Make Diverse Perspectives in Research, Policy, and Technical Assistance the Norm

Posted on May 26, 2022May 22, 2022 by coreeducation

At a recent event hosted by the AIR Equity Initiative, a panel of experts discussed different strategies for systematically and meaningfully engaging diverse voices and perspectives in research, technical assistance, and policy development and implementation to address long-standing social inequities. This included examining internal structures and practices, partnering with a variety of stakeholders, and reimagining Read more about Working to Make Diverse Perspectives in Research, Policy, and Technical Assistance the Norm[…]

Creating Safe, Equitable, and Engaging Schools

Posted on May 11, 2022May 9, 2022 by coreeducation

Four years ago, Mary Catryn D. Ricker of the Shanker Institute and David Osher of AIR collaborated on the introduction to a book, Creating Safe, Equitable, Engaging Schools. Their introduction shared six practical, science-based principles that not only ground the book, but also speak to the current crises in education. These six principles are integral Read more about Creating Safe, Equitable, and Engaging Schools[…]

Smart State Strategies for Building Intensive Tutoring Systems

Posted on April 6, 2022April 4, 2022 by coreeducation

In May 2021, Education Trust, Education Reform Now, and FutureEd published State Guidance for High-Impact Tutoring to help states implement successful tutoring programs. Now, a new follow-up publication outlines the features of effective and equitable state tutoring initiatives and provides examples of states that show promise in implementing them, to further support the work of Read more about Smart State Strategies for Building Intensive Tutoring Systems[…]

How Districts With Different Poverty Levels Are Spending COVID Relief Funds

Posted on March 3, 2022February 27, 2022 by coreeducation

Recently in The 74, Phyllis Jordan and Bella Dimarco reviewed a new FutureEd analysis of plans for spending ESSER III emergency relief funds, including more than 2,600 school districts serving 53 percent of the nation’s public school students. The analysis suggests that the higher the poverty rate in a district’s student population, the more likely Read more about How Districts With Different Poverty Levels Are Spending COVID Relief Funds[…]

Black, Latino Students Disproportionately Taught by Inexperienced, Uncertified Teachers

Posted on February 23, 2022February 22, 2022 by coreeducation

Writing for The 74, Marianna McMurdock recently reviewed new research that shows that Black and Latino students are disproportionately taught by inexperienced, uncertified teachers. Excerpts of the piece appear below: Across the country, schools serving predominantly Black students have 5 percent more novice teachers than schools with fewer Black students, according to analysis from education Read more about Black, Latino Students Disproportionately Taught by Inexperienced, Uncertified Teachers[…]

Classroom Observations Biased Against Male, Black Teachers, Research Suggests

Posted on February 16, 2022February 13, 2022 by coreeducation

Recently in The 74, Kevin Mahnken reviewed a study out of Tennessee that shows that classroom observations, utilized for teacher effectiveness determinations, show evidence of racial and gender bias against male and Black teachers. Excerpts of the piece appear below: Significant bias has contributed to lower classroom observation scores for thousands of teachers in Tennessee Read more about Classroom Observations Biased Against Male, Black Teachers, Research Suggests[…]

Theater Counts: How Theater Education Transforms Students’ Lives

Posted on January 25, 2022January 23, 2022 by coreeducation

Theatre education can help young people develop a strong sense of self and identity, build empathy and learning among peers, and broaden the ways they make meaning of the world around them. Yet the last comprehensive arts education study, examining the state of art education during the 2008-09 school year, found that only 4% of Read more about Theater Counts: How Theater Education Transforms Students’ Lives[…]

Widescale Study Finds More Students Started the School Year Behind

Posted on January 11, 2022January 1, 2022 by coreeducation

Fewer elementary and middle school students started the 2021 school year on grade level for reading and mathematics, according to a new report released by Curriculum Associates. The report, Understanding Student Learning: Insights from Fall 2021, analyzes data gathered from the edtech company’s i-Ready Assessment tool on reading and mathematics learning from three million Grades Read more about Widescale Study Finds More Students Started the School Year Behind[…]

What Research Tells Us about Gifted Education

Posted on December 9, 2021December 5, 2021 by coreeducation

Writing for The Hechinger Report, Jill Barshay reviews the research basis on gifted education. Excerpts of the piece appear below: Researchers have been studying ways to diversify the ranks of gifted-and-talented programs. David Card, an economist from the University of California, Berkeley, who was awarded a Nobel Prize in economics in October 2021, has found Read more about What Research Tells Us about Gifted Education[…]

Finding Common Ground in the Education Wars

Posted on December 2, 2021November 21, 2021 by coreeducation

A few months ago, Michael Petrilli wrote a piece exploring the common ground that most everyone can agree on related to education’s culture wars about critical race theory, anti-racist education, and diversity, equity, and inclusion in the classroom. As it looks like these school board feuds are ramping up rather than dying down, I wanted Read more about Finding Common Ground in the Education Wars[…]

November Issue Brief: Teacher Retention

Posted on November 30, 2021November 19, 2021 by coreeducation

Teachers have long been identified as the number one in-school factor that influences student outcomes. Conversely, teacher turnover is correlated with lower student outcomes and contributes to school cultures where churn and instability prevent positive change from taking root. How to retain teachers, and especially teachers of color, has emerged as a key area of Read more about November Issue Brief: Teacher Retention[…]

Advancing Equitable Access To And Success In Work-Based Learning

Posted on November 4, 2021October 29, 2021 by coreeducation

The economic and societal instability brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic compounded and laid bare the inequities in American education and workforce systems. It also forced policymakers to go to extraordinary lengths to ensure that programs remained accessible. Amid these unprecedented challenges, the states in the National Governors Association Center’s Policy Academy on Scaling Work-Based Read more about Advancing Equitable Access To And Success In Work-Based Learning[…]

State Efforts to Promote Equitable Access to Effective Teachers

Posted on October 14, 2021October 12, 2021 by coreeducation

In recent years, federal education programs and policies have increasingly focused on teacher quality as a means for closing achievement gaps, in part by directing states to measure teacher qualifications and performance and to promote equitable access to qualified and effective teachers among schools within a district. A new report by Andrew Wayne, Courtney Tanenbaum, Read more about State Efforts to Promote Equitable Access to Effective Teachers[…]

The Gifted Gap

Posted on October 13, 2021October 12, 2021 by coreeducation

Writing for The 74, Kevin Mahnken recently released a piece updating readers on The Gifted Gap, or the gap between talented Black and low-income students and their whiter, more affluent peers. Excerpts of the piece appear below: Efforts to improve the quality of American education often focus, implicitly or explicitly, on students who are achieving Read more about The Gifted Gap[…]

Rigorous Courses are a Good Thing – and Good for Equity

Posted on October 7, 2021October 4, 2021 by coreeducation

Recently, in Fordham’s Flypaper, Brandon L. Wright wrote an insightful rebuttal to Anne Kim’s recent long-form article in Washington Monthly titled “AP’s Equity Face-Plant” in which Kim interprets AP courses as problematic from an equity lens. Excerpts of the piece appear below: We as a country should care deeply that Black, Hispanic, and other disadvantaged Read more about Rigorous Courses are a Good Thing – and Good for Equity[…]

Embracing Culturally Responsive and Sustaining Instructional Materials

Posted on October 6, 2021October 4, 2021 by coreeducation

Choosing instructional materials wisely is one of the most important jobs education leaders and teachers have, perhaps now more than ever. Unfinished academic instruction resulting from the COVID-19 crisis demands better ways to reignite student engagement and accelerate learning. At the same time, the disparate impact of the pandemic on students of color and growing Read more about Embracing Culturally Responsive and Sustaining Instructional Materials[…]