Although special education and its legal provisions under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) were designed to support all children with disabilities, it has created a litigious and bureaucratic environment that further marginalizes disabled and labeled children of color and their families. Falling short of a collaborative…

This report presents key findings from "Learning in the Fast Lane: The Past, Present, and Future of Advanced Placement," by Chester E. Finn, Jr. and Andrew E. Scanlan, and published by Princeton University Press in 2019. American education has long been plagued by excellence gaps among the young people who make it into the highest levels…

Exclusionary school discipline--that is, suspension and expulsion--disproportionately affects already disadvantaged students on both the national and state levels. In New Hampshire, students attending larger urban schools, male students, students of color, students eligible for free and reduced-price lunch, students with disabilities, and homeless…

Absent any federal requirement to monitor the performance of student subgroups, a significant number of states have implemented accountability systems that either ignore the performance of these students or provide only minimal oversight. As Congress moves forward with reauthorizing ESEA, it must codify the 2008 high school graduation rate…

This report describes a follow-up qualitative study, conducted in 2006 by the Annenberg Institute for School Reform, of a small group of New York City high schools that, according to 2001 data, were "beating the odds" in preparing low-performing ninth-grade students for timely high school graduation and college going. The thirteen…

This study asserts a new unit of analysis for school reform that goes beyond the mental representations of individuals, beyond the isolated lesson, and beyond the confines of a school building. I argue that the special case of expanding time and space as a method of engagement for marginalized students requires that the unit of analysis change to…

Sponsored by the Association for Education Finance and Policy (AEFP), the second edition of this groundbreaking handbook assembles in one place the existing research-based knowledge in education finance and policy, with particular attention to elementary and secondary education. Chapters from the first edition have been fully updated and revised…

"Straight A's: Public Education Policy and Progress" is a biweekly newsletter that focuses on education news and events both in Washington, DC and around the country. The following articles are included in this issue: (1) Education Secretary Outlines Obama Education Agenda: In Appearance Before House Committee, Duncan Stresses Reform…

This report provides essential new information on the relationship between the location of and enrollment in Denver public schools that meet the 2009 School Performance Framework (SPF) standards. Funded by the National Association of Charter School authorizers (NACSA), this research is designed primarily to identify and highlight those areas with…

This article reports on a Texas charter school network which aims to expand the ranks of disadvantaged students who graduate, not just from high school, but from college as well. To earn a high school diploma, each student at YES (short for Youth Engaged in Service) Prep Public Schools, a growing Houston-area network of charters that predominantly…

Across the nation, urban school districts struggle to raise often abysmally low high school graduation rates. New York City, with a four-year graduation rate of 57 percent, is no exception. Yet, some high schools in New York, as elsewhere, succeed beyond expectations in bringing students with low academic skills and high needs to graduation in…

Homeless children tend to experience a variety of academic problems, and little is currently known about this growing segment of the American population. This study was undertaken using administrative data from the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) and a program that serves many of Chicago's most vulnerable homeless families to examine children's…

"Education Matters" is the monthly newsletter of the Association of American Educators (AAE), an organization dedicated to advancing the American teaching profession through personal growth, professional development, teacher advocacy and protection. This issue of the newsletter includes: (1) Leading Students to New Heights: Dr. Bill…

Schoolwide literacy--the teaching of reading, writing, speaking, and thinking practices in all content areas--is generally considered an effective, even necessary, approach to addressing the learning needs of adolescents. In early college high schools, which blend high school and college for students who are underserved in higher education, the…

As part of the broader policy debate on how to reform K-12 education, particularly high schools, basic questions about career and technical education are on the table. "Remaking Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century" begins with a summary of what researchers know--and do not know--about the value of high school…